BldrArch
Aquarium Advice Regular
Hi ya'll. Long story short, I got a 20 gal from Petco (hides under chair) and besides about a year long stint with a 20 gal in college, I am a total newb. Or noob...or whatever. Didn't know what I was doing then either.
I got the tank and then the next day found this wonderful forum! So, here's what's goin' on:
1. Against my husband's wishes, I decided to do a fishless cycle after discovering you helpful folk.
2. Today is day 11 of my cycle. But I didn't know to add ammonia until after reading Fishless Cycling for Dummies so theoretically, I'm on day 9 of my cycle.
3. Being the newb I am, I did purchase about 4 live plants from aforementioned "pet" store so they are in my tank (which I think 2 of them are on the way out because I don't know what I'm doing there either...sigh).
4. Added 2 tsp ammonia (purchased from Ace) to my 20 gal. Shot my ammonia up to undetectable leves so did a PWC and got it down to around 5-6ppm.
Here's where it's getting wierd. 2 days ago (day 7 post ammonia) my nitrItes started registering and I got the faintest detection of NitrAte. And my ammonia started coming down. Is this even possible so soon?
Today (cycle day 9) here are my readings (OK, to throw another wrench in the works, I got the test strips pre-AA forum but just received my API kit today. So, AM's readings are strips, the later readings from today are API):
Ammonia: 0 (after being around 5ppm for the last week)
NitrIte: is so high it's off the chart (2 days ago it was around 3.0ppm)
NitrAte: around 20 ppm (again, strips...hard to tell). 2 days ago it was more than 0 but barely detectable.
PH: 6.8
Alkalinity: 0
I then added 1/4 tsp ammonia to bring that back up. About 2 hours later with my API kit I get:
Ammonia: 2.0 ppm
NitrIte: is so high it's off the chart
NitrAte: 5.0 ppm (not sure why it's so different from the strip's reading)
PH: has risen to 7.4-7.6 (which makes some sense to me re: ammonia)
Is this normal after only a week? Should I do a PWC to get the NitrItes back down? I think I read on here that too high of nitrItes can actually stall the cycle?
Also, my alkalinity had been reading around 80 this whole week and all of a sudden it's 0. Is this cause for concern? Maybe someone could school me on the importance of alkalinity and why my strips test for it but the API kit does not?
Thanks all!!
Oh, and for those who want the long story:
I wanted to get a Betta and a 5 gal w/heater, filter, etc. for my daughter. Went to the store and saw I was going to spend around $50 for a kit. Lo and behold they had the 20 gal on sale for $45 down from $100...sigh. Looks like I won't be getting that Betta after all...unless you can recommend good community fish for it??
I got the tank and then the next day found this wonderful forum! So, here's what's goin' on:
1. Against my husband's wishes, I decided to do a fishless cycle after discovering you helpful folk.
2. Today is day 11 of my cycle. But I didn't know to add ammonia until after reading Fishless Cycling for Dummies so theoretically, I'm on day 9 of my cycle.
3. Being the newb I am, I did purchase about 4 live plants from aforementioned "pet" store so they are in my tank (which I think 2 of them are on the way out because I don't know what I'm doing there either...sigh).
4. Added 2 tsp ammonia (purchased from Ace) to my 20 gal. Shot my ammonia up to undetectable leves so did a PWC and got it down to around 5-6ppm.
Here's where it's getting wierd. 2 days ago (day 7 post ammonia) my nitrItes started registering and I got the faintest detection of NitrAte. And my ammonia started coming down. Is this even possible so soon?
Today (cycle day 9) here are my readings (OK, to throw another wrench in the works, I got the test strips pre-AA forum but just received my API kit today. So, AM's readings are strips, the later readings from today are API):
Ammonia: 0 (after being around 5ppm for the last week)
NitrIte: is so high it's off the chart (2 days ago it was around 3.0ppm)
NitrAte: around 20 ppm (again, strips...hard to tell). 2 days ago it was more than 0 but barely detectable.
PH: 6.8
Alkalinity: 0
I then added 1/4 tsp ammonia to bring that back up. About 2 hours later with my API kit I get:
Ammonia: 2.0 ppm
NitrIte: is so high it's off the chart
NitrAte: 5.0 ppm (not sure why it's so different from the strip's reading)
PH: has risen to 7.4-7.6 (which makes some sense to me re: ammonia)
Is this normal after only a week? Should I do a PWC to get the NitrItes back down? I think I read on here that too high of nitrItes can actually stall the cycle?
Also, my alkalinity had been reading around 80 this whole week and all of a sudden it's 0. Is this cause for concern? Maybe someone could school me on the importance of alkalinity and why my strips test for it but the API kit does not?
Thanks all!!
Oh, and for those who want the long story:
I wanted to get a Betta and a 5 gal w/heater, filter, etc. for my daughter. Went to the store and saw I was going to spend around $50 for a kit. Lo and behold they had the 20 gal on sale for $45 down from $100...sigh. Looks like I won't be getting that Betta after all...unless you can recommend good community fish for it??