Fishless Cycle /Ammonia/Nitrite

[KOOGS]

Hello helpful people.

I have been seeing rapid drops of ammonia level after a week and 2 days of fishless cycling (tank seeded with old gravel). My question is, is ammonia supposed to drop so soon after I add it, or am I not adding enough? When I add a decent amount of ammonia and test after 2 hours or so, its almost 0 (.25 most of the times). Shouldn't this take like 12-24 hours to drop to 0? Also my nitrites are really high. Did a 60% PWC and the level of nitrite is still the same (off the API chart). Should I be worried about it or just let it be?

Thanks for your help!

 

[eco23]

How much ammonia are you adding? Try to keep it bumped up to 3-4ppm every 24 hrs. It sounds like you've got some good seeding material. It won't hurt to do a big water change to get your no2 down to .5-1. It may take multiple, large pwc's to get it down that far. Just be sure to dechlorinate and temp match the water.

Check out the guide and FAQ in my signature for some more info

 

[jcolon]

How much ammonia are you adding? Try to keep it bumped up to 3-4ppm every 24 hrs. It sounds like you've got some good seeding material. It won't hurt to do a big water change to get your no2 down to .5-1. It may take multiple, large pwc's to get it down that far. Just be sure to dechlorinate and temp match the water.

Check out the guide and FAQ in my signature for some more info

As Eco23 said ... Sounds like the seeding material helped, just keep on top of the PWC's.