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Cycling fast?
- Thread starter caitlynnanne9189
- Start date
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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
jlk
Aquarium Advice Addict
Keep us posted!! 
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caitlynnanne9189
Aquarium Advice FINatic
The gift of progress!!!!
Woke up this morning and tested
Ammonia:1ppm
Nitrites: off the scale
Nitrates: slowly getting higher 60ppm
Just dosed ammonia back waiting 20 min to retest then let it go till tonight! Yay!
Woke up this morning and tested
Ammonia:1ppm
Nitrites: off the scale
Nitrates: slowly getting higher 60ppm
Just dosed ammonia back waiting 20 min to retest then let it go till tonight! Yay!
librarygirl
Look It Up
Glad to hear it's helping! Just remember to only dose ammonia once in a 24 hour period even if you test more often.
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caitlynnanne9189
Aquarium Advice FINatic
That's for that! I didn't know that. So only once per day? What if it gets lower then 1ppm in one day?
LyndaB
Aquarium Advice Addict
You have to scrape up some patience somewhere or you'll never survive this hobby, much less the cycling process.
jlk
Aquarium Advice Addict
Test as many times a day as you want, but, yes, only add amm once a day (every 24hr). Dont worry if amm drops-this is what is supposed to be happening! You will probably see even greater progress once you start doing this!
jetajockey
come get me tang police!
LyndaB said:You have to scrape up some patience somewhere or you'll never survive this hobby, much less the cycling process.
That's one reason why I don't fishless cycle, lol.
Looks like things are moving along, keep us updated.
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caitlynnanne9189
Aquarium Advice FINatic
jetajockey said:
Lol I was like less water changes for now ok great!! Yeah lol. Now I just want fish!!!! Lol
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caitlynnanne9189
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Thanks guys! Have ever only added it once in 24hours but now that I know not to I won't do more! Thanks!!!
jlk
Aquarium Advice Addict
Ok- now you have me a bit confused! You are only adding amm once a day or more often? Just add it once a day & water changes are not needed unless your ph changes (drops or jumps) or we get stalled out on nitrites. Water changes are not needed but they wont hurt anything either if you want to do them. Lets see how things look in 24hrs!
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caitlynnanne9189
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Lol sorry. I am not adding ammonia more than once a day. I'm just glad I know now that I shouldn't. The complete guide to cycling I was given a link to says once the nitrates and nitrites are unable to read on the cart do a 50% water change. Is this incorrect?
jlk
Aquarium Advice Addict
Nitrates are not that important at this stage other than to see if they are showing up which means your nitrites are being converted. If your nitrites reach unreadable levels, its time for a water change as well. Watch the nitrite test- when you add the drops & it starts turning purple on the bottom of the test tube before you shake it, then they are really high. You can also do dilution tests on the nitrites to see how big of a water change needs to be done to get them readable- fill 1/2 tube with tank water (1/2 way to line), 1/2 with tap (equivalent of 50% pwc) & see what the results are. Then you can try 1/4 tank, 3/4 tap (75% pwc), 1/10 tank, 9/10 tap (90% pwc), etc. This will give you an idea of how big of a water change is needed to get your nitrites readable (@2ppm or lower). Sometimes though, they get so high that more than one complete water change is needed to bring them done. Hope this helps!
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caitlynnanne9189
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Thanks! Yes it does! My nitrites are definitely over readable levels and since I just left for the rest of the night I'll check those tmw and do a water change. Once i do the water change then should I add ammonia back to 4ppm since it will have been diluted?
jlk
Aquarium Advice Addict
After the water change, wait 15mins for the water to circulate then check your amm levels & dose to get your amm back up to 4ppm. If your nitrites are really insanely high, after the water change & rechecking your amm, you can try dosing the amm only up to 2ppm for a few days to give things a chance to catch up. After 3 days, then increase the amm back up to 4ppm again. Keep us posted!
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caitlynnanne9189
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Ok thanks! Will definitely mess with it!
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caitlynnanne9189
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Well water changes done this morning. Did a 50% change and let it sit 20 mins then tested. Nitrites were still off the charts so I did another 70% water change. The nitrites seem to be readable. Between 2 and 5ppm. Very hard to tell. I dosed ammonia back up and are just waiting it out till tomorrow to test again. Id the nitrites get off the charts again should I do another water change?
jlk
Aquarium Advice Addict
Lets see how things look in 24hrs & go from there! Dont be surprised if they sky-rocket again!
librarygirl
Look It Up
Looks great! I agree with Jlk, let's wait and see. High nitrites are normal and a good sign. I'm not sure how high the nitrites should go before it can stall the cycle, but it's probably pretty high. Unless PH drops, ammonia stops dropping or nitrites are extremely high for over a week then a few pwc can help things. High nitrites in themselves don't warrant a water change though, so we'll see what happens.
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caitlynnanne9189
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Ok guys thanks! Will test again tomorrow morning!
