Cycling not working?

[chilledaz]

Hey guys my tanks been cycling for ages, I can't remember the exact date but it has to be at least a month and maybe a few weeks. I'm doing fishless cycling using pure ammonia. My ammonia went from 4ppm to 0ppm in 24 hrs however, no nitrItes have shown up no matter how many times i tested it during the cycle. My reading for nitrItes have been 0 this entire time. My nitrAtes however have been very high around 60-100ppm. What does this mean? I thought in order to have nitrAtes, you would first have to have nitrItes?

Thanks in advance!

 

[jlk]

Hi! Welcome to AA!!! Did you start with any cycled media or added bacteria in bottle product? What type of tests are you using (liquid or strips)?

It honestly sounds like you may be cycled but can please check one thing first (assuming your using liquid tests)? Fill test tube with 1/2 tank water then fill balance of the test with tap water (50-50 mix) and test your nitrites and see if you still get a blue/zero result. Occasionally, when nitrite levels become extremely high, it will result in an inaccurate result because the test can no longer read the results and you will wind up with a tube that 'appears' blue (or grey or white or hot pink). A dilution test will tell us whether this is the case or your actually cycled.

 

[vanimal]

If there are nitrates that high then I'm assuming all the ammonia you are adding is cycling and turning into nitrate.

 

[chilledaz]

Hi! Welcome to AA!!! Did you start with any cycled media or added bacteria in bottle product? What type of tests are you using (liquid or strips)?

It honestly sounds like you may be cycled but can please check one thing first (assuming your using liquid tests)? Fill test tube with 1/2 tank water then fill balance of the test with tap water (50-50 mix) and test your nitrites and see if you still get a blue/zero result. Occasionally, when nitrite levels become extremely high, it will result in an inaccurate result because the test can no longer read the results and you will wind up with a tube that 'appears' blue (or grey or white or hot pink). A dilution test will tell us whether this is the case or your actually cycled.

Yep I'm using liquid tests and I just did what you suggested. The result is still a blue/zero result for nitrites. So does that mean my tanks been cycled?

 

[jlk]

As long as your tank is processing @4ppm ammonia fully to nitrate in a 24hr period, yes, I would say your cycled! You may want to dose for a few more days just to be sure but otherwise your tank should be set for fish after some big water changes to drop your nitrates below 20ppm. Congrats!!

Don't hesitate to ask if you have more questions!

 

[chilledaz]

Thanks for that, it really helped me a lot This whole time I've been getting a reading of 6 ph. I want to house a community tank so what ph should I be aiming for?

 

[ejaramillo01]

Do a major water change, like 80%, and then read your pH again to see at what level will be. pH of 6.00 maybe a little low, but most of the community fish will adapt good, I don't recommend you to use pH adjuster (like de API kit). If you still want to increase it a little bit, you can add some crushed coral or crushed shells to the filter or the substrate.

 

[Wolfsblood]

Ph can drop during a fishless cycle and can actually cause the cycle to stall. After a large water change you should see your ph go back up. Unless of course your ph is very low from the tap.

 

[chilledaz]

Yeah I did a 90% water change approximately 20 hours ago and I just tested my ph again. Reading shows another 6

What should I do now? Oh and my substrate is Up-Aqua Soil which my lfs guy told me makes my ph 6.5

 

[jlk]

It sounds like your ph is this low from your tap. Test your ph straight from the tap. Then, set out a container of tap water with an airstone or bubbler. If you dont have an extra, give the water a good stir every so often to help release dissolved gasses. Test the ph in this in about 24hrs. Let us know what both numbers read & we can go from there! Also, if you have a decent lfs near you (not chain store), bring a sample of your tap & tank and have them check your GH & KH. I suspect both may be very low.

 

[chilledaz]

I don't have an airstone or bubbler in my tank at all. Should I get one?

 

[jlk]

It wont hurt anything if you do. It will help to increase surface agitation which helps to increase oxygen (to a point). I think they are really a personal preference as long as the filter is creating some surface agitation. Some people dislike them. I think we need to see if your ph is something needs to be addressed further or not though.

 

[chilledaz]

So should I get 2 of them? Or is one enough?

Also should I still be dosing my ammonia to 4 or just 1 because I'm running out of ammonia!

 

[jlk]

Up to you! For the ph test, just give your water a good stir when you remember to do so. You can scale back and only dose ammonia to 4ppm every other day (or even a bit longer) and your tank will stay where it is.

 

[chilledaz]

I'll go get an air stone after I finish work. Should I chuck that into my tank or the water I'm leaving for 24 hours? Sorry for asking so much, kind of new to cycling haha

 

[librarygirl]

Either one actually. If you remember to stir the tap water sitting out every once in a while that should be sufficient, then you can just put the air stone in the tank.

 

[chilledaz]

I tested my water straight from the tap and it reads 6.6 or 6.8 I can't really tell haha. I got an airstone in my tank now as well as a bucket of tap water which I'm going to leave for 24 hours until I test it.

Am I going about this the right way or is there something I'm missing?

 

[jlk]

Sounds good! Let us know how it looks tomorrow.

 

[chilledaz]

Any reason why you think my tank water reads 6 while my tap water reads at 6.6 or 6.8?

 

[jlk]

The water straight out of your tap contains various dissolved gasses. As they leave the water, your ph may decrease or increase (or stay the same) depending on the type of gasses. Whatever your tap water ph reads after sitting out with aeration/agitation (which will help release any dissolved gasses) will be your true ph - this is approximately what your tank should read unless there's something else affecting your ph.