Tank showing Ammonia and nitrate but not nitrite?

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patrickriley2010

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I know it sounds crazy but I'm trying to get this tank cycled and its just not making any sense. I did everything the API booklet said a s this is what my results where.
"They look worse on camera"

Ammonia

image-3753797864.jpg


PH i used PH down last night before bed need to recheck. Any ideas why its so high? I just use city water then dechlorinator wait about 15 then pour it into my tank.

image-1951929173.jpg


Nitrate
image-2874432981.jpg

Nitrite

image-406718742.jpg
 
That's what you want... Ammo 0ppm, nitrItes 0ppm and nitrAtes less than 20-40ppm

As far as your PH goes: I wouldn't mess with it unless you trying to keep some super rare, hyper-sensitive fish. Trying to change your PH tends to cause more problems and most fish can acclimate to different PH levels as long as you do it right.
 
That's what you want... Ammo 0ppm, nitrItes 0ppm and nitrAtes less than 20-40ppm

As far as your PH goes: I wouldn't mess with it unless you trying to keep some super rare, hyper-sensitive fish. Trying to change your PH tends to cause more problems and most fish can acclimate to different PH levels as long as you do it right.

I realized last night that my bio wheel seized up and I don't think my tank is cycled but to you does it look cycled ? Also the ammonia looks to be between 0 and .25
 
Cycling a tank typically takes roughly 4 weeks, but there are several factors that can speed up or slow down the process (usually the later).

Are you doing a Fish-In or Fish-less cycle? How long since you started? When are you doing water changes and how much are you removing when you do them?
 
Cycling a tank typically takes roughly 4 weeks, but there are several factors that can speed up or slow down the process (usually the later).

Are you doing a Fish-In or Fish-less cycle? How long since you started? When are you doing water changes and how much are you removing when you do them?

I added fish about 3-4 days after adding dechlorinator and then day 1 was dechlorinator and second day was adding some bacteria and fish flakes. I had a 1.77 gallon tank I was holding my platty in that I had added bacteria to so put that little filter in the new tank for awhile.


I have probably only changed out about 20-25% since setting it up
 
My PH out of my tap is 8.2 and my fish are fine. By monkeying around with it and trying to lower it, you'll likely do more harm to the fish than leaving it high. Where PH is concerned, consistency is more important than the actual number. An unstable PH that is constantly fluctuating is much more unhealthy for them and will likely lead to disease and death.

You in the middle of a Fish-In cycle. You'll need to test the water at least once a day. If your ammonia and/or nitrites ever hit .25ppm or higher then do a PWC to bring it down. It's simple math . For example: Ammo is .50ppm. You need to reduce that by a little more than half, so do a 60% PWC. If the number is too big to fix with one PWC, then do one 50% PWC, wait a few hours and then do another.
Once you go a solid week with 0ppm ammonia and nitrites then its safe to say the tank is cycled. Then you only need to do PWCs every week or two to keep the nitrates below 40ppm. Going forward, only add a few fish at a time and go a week in between additions to give the BB time to adjust to the increased bio-load.

Fish-In cycling is more work than Fish-less cycling because you have to keep doing the water changes or you risk killing the fish. Just be patient and diligent and you SHOULD be done in another 2-3 weeks.
 
My PH out of my tap is 8.2 and my fish are fine. By monkeying around with it and trying to lower it, you'll likely do more harm to the fish than leaving it high. Where PH is concerned, consistency is more important than the actual number. An unstable PH that is constantly fluctuating is much more unhealthy for them and will likely lead to disease and death.

You in the middle of a Fish-In cycle. You'll need to test the water at least once a day. If your ammonia and/or nitrites ever hit .25ppm or higher then do a PWC to bring it down. It's simple math . For example: Ammo is .50ppm. You need to reduce that by a little more than half, so do a 60% PWC. If the number is too big to fix with one PWC, then do one 50% PWC, wait a few hours and then do another.
Once you go a solid week with 0ppm ammonia and nitrites then its safe to say the tank is cycled. Then you only need to do PWCs every week or two to keep the nitrates below 40ppm. Going forward, only add a few fish at a time and go a week in between additions to give the BB time to adjust to the increased bio-load.

Fish-In cycling is more work than Fish-less cycling because you have to keep doing the water changes or you risk killing the fish. Just be patient and diligent and you SHOULD be done in another 2-3 weeks.

Thanks very informative !
 
Your pics look perfect - I don't see any green in the ammonia test.

As far as pH, I wouldn't even test for it until things are settled in the tank. I used to test mine weekly but after a few weeks of identical readings, I didn't bother.
 
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