i'm doing a FISHLESS CYCLING...my ammonia is above 8.0!!!!!!

[Bubble_Boy]

i read that tooo much ammonia can stall the cycling process..is this true??

2days ago
my ammonia was 4.0ppm
nitrite 0 ppm
nitrate 0 ppm

today
my ammonia is ABOVE 8.0ppm (OFF THE SCALE!!!!)
nitrite 1ppm
nitrate 0ppm

i'm into week 3!!

does this sound right??

should i do a water change?

i also got some filter media (ALOT OF FILTER MEDIA) from my fish store to seed and jumpstart the cycle.
question: how long does it take for the old filter media to kick in and help the cycle???
because i added it to my filter, and there has been no change in my readings.

 

[Menagerie]

That ammonia level is high. What are you using as an ammonia source? Do a 50% water change and keep the ammonia level at 5ppm max. The bacteria you have from the LFS may actually be suffering from such high ammonia levels and not doing the job you want it to do.

 

[Bubble_Boy]

i just did a 50% water change and NOTHING !!!!!

the ammonia level did NOT change !!!!
what's going on???

is my ammonia extremely high????

what do i do????

 

[austinsdad]

Wondering if a product like TLC would help to add some live bacteria?

 

[XXFirefighter]

How are you cycling?
I'd take the shrimp out !

 

[Menagerie]

Please tell us what you are cycling with.

 

[An t-iasg]

If you did a 50% water change with no decrease in the ammonia readings, either the test kit is faulty, or your first reading was actually way over 8 ppm, and the test kit is not accurate over 8 ppm (it still just registers 8 ppm even if the level is over 8 ppm). Take a sample of water to your lfs to confirm your readings.

What type of test kit are you using? Does it have one or two bottles? Are you adding anything like Amquel to the tap water? You do need a dechlorinator if you're using tap water, because the chlorine will kill the good bacteria. If you're using Amquel or another chloramine remover, you need an ammonia test kit with two bottles to accurately read the ammonia levels.

 

[XXFirefighter]

first we need to find out what kind of cycle he is doing, shrimp or whatever...

 

[Bubble_Boy]

YES i am using the 2 bottle test kit !!!!!!

salicylate !!

i did another 10% water change today...and again....NO CHANGE in ammonia reading.

i should also mention that the nitrite fell to 0.
(maybe cuz of the water change).

 

[Bubble_Boy]

i use ammo-lock as my water conditioner.
cuz i'm cycling using zabra danios.

 

[Menagerie]

i did another 10% water change today...and again....NO CHANGE in ammonia reading.

A 10% change will only lower the reading by 0.8ppm if the ammonia is 8ppm. You need to do a few days of 50% PWC to see a decrease. Remember, the bacteria have to deal with the ammonia already in the tank and the ammonia produced by the fish. Stop using ammo-lock and use a plain dechlor to take out chlorine and chloramine. Ammo-lock will prolong the cycle and is not effective.

 

[FawnN]

Ammo-lock will also give you false positive readings. Like Menagerie stated, stop using that and just use the dechlorinator. Do your water change and you should be back on track.