whiddett
Aquarium Advice Regular
Hi. I started a new 260 litre tank on 15th May. It is freshwater and has about 8 fish in it. 5 Fish I added after the first couple of days. It has 4 plants and gravel substrate.
I bought an API master test kit about 4 weeks into my cycle and found I had Ammonia 1ppm, Nitrite 0ppm, Nitrate 10ppm, PH 8.0.
I have been using API stress coat and stress zyme as my only additives. I have been testing my water about every other day and nothing seems to be changing. I have this constant 1ppm Ammonia, no nitrite and no increase in nitrate. I tried seeding the tank with a sponge and some gravel from my smaller established setup but still nothing has changed. I've also kept the feeding low. But Im now 2 months into my cycle and still I have this constant 1ppm ammonia level. The fish however all seem well coloured and happy. Has anyone got any idea what is going on here? Surely I should have developed enough bacteria to get rid of this Ammonia by now???
One idea I have had is that maybe the Stress Coat has converted the ammonia to ammonium but I would have thought this would still be consumed by the bacteria? I'm not sure what stress coat does regarding ammonia because the bottle says it removes ammonia from tap water but does not give any further details. Your advice is appreciated as always.
I bought an API master test kit about 4 weeks into my cycle and found I had Ammonia 1ppm, Nitrite 0ppm, Nitrate 10ppm, PH 8.0.
I have been using API stress coat and stress zyme as my only additives. I have been testing my water about every other day and nothing seems to be changing. I have this constant 1ppm Ammonia, no nitrite and no increase in nitrate. I tried seeding the tank with a sponge and some gravel from my smaller established setup but still nothing has changed. I've also kept the feeding low. But Im now 2 months into my cycle and still I have this constant 1ppm ammonia level. The fish however all seem well coloured and happy. Has anyone got any idea what is going on here? Surely I should have developed enough bacteria to get rid of this Ammonia by now???
One idea I have had is that maybe the Stress Coat has converted the ammonia to ammonium but I would have thought this would still be consumed by the bacteria? I'm not sure what stress coat does regarding ammonia because the bottle says it removes ammonia from tap water but does not give any further details. Your advice is appreciated as always.