Oddness87
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
So I'm in the middle of cycling my first tank which is a 45 gallon and there are a few things going on in my tank and need some guidance on as my thread title stated.
1. My cycle has stalled in converting ammonia to nitrogen, The bacteria is still processing the ammonia but at a much slower rate than before. The nitrite that is being produced by this is being converted to Nitrates fine and very quickly.
2. I have recently (2 weeks ago) added floating hornwort to my tank which may be boosting the nitrites to nitrates phase.
3. My PH has dropped to 6.0 or less. My tap water PH is showing about 6.8.
Yesterday 4/30 I completed a 50% water change to see if this would help the PH rise. Prior to the PWC, my PH was 6.0 or less and Ammonia was about 1ppm, Nitrite was 0ppm and Nitrate was about 40ppm.
I checked the tank this morning 5/1 and dosed the ammonia to about 3ppm and Nitrites were showing about 4ppm and I didn't test Nitrates. The PH was up to 7.2
My latest test as of 6:00pm 5/1 is as follows
Ammonia 2ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 30ppm
PH is 6.0 or less.
Could my Hornwort be lowering my PH significantly or should I be completing more PWC to keep my PH stable to finish the cycle.
Any guidance as to what is going on or maybe I am missing something that a keener eye may catch?
Thanks in advance to your responses
1. My cycle has stalled in converting ammonia to nitrogen, The bacteria is still processing the ammonia but at a much slower rate than before. The nitrite that is being produced by this is being converted to Nitrates fine and very quickly.
2. I have recently (2 weeks ago) added floating hornwort to my tank which may be boosting the nitrites to nitrates phase.
3. My PH has dropped to 6.0 or less. My tap water PH is showing about 6.8.
Yesterday 4/30 I completed a 50% water change to see if this would help the PH rise. Prior to the PWC, my PH was 6.0 or less and Ammonia was about 1ppm, Nitrite was 0ppm and Nitrate was about 40ppm.
I checked the tank this morning 5/1 and dosed the ammonia to about 3ppm and Nitrites were showing about 4ppm and I didn't test Nitrates. The PH was up to 7.2
My latest test as of 6:00pm 5/1 is as follows
Ammonia 2ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 30ppm
PH is 6.0 or less.
Could my Hornwort be lowering my PH significantly or should I be completing more PWC to keep my PH stable to finish the cycle.
Any guidance as to what is going on or maybe I am missing something that a keener eye may catch?
Thanks in advance to your responses