imasillymomma
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Hello!
I posted exactly a week ago about doing a fish-less cycle. As was suggested, I started adding ammonia to the water with a pinch of flake food. I also took the filter cartridge from one of the filters in my other tank, shook it out in the water and then placed it in the filter in front of the new cartridge (so the water flows through the bacteria-filled one first).
That being said, for two days now my ammonia level has dropped to zero within 24 hours and my nitrAtes have gone up, but I have seen no nitrIte spike at all. I keep adding more ammonia and it seems to just disappear. I brought it up to 4ppm this morning and this evening it is already reading 0ppm. Am I doing something wrong? Should I test more often to see if the nitrIte spikes?
As much as I want to get some of my fish into the new tank, I am not willing to risk their lives. I do not want to put them in until I am absolutely sure that it is cycled.
Thanks for any advice!
~Tammy
I posted exactly a week ago about doing a fish-less cycle. As was suggested, I started adding ammonia to the water with a pinch of flake food. I also took the filter cartridge from one of the filters in my other tank, shook it out in the water and then placed it in the filter in front of the new cartridge (so the water flows through the bacteria-filled one first).
That being said, for two days now my ammonia level has dropped to zero within 24 hours and my nitrAtes have gone up, but I have seen no nitrIte spike at all. I keep adding more ammonia and it seems to just disappear. I brought it up to 4ppm this morning and this evening it is already reading 0ppm. Am I doing something wrong? Should I test more often to see if the nitrIte spikes?
As much as I want to get some of my fish into the new tank, I am not willing to risk their lives. I do not want to put them in until I am absolutely sure that it is cycled.
Thanks for any advice!
~Tammy