Update on where everything is trying to in cycle with my rainbows.. I added about 1 cup of Fritz 7 two days ago and now I’ll show you my parameters.. I need to know what to do going forward starting today please, water changes etc !?Yes.
I don’t think my 55 gallon tank has ever cycled in 1 year?
- Thread starter kevin lee
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Difficult to say as your test is just a snapshot. Would be more useful to have a daily timeline of test results and water changes.
If you havent done a water change in a week and the ammonia has stayed pretty much at that level, then its a sign your cycle is establishing as the ammonia isnt rising. If you have been doing as recommended and testing daily, doing water changes as needed to keep ammonia below 0.5ppm, and today its jumped to 2ppm then thats not good.
On the face of it you are in a similar position you where when you 1st posted a couple of weeks ago. Your ammonia is at harmful levels, it looks like you have a tiny amount of nitrite, so your have some cycle going on. Your pH has dropped which is a sign the KH you was artificially buffering with baking soda is depleted. The low pH is why your fish arent suffering from ammonia poisoning.
If you intend to just let the pH stay acidic, then i would just stop worrying about cycling the tank and get into a regular water changing routine. If you want to keep the pH higher by buffering the KH, then the ammonia is too high and you need to do water changes to get it below 0.5ppm and going forward keep below that level until your aquarium cycles which could take several weeks more.
If you havent done a water change in a week and the ammonia has stayed pretty much at that level, then its a sign your cycle is establishing as the ammonia isnt rising. If you have been doing as recommended and testing daily, doing water changes as needed to keep ammonia below 0.5ppm, and today its jumped to 2ppm then thats not good.
On the face of it you are in a similar position you where when you 1st posted a couple of weeks ago. Your ammonia is at harmful levels, it looks like you have a tiny amount of nitrite, so your have some cycle going on. Your pH has dropped which is a sign the KH you was artificially buffering with baking soda is depleted. The low pH is why your fish arent suffering from ammonia poisoning.
If you intend to just let the pH stay acidic, then i would just stop worrying about cycling the tank and get into a regular water changing routine. If you want to keep the pH higher by buffering the KH, then the ammonia is too high and you need to do water changes to get it below 0.5ppm and going forward keep below that level until your aquarium cycles which could take several weeks more.
I don’t intend to do nothing to my ph.. I just did a 50% water change and 5x dose prime, and added about 1/2 cup of Fritz 7…. I hope that is the right description to start at !?
Andy Sager
Aquarium Advice Addict
As Aiken noted, looking at pics online is not always the best as what I see on my screen may not be what others see on their screen or what you see with your eyes. That said, it does look like your Ph is 6.4 which means that nitrification is not happening quickly and your ammonia level is from ammonium not ammonia so as said, the fish aren't being poisoned. You have to be careful doing large volume water changes because if you raise the Ph too quickly and it goes higher than 6.8, the ammonium is instantly converted to toxic ammonia and the PRIME, no matter how much you use, will not keep it non toxic for more than 48 hours max. ( as per my previous conversation with Seachem rep.) So what to do will all be based on what our current Ph is now after the water change.
This is a good article on nitrifying bacteria that it might help you better understand why things are doing what they are doing.
Nitrifying Bacteria | Tropical Fish Hobbyist MagazineAs you suggest please
Here is my parameters today::As you suggest please
Nitrites between .50 ppm & 1.0 ppm
Nitrates:: 7 ppm
Ammonia:: 0.25 ppm
Ph:: 6.2 ppm
I see some changes to my nitrite hopefully this is a good sign going forward to in cycle this tank.. so now what do I do? Any water changes or not etc. please !?
Thats the same photo you posted yesterday. IMG_4978.
Assuming your above post about the test results are correct, yes change 50% water. If you are now seeing higher nitrite than ammonia your focus shifts from ammonia poisoning to nitrite poisoning. Similar to ammonia change water to prevent nitrite exceeding 0.5ppm.
