ammonia drops..nitrites still up

[twinkey]

i had my nitrite spike last sat....i redose my ammonia back to 2-3ppm,since tuesday my ammonia would be at 0ppm everyday after i get home but my nitrites stay up around 5.0ppm..is that normal..pH is good...nitrates off the chart...doing fishless cycle...started on july 15th..using pure ammonia

 

[boadams87]

Yea that's normal but you still need to dose the ammonia back up until you don't have any nitrites!!!

 

[librarygirl]

yep, keep dosing ammonia and just wait. The nitrite phase is the longest; it can take about 3 weeks on average before they drop. Just keep dosing ammonia daily. If PH drops and/or nitrites are 5+ for over a week or/and ammonia conversion slows you can do a large 100% water change(s) to get nitrite to something readable on the chart (it'll rise again most likely which is normal). Eventually they'll go to 0 which means it's time for fish.

 

[twinkey]

yep, keep dosing ammonia and just wait. The nitrite phase is the longest; it can take about 3 weeks on average before they drop. Just keep dosing ammonia daily. If PH drops and/or nitrites are 5+ for over a week or/and ammonia conversion slows you can do a large 100% water change(s) to get nitrite to something readable on the chart (it'll rise again most likely which is normal). Eventually they'll go to 0 which means it's time for fish.

well it did happen...came home my ph was at 6.0ppm....i did about a 95% wc...i put enough prime for 40gl in a 2 gallon bucket..then filled it with a hose..is that gonna be ok..doing it that way...then added ammonia to bring it up to 2.0ppm or should i go higher

 

[tamtam]

well it did happen...came home my ph was at 6.0ppm....i did about a 95% wc...i put enough prime for 40gl in a 2 gallon bucket..then filled it with a hose..is that gonna be ok..doing it that way...then added ammonia to bring it up to 2.0ppm or should i go higher

You can add your PRIME right to the tank if you want before adding the water. Most people with water changers do it this way. I use buckets but because I can`t measure exactly what I remove I also dose my whole tank before refilling it. Just makes it easier.

Sounds like you are on the right track. I think 2ppm is fine. Just keep an eye and redose as librarygirl said