Hey guys...
I'm doing a fishless cycle. I started on 8-10 and my readings were 4ppm ammonia, 0 nitrite, 0 nitrate. Nitrites and nitrates stayed at 0 until 8-15 where it read 1ppm ammonia, .25 nitrite, 0 nitrate (ammonia did go down a little bit everyday). Then on 8-16 my ammonia was pretty much at 0 from what I could tell, so I added more ammonia to bring it back up to 4ppm. On 8-17 my readings were Ammonia 1ppm, 5ppm nitrite (or higher?), 5ppm Nitrate. On 8-18 my readings were.. 0 ammonia, 5ppm (or higher) nitrite, and my nitrate was kinda yellow with a hint of orange. I added more ammonia to bring is back up to 4ppm. On 8-19 my readings were 0 ammonia, 5ppm (or higher) nitrite, and the same small hit of orange on my nitrate. So again I added enough ammonia to bring it back up to 4ppm. Then on 8-20/8-21 my readings were the same as 8-19 (and I kept adding more ammonia to 4ppm). Today I got kinda annoyed that I couldn't read my nitrite so I did a 50% water change. Re-tested and still my nitrite was over 5ppm, so I did another 50% water change. Then my readings were 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and the same small hint of orange on my nitrate. So, again I added more ammonia...
I added the same amount of ammonia that I usually add to bring it up to 4ppm (about 40 drops and a 29 gallon tank) and when I tested it about an hour later it was only at about .25 ammonia and my nitrite was about 2ppm. Is this normal? Is my ammonia really converting to nitrite that fast or is something wrong? I'm confused!
Sorry about the really long post... any help would be appreciated
I'm doing a fishless cycle. I started on 8-10 and my readings were 4ppm ammonia, 0 nitrite, 0 nitrate. Nitrites and nitrates stayed at 0 until 8-15 where it read 1ppm ammonia, .25 nitrite, 0 nitrate (ammonia did go down a little bit everyday). Then on 8-16 my ammonia was pretty much at 0 from what I could tell, so I added more ammonia to bring it back up to 4ppm. On 8-17 my readings were Ammonia 1ppm, 5ppm nitrite (or higher?), 5ppm Nitrate. On 8-18 my readings were.. 0 ammonia, 5ppm (or higher) nitrite, and my nitrate was kinda yellow with a hint of orange. I added more ammonia to bring is back up to 4ppm. On 8-19 my readings were 0 ammonia, 5ppm (or higher) nitrite, and the same small hit of orange on my nitrate. So again I added enough ammonia to bring it back up to 4ppm. Then on 8-20/8-21 my readings were the same as 8-19 (and I kept adding more ammonia to 4ppm). Today I got kinda annoyed that I couldn't read my nitrite so I did a 50% water change. Re-tested and still my nitrite was over 5ppm, so I did another 50% water change. Then my readings were 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and the same small hint of orange on my nitrate. So, again I added more ammonia...
I added the same amount of ammonia that I usually add to bring it up to 4ppm (about 40 drops and a 29 gallon tank) and when I tested it about an hour later it was only at about .25 ammonia and my nitrite was about 2ppm. Is this normal? Is my ammonia really converting to nitrite that fast or is something wrong? I'm confused!
Sorry about the really long post... any help would be appreciated