been cycling my tank and i just checked my water levels yesterday, my nitrite and nitrate are reading 0 but my ammonia is somewhere between .5 and .25 and my ph is around 7.6. so is my water safe for fish yet, and if not whats my best plan of action here.... thanks
cycle and Ammonia levels
- Thread starter cconnel1
- Start date
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shellieca
Aquarium Advice Addict
How long have you been cycling? I'm guessing you are doing a fish LESS cycle? You're readings should be 0 ammonia & nitrItes, <40 nitrAtes. What are you using as an ammonia source? I wouldn't add any fish until your BB is able to process 4 ppm ammonia down to 0 in a 24 hr period 2 or 3 days in a row.
phishfriend
Aquarium Advice Addict
I think its safe to say your tank isn't cycled. I also assume your doing a fish less cycle. What is your cycle routine? I think you may be missing a few steps, which has caused your cycle to stall but we need more info. Did you add ammonia after yesterdays test? Plus all the questions Shell asked.
librarygirl
Look It Up
Cycling how? Just letting it run doesn't cycle it; you need to add an ammonia source to grow the bacteria. I suspect the .25 is coming from your tap water; or are you adding pure ammonia every 24 hours and it drops to .25? Check out this link; it explains cycling and how to go about it: https://www.aquariumadvice.com/guide-to-starting-a-freshwater-aquarium/
shellieca
Aquarium Advice Addict
cconnel1 said:
Fish IN can take 6-8 wks to complete & with Goldie's you'll have a bigger bio load so its even more important to test daily & do water changes. I had one tank that didn't show nitrItes until week 6 & they lasted for 2 wks, it took 8 wks to complete the fish IN cycling.
librarygirl
Look It Up
What size tank and how many fish and how large are they? What test kit are you using? Strips aren't very accurate. Unless it's a fairly large tank or/and the fish are very small I would think you'd be seeing higher ammonia levels by now.
