FishyPhil
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Hi everyone. Im on day 28 of my fishless cycle and i think i might be close to finished? Basically over the last two nights i have experienced PH crashes due to massive nitites (from what I've been reading the bacteria must be using up all the buffers in the water!) I have done 3 water changes over that time, one up to 90%. After the big one nitrites were still showing strong, but this morning they were at 0 (yay!?)
I was dosing ammonia two times per day as the bacteria was chewing up 5ppm in 12 hours, but obviously this is what appears to have caused my PH crash. I did lower the ammonia to 2ppm yesterday and that still got eaten up, and nitrates are over 100. PH seems to be stable at 7. Should i be optimistic that i have built up a large enough colony of nitrite eating bacteria at this stage? Or could the PH crash caused damage to the bacteria? Although i guess if that was the case then there would still be loads of nitrites?!
Perhaps i can start getting excited! I think i might have caught and dealt with the PH crash just in time! But time will tell i guess!
If i will be getting fish soon (after qualifying period of course) can i get your thoughts on which fish to introduce first? I am thinking of having a shoal of rummys and cardinals, and perhaps four yellow rams and a bristlenose. I was thinking of doing half of the fish then adding another half a week or two later. Or should i do them all together?
Many thanks!
33 gallon fluval roma
I was dosing ammonia two times per day as the bacteria was chewing up 5ppm in 12 hours, but obviously this is what appears to have caused my PH crash. I did lower the ammonia to 2ppm yesterday and that still got eaten up, and nitrates are over 100. PH seems to be stable at 7. Should i be optimistic that i have built up a large enough colony of nitrite eating bacteria at this stage? Or could the PH crash caused damage to the bacteria? Although i guess if that was the case then there would still be loads of nitrites?!
Perhaps i can start getting excited! I think i might have caught and dealt with the PH crash just in time! But time will tell i guess!
If i will be getting fish soon (after qualifying period of course) can i get your thoughts on which fish to introduce first? I am thinking of having a shoal of rummys and cardinals, and perhaps four yellow rams and a bristlenose. I was thinking of doing half of the fish then adding another half a week or two later. Or should i do them all together?
Many thanks!
33 gallon fluval roma