Half way through?

[JimmyA]

Thanks! You have to be the best fish buddy!

 

[JimmyA]

This morning ammonia is 0, nitrite is 1 and nitrate is 40. Nitrite really came down from last night, was 5. What do I do now, add more ammonia?

 

[rich311k]

Yes add the ammonia, you are probably a day or two away.

 

[JimmyA]

Ok, thanks!

 

[eco23]

This morning ammonia is 0, nitrite is 1 and nitrate is 40. Nitrite really came down from last night, was 5. What do I do now, add more ammonia?

Great news Jimmy . You're almost there, make sure you keep a close eye on pH and if it drops really far down you want to do a pwc. Almost done!

 

[JimmyA]

Great to hear the news. I'll keep an eye on Ph, right now it's 7.6. Thanks for all your help with the cycle.

 

[eco23]

Great to hear the news. I'll keep an eye on Ph, right now it's 7.6. Thanks for all your help with the cycle.

7.6 is perfect. Just dose the ammonia back up to 3-4ppm and we'll see what happens by this time tomorrow. No need for thanks, you're the one doing all the work. I'm sure your fish will be grateful.

 

[JimmyA]

Just dosed it up this morning.

 

[JimmyA]

Gonna work on my 55 watt light kit tomorrow.

 

[JimmyA]

Once my cycle is over, will start with Playts.

 

[JimmyA]

My tank is not cycled yet but I got my 55 watt light installed!

 

[eco23]

My tank is not cycled yet but I got my 55 watt light installed!

Looks great man! I like the Marimo Ball, I've got one too.

 

[JimmyA]

Thanks, hopefully the new light will help my plants from dying! Just waiting for my cycle to complete!

 

[JimmyA]

On day 25 now, will check tank tonight but I am not expecting major changes.

 

[JimmyA]

Day 25. Attached is my water. Should I do another 25% water change?

 

[JimmyA]

Added some wisteria and swordtail. I like the swordtail better.

 

[eco23]

Day 25. Attached is my water. Should I do another 25% water change?

Man, you've got some strong and stubborn bacteria. You've got a TON of conversion going on, and that's a really good thing and shows there's not long to go. Is it dropping 3-4ppm ammonia down to 0 in 24 hours?

Personally I'd do more like a 75% water change to get the no2 as low as possible. Once you've got nitrItes down to .5-1, I'd add in ~2-3ppm and let it keep going.

I guarantee you're almost done. The way you're nitrIte keeps spiking and the amount of nitrAtes your tank is producing shows that there's an awesome colony of bacteria chewing through the ammo and no2. Now we've just got to see the no2 start dropping on it's own.

Just make sure you're using dechlorinated water that is the same temperature as the tank when you change the water. Try to do it kinda fast because if the walls of the tank dry out, it can kill some of the bacteria you're working so hard to grow.

 

[eco23]

I love the plants. Hopefully you won't have any trouble with the white gravel. I had all white gravel in mine and had to take out about half and replace it with river rock style substrate to make my fish happy. My upgraded lighting made the tank really bright, and my fish didn't like how much it reflected off the gravel.

You can see pics of how I changed my tank here-
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...lon-bow-just-to-make-a-fish-happy-156996.html

 

[JimmyA]

Maybe I am just adding to much ammonia? I read where you should add 5 drops per 10 gallons per day until the nitrites rise to 5 ppm, then reduce the ammonia to 3 drops per day untill ammonia and nitrites go to 0. The article said the only reason for a water change will be if you add more than 5 drops per 10 gallons, per day.

 

[eco23]

Maybe I am just adding to much ammonia? I read where you should add 5 drops per 10 gallons per day until the nitrites rise to 5 ppm, then reduce the ammonia to 3 drops per day untill ammonia and nitrites go to 0. The article said the only reason for a water change will be if you add more than 5 drops per 10 gallons, per day.

There's a ton of different views...and I've probably seen almost all of them. I adjusted my views based on my own personal experiences and that of others. You can follow whichever you choose, I'd still go the path I recommended, but up to you A pwc and a bit more patience is all you need at this point. It's not taking as long as you think, most cycles take from 1-2 monhs...but if you know what you're doing a month is more of an average time frame.