snafusnake
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2019
- Messages
- 11
Hi there,
I am new to the forum. I recently began trying to do a fishless cycle for an freshwater 8.5 gallon tank for my male betta. My friend who keeps aquariums told me to put a table shrimp in the tank and let it rot to serve as a source of ammonia. That was Dec. 11th. I also added a 2 oz bottle of Dr. Tim's nitrifying bacteria. Fast forward to yesterday: still no nitrites showing up. Just a ton of ammonia. I switched out about 75% of the water thinking maybe there was just way too much ammonia? I dunno, I'm new to all this! Plus I added a large bottle of bacteria. I believe it was a 10 oz bottle this time. Today I have about 4 ppm of ammonia, no nitrites, and about 30 ppm nitrates...as far as what I know, nitrites are meant to come first. I can't figure out why I have nitrates and a bunch of ammonia. Can someone please advise me on what I can do and what might be happening?
I am new to the forum. I recently began trying to do a fishless cycle for an freshwater 8.5 gallon tank for my male betta. My friend who keeps aquariums told me to put a table shrimp in the tank and let it rot to serve as a source of ammonia. That was Dec. 11th. I also added a 2 oz bottle of Dr. Tim's nitrifying bacteria. Fast forward to yesterday: still no nitrites showing up. Just a ton of ammonia. I switched out about 75% of the water thinking maybe there was just way too much ammonia? I dunno, I'm new to all this! Plus I added a large bottle of bacteria. I believe it was a 10 oz bottle this time. Today I have about 4 ppm of ammonia, no nitrites, and about 30 ppm nitrates...as far as what I know, nitrites are meant to come first. I can't figure out why I have nitrates and a bunch of ammonia. Can someone please advise me on what I can do and what might be happening?