A basement coral farm in progress

Alquatics

I’m building a coral farm in my basement. This is where I’m keeping track of the build, the mistakes, and everything that happens once the water starts moving.

Read the Farm Log

Current week · Week 04

Where Are the Corals? Understanding the Nitrogen Cycle

October 15, 2026

Why I’m cycling the tank instead of stocking corals. A look at ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and the microorganisms that make reef aquariums possible.

Read this week’s entry

Apex live feed

System Status

Connecting

Temperature

-- °F

-- pH

ORP

-- mV

Salinity

-- ppt

Calibration pending. Reading withheld.

Waiting for the first Apex update

Live readings from my Apex, updated every five minutes while my desktop is running. Drag the slider to look back at earlier readings. How I got this connected →

The first cycle · started September 15, 2026

Cycle Progress

My water tests from the start of the cycle. Tap a point to see the reading. Bars show where I recorded a range.

October 11 update: Ammonia 0 ppm · Nitrite 2.0 ppm · Nitrate 80 ppm. First zero-ammonia reading →

Illustrative nitrogen cycle, with a red circle marking the estimated high-nitrite stage — The red circle is where I think I am in the cycle. Ammonia has reached 0 ppm, while nitrite is still 2.0 ppm.

Ammonia & Nitrite

Nitrate

Loading cycle history…

Recorded tests

Date	Ammonia	Nitrite	Nitrate

I’m keeping all my test results here, even after the cycle finishes. Download the record