cycling issue

[hdlorider93]

I have been cycling for about 4 weeks now. Everything seemed to be going right on track and have now hit a snag. I was getting the ammonia to 4 PPM and within 24 hours I was down to .25PPM. Then one day my ammonia was at 4PPM and within a 24 hour period it was only at 2 PPM and it's been at 2 PPM for about 2 days now. My Nitrites are low at about .50 PPM or .25 PPM however they were at one point off the charts and had slowly been dropping. Nitrates are at 5 PPM and has been at that reading for a few days now. Any advice?

 

[jlk]

Have you been keeping track of your ph? What does it read right now? Have you performed any water changes/cleaning or changed anything in the tank (such as media, substrate, etc)?

If you have been dosing ammonia to 4ppm for four weeks and its been steadily dropping but your nitrites/nitrates are barely registering, something sounds a bit off. My guess is either your nitrites are actually off the charts high right now or your not shaking the nitrate test bottles well enough to read accurate results.

 

[hdlorider93]

Ok just checked the ph started high around 7.8 from the water supply, now it's 6.4 which is a good drop, last week it was 7.8. I have done no water changes and have not removed or added anything to the tank since starting.

My nitrites were off the charts but haved dropped

 

[wildroseofky]

That low of a PH will destroy your bacteria. Do a water change and add crushed coral, seashells, limestone, or eggshells to the tank to buffer the PH and bring it back up. You can put one of those things in a nylon and stick it in the filter or hang it under the outflow. You can also add a little baking soda daily until the cycle completes and the PH stabilizes.

 

[hdlorider93]

Thanks, any idea how much baking soda to add approximately?

 

[hdlorider93]

Thanks but i looked it up, the PH got me, so will i need to start over or if i get the PH up will it correct itself?

 

[epjan7]

Id probably do a 25% water change and dont dose anymore ammonia.
This happened to me... if you are using a liquid test kit, it is very hard to distinguish between 4ppm and 8ppm (I use API).
If you added more than 4ppm then it would take longer to cycle.
When this happened to me It was going from 4ppn to 1ppm over night.. then I just dosed it to 2ppm and the next day it was cycled.

So once ammonia starts dropping from 4ppm, I would only dose it to 2ppm for a few nights. And once it gets to .25 you are practically good to go the day after. I wouldn't keep dosing if its dropping from 2ppm to .25..

 

[epjan7]

No need to start over either, the pH will fluctuate in a cycling tank its normal. Ph up i heard should be avoided.

You should take a test tube, fill it with your tap water, leave it uncovered, and in the morning check your pH and compare it to your tank.

6.8 might be your normal pH. Its only high during cycling and drops when cycling is complete.

Mine was 8.6+ph during cycle. And within a few days dropped to like 7.8.

You should also get a kh and gh test kit. Kh pretty much tells you how steady your pH will be, I.e. a kh of 0 or 1 will not do much to maintain a steady pH. While having a higher kH like 5 or 6 will help avoid pH swings.

 

[wildroseofky]

Once you get your PH up your tank will cycle pretty quickly. The PH crash seems to come at the end for some reason. The baking soda will work for about a day for each dose. Just check it daily. You can do water changes. It will not affect your cycle. Too much ammonia is bad. I dosed mine to 4 ppm and waited a couple of days each time so the bacteria had time to grow. Once the ammonia level started falling quickly I dosed to 4 ppm each day for a week. This makes sure the bacteria grow strong.