cj gal
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Hello. I am new to this forum, but not new to fishkeeping. I am helping my teenage son cycle a 55 gal.
We started the cycle 7 weeks ago, dosing the tank with ammonia to 7ppm, with no biological "starter" from an established tank. He added StressZyme (which I know is useless for cycling).
We saw nitrites a week or so into the cycle, and nitrates a week or so after that. (I'm sorry, but he didn't keep an records...) Everything stayed the same from there. We weren't in hurry to finish the cycle, because we were going to be gone for a week over the holidays and didn't want it to finish while we were gone,so we decided to wait it out.
When we got back from our trip, everything was the same as when we left. Ammonia hadn't budged for weeks, and Nitrite around 0.25ppm and nitrate at 5ppm. I thought maybe the ammonia was too high for the cycle to work properly so he did a 50% WC, bringing the ammonia level down to 3ppm. That was on 12/29.
The ammonia stayed at 3 ppm for 2 weeks, with nitrites coming back up to .25, and nitrate to 5ppm soon after the WC and staying there.
On Saturday, 1/14, he did another 50% wc, and added ammonia back up to 3ppm.. Nitrite .15 ppm, Nitrate 5.0
1/16: Amm 3, Nitrite 0.3, Nitrate ?
1/17: Amm 1.5, Nitrite 0.25, Nitrate 7.0
1/18: Amm 1.5, Nitrite 0.25, Nitrate 7.0
I am beginning to doubt everything! Am I even reading the tests accurately?--these color comparisons seem so subjective...
Any thoughts as to why it might be taking so long? And how is it possible to have nitrites and nitrates appearing and no change in ammonia levels?
Any insight would be appreciated!
BTW: tap water is 0 ammo, 0 nitrite, 0 nitrate and very soft. Ph from tap is 6.8, from tank after last water change was 8.0--don't know why the difference from the tap to tank.
We started the cycle 7 weeks ago, dosing the tank with ammonia to 7ppm, with no biological "starter" from an established tank. He added StressZyme (which I know is useless for cycling).
We saw nitrites a week or so into the cycle, and nitrates a week or so after that. (I'm sorry, but he didn't keep an records...) Everything stayed the same from there. We weren't in hurry to finish the cycle, because we were going to be gone for a week over the holidays and didn't want it to finish while we were gone,so we decided to wait it out.
When we got back from our trip, everything was the same as when we left. Ammonia hadn't budged for weeks, and Nitrite around 0.25ppm and nitrate at 5ppm. I thought maybe the ammonia was too high for the cycle to work properly so he did a 50% WC, bringing the ammonia level down to 3ppm. That was on 12/29.
The ammonia stayed at 3 ppm for 2 weeks, with nitrites coming back up to .25, and nitrate to 5ppm soon after the WC and staying there.
On Saturday, 1/14, he did another 50% wc, and added ammonia back up to 3ppm.. Nitrite .15 ppm, Nitrate 5.0
1/16: Amm 3, Nitrite 0.3, Nitrate ?
1/17: Amm 1.5, Nitrite 0.25, Nitrate 7.0
1/18: Amm 1.5, Nitrite 0.25, Nitrate 7.0
I am beginning to doubt everything! Am I even reading the tests accurately?--these color comparisons seem so subjective...
Any thoughts as to why it might be taking so long? And how is it possible to have nitrites and nitrates appearing and no change in ammonia levels?
Any insight would be appreciated!
BTW: tap water is 0 ammo, 0 nitrite, 0 nitrate and very soft. Ph from tap is 6.8, from tank after last water change was 8.0--don't know why the difference from the tap to tank.