Quote Originally Posted by sanford.in.belize
The system has been running for about two months now. The veg. are growing like mad and the fish seem to be doing well aside from the three.

What doesnt look right with the levals??

Thanks for the encoraging words everyone
What badflash was saying is that you should not measure ANY Ammonia (NH/3)in a well-cycled system .... you need to bring down the ammonia, he was suggesting an immediate 50% water change (which would reduce the ammonia content), and then treat the ammonia problem ..... I like the old-fashoined charcoal approach if you can't get a sump/biofilter established right away ..... Charcoal or Zeolites will remove a lot of the ammonia whilst you are getting your biofilter installed and cycled .... it takes a while for the bacteria ( Nitrosonomas & Nitrobacter) to get established so your system will cycle.

Quote Originally Posted by Encyclopedia Britannica
Nitrifying Bacteria,

any of a small group of aerobic bacteria (family Nitrobacteraceae) that use inorganic chemicals as an energy source. They are microorganisms that are important in the nitrogen cycle as converters of soil ammonia to nitrates, compounds usable by plants. The nitrification process requires the mediation of two distinct groups: bacteria that convert ammonia to nitrites (Nitrosomonas, Nitrosospira, Nitrosococcus, and Nitrosolobus) and bacteria that convert nitrites (toxic to plants) to nitrates (Nitrobacter, Nitrospina, and Nitrococcus). In agriculture, irrigation with dilute solutions of ammonia results in an increase in soil nitrates through the action of nitrifying bacteria.
These might help explain the Nitrogen cycle a little better than I can:
Clik
Clik
Clik