Nitrite toxicity works the other way round to ammonia toxicity. While ammonia is toxic at high pH and non toxic at low pH, nitrite is non toxic at high pH, and toxic at low pH.
Assuming your above post about the test results are correct, yes change 50% water. If you are now seeing higher nitrite than ammonia your focus shifts from ammonia poisoning to nitrite poisoning. Similar to ammonia change water to prevent nitrite exceeding 0.5ppm.
Nitrite toxicity works the other way round to ammonia toxicity. While ammonia is toxic at high pH and non toxic at low pH, nitrite is non toxic at high pH, and toxic at low pH.
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No need for a water change today. See how things are tomorrow.
Ok, thanks so much
Only thing i would say is your pH keeps dropping which will inhibit the nitrogen cycle. As said before if you arent planning on buffering the water any more there is no point cycling the tank.
This is what prevented your aquarium cycling in the first place.
This is what prevented your aquarium cycling in the first place.
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I don’t understand buffering my tank anymore, I have some crush coral from co-op what should I do.. I want my tank to cycle !?
Your pH is dropping because there isnt enough carbonate hardness (KH). The microbes responsible for the cycle use KH in the process of turning ammonia into nitrite and nitrite into nitrate. The crushed coral is adding KH as it slowly disolves, but it is being used by the nitrogen cycle quicker than it is going into the water from the crushed coral. From your post #5 you said that the crushed coral wasnt working so you started to mix in baking soda with your water and that seemed to be working at keeping your pH higher. Presumably you stopped doing adding baking soda with your water changes.
The natural processes in aquariums tend to make water more acidic. KH in the water absorbs acid, so it will raise your pH, and prevent that natural acidification happening. Adding KH is called buffering as it creates a buffer against acid. Once KH is used up the buffering stops and those natural processes will acidify the water and your pH will start to drop. Thats what you are seeing. And as said, the microbes need KH to turn ammonia onto nitrite and nitrite into nitrate. So when KH gets depleted the nitrogen cycle stops functioning. This is what happened in your tank before you started to add the baking soda, and why your tank didnt cycle.
But also, as we said, ammonia isnt toxic in acidic water, so while the nitrogen cycle doesnt function at low pH, it doesnt matter. You dont need to cycle an aquarium with a pH as low as 6.
If you are no longer going to buffer the water you dont need to cycle the aquarium. You say your fish where happy and healthy. If you want a higher pH, you need to continue adding the baking soda to a level you are happy with, that will raise both the pH and KH and allow your tank to cycle properly.
Whats probably happening is that the crushed coral is adding a little KH, which is being used up cycling the tank, so you are seeing some nitrite, but it quickly gets used up which could prevent your aquarium cycling properly and is causing that pH to keep dropping.
The natural processes in aquariums tend to make water more acidic. KH in the water absorbs acid, so it will raise your pH, and prevent that natural acidification happening. Adding KH is called buffering as it creates a buffer against acid. Once KH is used up the buffering stops and those natural processes will acidify the water and your pH will start to drop. Thats what you are seeing. And as said, the microbes need KH to turn ammonia onto nitrite and nitrite into nitrate. So when KH gets depleted the nitrogen cycle stops functioning. This is what happened in your tank before you started to add the baking soda, and why your tank didnt cycle.
But also, as we said, ammonia isnt toxic in acidic water, so while the nitrogen cycle doesnt function at low pH, it doesnt matter. You dont need to cycle an aquarium with a pH as low as 6.
If you are no longer going to buffer the water you dont need to cycle the aquarium. You say your fish where happy and healthy. If you want a higher pH, you need to continue adding the baking soda to a level you are happy with, that will raise both the pH and KH and allow your tank to cycle properly.
Whats probably happening is that the crushed coral is adding a little KH, which is being used up cycling the tank, so you are seeing some nitrite, but it quickly gets used up which could prevent your aquarium cycling properly and is causing that pH to keep dropping.
