What should I expect?

[jlk]

Happy Thanksgiving!! I honestly dont know why your showing amm today after the steady drops. Did you check your ph today? If it hasnt changed, then leave things alone for today & skip the amm. If it has gone up or down, then its time for a pwc. I hope you enjoyed your holiday!!

 

[swimwithme]

My PH is still at 7.6, so I guess I'll wait and check in the morning.

 

[librarygirl]

Are you testing right at the 24 hour mark after dosing ammonia? Also have you checked ammonia about 30 minutes after you dosed to see how high it is? I'm wondering if you're overdosing. What kind of ammonia is it and what's the %? According to this calculator, if your ammonia is 10% strength and you wanted to dose to 4 you should be dosing 6ml, not 8. So I'm wondering if you're just dosing too high?

Next time try to shoot for 2-3 ppm of ammonia; if in doubt, dose half what you usually dose and then test the water after 30 minutes. I'm wondering if you are cycled (or close to) but are showing ammonia b/c of dosing too high. Dosing to 4 ppm in a fishless cycle is designed to be overkill; unless you grossly overstock your tank your fish shouldn't give out anywhere near 4 ppm of ammonia. So if you can dose to about 2-3 and have it drop to 0 consistently for a few days and keep nitrites at 0 I'd say it's ok to start adding fish slowly.