Need help with cycling ASAP!

[ravynnm]

Got a new mini master kit by nutrafin today.

Ammonia is around 2.3ppm
Nitrites 0ppm
Nitrates 5ppm
pH 7.4

Did a huge water change, got a new airstone, anubias, along with a florescent light that brightens everything up

 

[Mebbid]

Got a new mini master kit by nutrafin today.

Ammonia is around 2.3ppm
Nitrites 0ppm
Nitrates 5ppm
pH 7.4

Those readings seem kind of strange to me. Normally in a fishless cycle the ammonia will be off the charts while bacteria are growing to convert to nitrites. Then the nitrites should be off the charts while bacteria are converting them to nitrates while the ammonia disappears at an alarming rate. Although that is probably just from the ammonia source you are using. You can use any type of ammonia source you want. Fish food, rotting seafood, but pure ammonia is my personal favorite.

Adding filter media to a cycling tank won't automatically cycle it but will speed things up quite a bit.

 

[ravynnm]

Those readings seem kind of strange to me. Normally in a fishless cycle the ammonia will be off the charts while bacteria are growing to convert to nitrites. Then the nitrites should be off the charts while bacteria are converting them to nitrates while the ammonia disappears at an alarming rate. Although that is probably just from the ammonia source you are using. You can use any type of ammonia source you want. Fish food, rotting seafood, but pure ammonia is my personal favorite.

Adding filter media to a cycling tank won't automatically cycle it but will speed things up quite a bit.

I used fish food and used too much and stalled the cycle at high ammonia for days. People posting were telling me to do a large water change to get it back down but i don't know what to do from here.

Tested ammonia again and it's around 3ppm yet i just did a 70% water change and added nothing.

I can't find pure ammonia around here, they are taking it off shelves. Heard an autopart store sells it but it's closed on Sundays.

At the start of the cycle ammonia and nitrite were the same amount, then nitrite dropped and there was still ammonia, then the ammonia got high due to the fish food finally turning into ammonia..

 

[ravynnm]

got it down to 0.6ppm today and i'm going to try and find ammonia once again tomorrow.. if not i don't know what i'm going to use

 

[jschimm]

If there is a Dollar store or similar near you, it would be worth a check. I went everywhere too and a Dollar General had 1/2 gallons of Austin's Clear ammonia for a buck. I couldn't anything on the label other tham ammonium hydroxide content, but for a buck it was worth getting. Got home went on line and found it is the right stuff. I'm a week into a fishless with seeded material, and I am seeing a nitrate spike and low levels of nitrate. Good luck!