Cycling Question

[Killian]

My 36 bowfront has been cycling (fish-in) for 21 days now. For the last 6 days my test results have all been the same.

Ammo: 0.25ppm
Nitrite: 0.25ppm
NitrAte: 0-5ppm (darker than 0 but not quite 5)
pH: 7.2

Tap water (already dechlorinated with Prime):
Ammo: 0ppm
Nitrate: 0ppm
NitrAte: 0ppm
pH: 7.4

Is my tank almost done or has it stalled for some reason? I was doing pwc 25% about every other day but I have stopped since the numbers are so low. I use Prime and I was using Stability for a week to help establish the biofilter. The tank is over-filtered with a Quietflow 30 and a Penguin 200. Is that too much for this tank and causing the cycle to stall? There are 6 Zebra Danios in the tank right now and all seem healthy and happy.

Thanks!

 

[Fedex3d]

Are you getting your test results from an API liquid test or from test strips? Ive gotten a false .25 ppm on a strip and a 0 ppm with the liquid test. Did you ever see an ammonia or nitrite spike before now?

 

[Killian]

I'm using the API liquid tests. I had an Ammo spike around day 8. Not very high but I'm doing pwc as soon as it gets high to protect the fish. Nitrite was off the chart on day 14, did a pwc and it hasn't gotten that high again.

 

[Fedex3d]

If you had a nitrite spike on day eight, you have to have had an ammonia spike prior to that. I really can't see why it's not come down to 0 by now ?? For a 36 I wouldn't say you were overfiltering, the 30 and 200 would be rated at 80 gallons and I believe in using more filtration than called for. The only thing I can think of is that with the higher return flow coming out of your filters you could be stirring the bottom up a little bringing up some of the ammonia (in the form of uneaten food or fish waste) into the water. I know that may sound crazy but it's all I can think of lol.

 

[reefrunner69]

I'm using the API liquid tests. I had an Ammo spike around day 8. Not very high but I'm doing pwc as soon as it gets high to protect the fish. Nitrite was off the chart on day 14, did a pwc and it hasn't gotten that high again.

If your using prime...you cannot trust the API kit results. Stop using prime for 3 days and test. Prime will give false positive.

 

[Killian]

Ok so I didn't test for a few days after I used the Prime, Ammo seemed to be going down until today. Tested ammo at 0.5-1ppm with no Nitrites and 0-5ppm Nitrates. pH also seems to be dropping, 7.2 between 6.8-7.0 (doesn't really match either color). What is happening now? I thought my tank was almost done cycling but now it doesn't seem like it :-(

 

[Fedex3d]

The lower your ph the lower the toxicity of the ammonia. But l would do a 25% water change and tesf it again tomorrow.

 

[librarygirl]

With fish in a cycling tank you need to test daily and do water changes as needed. Prime will not cause false readings. PH fluctuations are common in cycling tanks, particularly if your water is soft. PH drops can be harmful to fish if they drop too fast and it can stall the cycle if PH gets too low. A water change should bring the PH back up. If it keeps dropping you might want to add a few pinches of crushed coral or argonite to your filter in a media bag or clean nylon stocking to help buffer your water (most fish stores sell it in the saltwater section, unfortunately they only sell large bags and you won't need that much). For the nitrate test, I suggest shaking and banging both bottles on a hard surface for 30 seconds, then shake the tube vigorously for 60 seconds and wait 5 minutes for the result; if you don't do it exact it can cause false readings.

If you already had a nitrite spike then you might be close to cycling, it's hard to say. The PH drops could be affecting things. Three weeks isn't that long for cycling, especially without seeded media. Just keep doing what you're doing until things level out.

 

[Killian]

Thanks . I did a 25% water change this morning because the pH kept dropping - down to 6.8. I did test before the pwc and the ammo had dropped on its own down to 0.25ppm so hoping that's a good sign, no nitrites and 0-5ppm for nitrates still. I'll test the tank again tonight after I get home from work.

 

[reefrunner69]

Prime will not cause false readings.

Unfortunately you are wrong, prime bonds with ammonia. The nesslers reagents bring the ph of the sample water very high and that breaks the bond. Therefore you get much higher free ammonia levels than is actually in the tank.

Seachem, themselves, say it is very possible to get inaccurate results unless you use their ammonia discs which use a gas exchange rather than reagents.

Prime should only be active for 2 days, according to seachem, so wait at least 3 days before testing with a neslers kit like API.

 

[Killian]

11 hours post 25% wc:

Ammo 0ppm
Nitrites 0ppm
Nitrates 5ppm
pH 7.2

 

[Fedex3d]

11 hours post 25% wc:

Ammo 0ppm
Nitrites 0ppm
Nitrates 5ppm
pH 7.2

Those are perfect numbers. i would say your tank has fully cycled