AlexSmargle
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
So, background first, I started up my tank cycling at the end of May and the cycling seemed to be going pretty fast (fast enough that I was actually wondering if that was normal and I believe I posted here about that) and it was at the point where I was starting to see nitrates begin to show up.
Then, at the end of June, I had to go away for just over a week for a combined 'my-birthday-4th-of-July-my-niece's-birthday-getting-ten-teeth-pulled-all-at-once' visit to my mom's house and couldn't see to the tank at all during that (this is at a point where the ammonia was dropping pretty fast already).
I came back and everything had hit 0. The parameters were bad enough that I was kind of surprised my plants (an anubias and a bit of java moss that needs hooked back down down) were in such great condition when I got back despite having no real light of any strength for that time period.
Anyway, as the title says, I think my cycle has stalled. I dosed the ammonia back up when I got back and could function fully (I also have an intense dentist phobia so I was extra medicated up at first) and dropped to 1ppm eventually (took just over two weeks) and I dosed it back up to 4ppm on the 23rd of July. Its been about another 2 weeks and it's still at 4ppm without any change.
Is it stalling out or am I just worrying unnecessarily because of how fast it went originally?
All I've been doing so far is topping up evaporated water with conditioned water as needed and dosing flourish for my plants every about week and a half (the bottle says week, I believe but technically I should be dosing half a thread from the cap for the size of the aquarium but it's really difficult to make sure it's that low so I have been giving it a little extra time to account for the slightly too big doses of Flourish that it's probably getting just about every time). I checked the PH last week to make sure it hadn't crashed but it's actually went up a little? I do have slightly hard water so maybe it's just from topping up the evaporation. Temperature holding steady between 78.8 at the lowest (hottest day of the year yet, funnily enough. I really hate heat and live practically inside my air conditioner when it gets hot out) and 81 at the highest. It's generally right around 80.3ish. Have not bothered checking the nitrities or nitrates as the ammonia isn't dropping anymore.
Then, at the end of June, I had to go away for just over a week for a combined 'my-birthday-4th-of-July-my-niece's-birthday-getting-ten-teeth-pulled-all-at-once' visit to my mom's house and couldn't see to the tank at all during that (this is at a point where the ammonia was dropping pretty fast already).
I came back and everything had hit 0. The parameters were bad enough that I was kind of surprised my plants (an anubias and a bit of java moss that needs hooked back down down) were in such great condition when I got back despite having no real light of any strength for that time period.
Anyway, as the title says, I think my cycle has stalled. I dosed the ammonia back up when I got back and could function fully (I also have an intense dentist phobia so I was extra medicated up at first) and dropped to 1ppm eventually (took just over two weeks) and I dosed it back up to 4ppm on the 23rd of July. Its been about another 2 weeks and it's still at 4ppm without any change.
Is it stalling out or am I just worrying unnecessarily because of how fast it went originally?
All I've been doing so far is topping up evaporated water with conditioned water as needed and dosing flourish for my plants every about week and a half (the bottle says week, I believe but technically I should be dosing half a thread from the cap for the size of the aquarium but it's really difficult to make sure it's that low so I have been giving it a little extra time to account for the slightly too big doses of Flourish that it's probably getting just about every time). I checked the PH last week to make sure it hadn't crashed but it's actually went up a little? I do have slightly hard water so maybe it's just from topping up the evaporation. Temperature holding steady between 78.8 at the lowest (hottest day of the year yet, funnily enough. I really hate heat and live practically inside my air conditioner when it gets hot out) and 81 at the highest. It's generally right around 80.3ish. Have not bothered checking the nitrities or nitrates as the ammonia isn't dropping anymore.
