My fishless cycle was complete. Ammonia and NitrItes were 0 and NitrAtes were between 5 and 0. 24 hours before I was going to buy fish, I replaced the carbon filter in my HOB filter and dosed some ammonia one more time. 12 hours later, I checked the ammonia level to be sure and it was STILL at 5 ppm. Checked again 12 hours later (24 hrs from dosing) and the ammonia level was about 1 ppm. Before I replaced the carbon filter, the ammonia level would drop from 5 to 0 in less than 12 hrs and now it's taken about 36 hrs. Granted, that's much faster than when I started the fishless cycle where it sat at 5ppm for weeks and weeks.
So my question is......is it normal to loose that much beneficial bacteria when you replace the carbon filter?? I'd hate for the ammonia level to stay that high for so long when there's fish in the tank.
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So my question is......is it normal to loose that much beneficial bacteria when you replace the carbon filter?? I'd hate for the ammonia level to stay that high for so long when there's fish in the tank.
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