Another confused cycle

[simonw]

Hi,

I am fishless cycling a 10g tank.I have been recording the status daily but am now confused where i am with the cycle. Any advice would be gratefully received.


Date Time Added Ammonia after test (ml) pH Ammonia Nitrite Nitrate/10 Notes
25/06/2011 12:00 2 8.2 0.25 0 0.5 Added Filter start
25/06/2011 19:50 0 8.2 6 0 0.5 25% water change after test
26/06/2011 10:00 0 8.2 6 0 3
27/06/2011 22:00 0.5 7.8 2 0.5 8 added Filter Start
28/06/2011 19:45 0 8 4 2 8
29/06/2011 21:00 0 8 4 5 8 added Filter Start
30/06/2011 21:45 0.5 7.8 2 5 8
01/07/2011 20:45 0.5 8 1 5 8 Added Filter start
02/07/2011 20:30 0 8.2 3 5 8 Added 4 plants, 1 coconut arch with java fern and 2 small moss balls @ 12:45
03/07/2011 21:30 0.5 8.2 2 5 1 Added Filter start
04/07/2011 20:00 0 8.2 3 5 8
05/07/2011 20:00 0 8.3 2 10 1
06/07/2011 20:30 0 8.2 2 10 0.5
07/07/2011 20:45 0.5 8.2 1 5 0.5
08/07/2011 20:00 0 8.2 4 5 4
09/07/2011 20:45 0 8.2 4 5 4
10/07/2011 22:30 0 8.2 4 5 3
11/07/2011 20:30 0 8.2 3 5 2
12/07/2011 22:00 0 8.2 3 5 1
13/07/2011 22:00 0 8.2 3 5 1
14/07/2011 22:00 0 8.2 4 5 1 Removed dying plants
15/07/2011 20:45 0 8.3 4 5 0.5

 

[librarygirl]

Are you using pure ammonia, fish food, or other means to add ammonia? I only see the Filter Start and not where you're adding an ammonia source (I would stop the Filter Start, btw, you don't need it and it can create problems in the long run).

The numbers are hard to read since they're so close together, but it looks like your nitrites have been 5 for a while; you could try doing a water change to get them down to a readable level; high nitrites for long periods can stall the cycle too. What test kit are you using? If it's strips, they aren't very accurate, a liquid test kit like API Master is best.

 

[George9]

I'm sorry, I can't read those numbers. So I guess this post is pointless. Sorry :|

 

[zparticle]

If I'm reading that right, you have:

pH:8.3
Ammonia: 4
nitrite: 5
nitrate: 0.5 (is this divided by 10???)

I think your need to do a PWC to take the nitrite down a little. I think having it that high can stall your cycle. If the nitrate is divided by 10 then you definitely need to do a PWC of 50% or more.

 

[TheJT]

Assuming zprticle is correct with that reading, a 75% PWC will take you to:
Ammo: 1
NitrIte: 1.25
NO3 /10: .125

so I would do 2 75% Partial Water Changes and a 50% PWC... Back to back to back...
Then test again tomorrow and see whats in store for ya GL!!

 

[simonw]

Thank you for all of the advice so far. I have added 2 images one for the table of data and one corresponding chart. As you can see i did a 50% water change on the 16th, and this did lower my ammonia and nitrite levels. But having read the subsequent posts i will do another 50% water change tonight.

One thing to note is that the nitrate in my tap water is fairly high at around 40ppm, so when i do the water change this goes up. You can see from the charts that it did go down when i had the plants in there but they were dying so i had to take them out, except for the java fern and 2 moss balls.

here are the answers to some of the questions:

I am using pure ammonia
I am using the API freshwater master test kit

Thanks for the help so far, hopefully i will be ready for fish soon, and my kids will stop asking when we are going to get fish