more cycling weirdness

A few days ago I wrote here that I was cycling my tank with live rock, and after 8 days my ammonia and nitrites were basically zero, with nitrates 2.5 - and I didn't know whether my cycle was done or hadn't begun yet.

3 days ago I added a piece of fish (fillet of sole) to my tank to add ammonia as it breaks down. Today I tested my parameters and again, the ammonia and nitrites were zero, with nitrates around 2.5. How is this possible? I would have expected ammonia to go up if cycling was not started, or nitrates to go up if cycle was done? Any ideas? (sorry for the long post).

 

You dont have any algae or anything that could be masking the params do you?

 

this one is a tough one to call. If I were you I would wait about a month and let the tank do it's thing. No harm in waiting but you don't wanna screw up and start dumping money in the tank and killing fish if you don't have too. that's just my .02

 

Just by chance, what test kit are you using? And have you tested it with a separate test kit yourself (not at the LFS)?

 

Yeah i agree with daniel. better safe than sorry. and packleader has a point too. sounds a little off i would get a second reading

 

Was the rock already cured?

 

another really good question. K+

 

Thanks for all the replies. The test kit is Seachem basic reef (don't know if the test is any good). It comes with an ammonia "reference" solution, which tests correctly.

I do have a small chaeto in my refugium, but I just added it a week ago, so I doubt it is sucking up all the nitrogenous compounds yet. And my protein skimmer is off.

I will take your advice and wait at least a month before adding any livestock. But I wonder if I should add more fish food to the tank to generate more ammonia, or if I should just leave it alone.

 

I think I got to the bottom of the problem - I had been doing the ammonia test, but there is also a separate "total ammonia" test. When I did that one, it showed total ammonia at around 1.0, which indicates the beginning of my cycle.

 

nice, I'm really glad you got to the bottom of this. Saved yourself some grief