Hi there this is my first post to the forum. Name is chase from minneapolis.
I'm starting a mbuna cichlid tank. I got marine sand, rocks from lake superior and river rocks from a landscaping place. All rocks passed the vinegar test. I have a 36 gallon bowfront with two filters rated for 200gph each. I filled the tank with the substrate(aragonite) and rocks and ran it for 2 or 3 days without adding anything besides a little bit of flake food(at the time i thought i was doing the right thing, but now i realize that was maybe dumb).In the midst of adding the rocks and such i have probably done a 70%-80% water change total. today i got my test kits in the mail and bought some ammonia that i Know is safe to put in the tank(ace hardware janitorial strength). I tested ph for fun and it is at about 8.2. I added ammonia(to start a fishless cycle) and the level in the tank reads about 3ppm-4ppm. I went to work for 7 hours and came home and tested nitrites for fun and BOOM off the charts or at least 5ppm. I also tested nitrate for fun and that even looked to be about 5ppm. How the .... is this possible? Where have i gone wrong if I did?
Thanks!
Also now it looks as tho there are nitrites in my tap water(between .5 and1)
i also tested the tap water for ammonia and it read zero so then i dechlorinated a glass full and tested the ammonia in that and it tested positive but low(cant remember how much). i'm thinking the dechlorinater threw it off because i tested that sample five minutes after dechlorinating it.
I now have some established gravel i can get from a neighbor i was thinking i would get a bio bag and fill it and throw that in one of my filters.good idea?
I'm starting a mbuna cichlid tank. I got marine sand, rocks from lake superior and river rocks from a landscaping place. All rocks passed the vinegar test. I have a 36 gallon bowfront with two filters rated for 200gph each. I filled the tank with the substrate(aragonite) and rocks and ran it for 2 or 3 days without adding anything besides a little bit of flake food(at the time i thought i was doing the right thing, but now i realize that was maybe dumb).In the midst of adding the rocks and such i have probably done a 70%-80% water change total. today i got my test kits in the mail and bought some ammonia that i Know is safe to put in the tank(ace hardware janitorial strength). I tested ph for fun and it is at about 8.2. I added ammonia(to start a fishless cycle) and the level in the tank reads about 3ppm-4ppm. I went to work for 7 hours and came home and tested nitrites for fun and BOOM off the charts or at least 5ppm. I also tested nitrate for fun and that even looked to be about 5ppm. How the .... is this possible? Where have i gone wrong if I did?
Thanks!
Also now it looks as tho there are nitrites in my tap water(between .5 and1)
i also tested the tap water for ammonia and it read zero so then i dechlorinated a glass full and tested the ammonia in that and it tested positive but low(cant remember how much). i'm thinking the dechlorinater threw it off because i tested that sample five minutes after dechlorinating it.
I now have some established gravel i can get from a neighbor i was thinking i would get a bio bag and fill it and throw that in one of my filters.good idea?