Hi everyone! I'm new here, but have gotten some great information from this site. I'm currently cycling a 10 gallon tank. I have Caribsea Naturals substrate, some aragonite stones, some river rock, a few pieces of cholla wood, marimo moss balls and assorted plants, running a sponge filter with a whisper 20 gallon air pump, hydor 50w heater, and finnex planted plus 24/7 light. I'm treating water with seachem prime before adding to aquarium, as well as occasional dosing with seachem flourish, and kicked off the cycle with some tetra safe start. The water is approx 80 degrees. The cycle has been going for about 3 weeks. I dose ammonia up to 4ppm every night, and it's always down to zero in 24 hours. My nitrates are up to 40-80ppm (hard to tell!) My nitrites were off the chart until I did a large (probably 60-75%) pwc, and now they have been hovering around 1-2ppm with no change for a week. It seems like all the critical elements are there, but I'm baffled by the nitrites not dropping! I'm trying to be patient, but I have a betta coming in the mail tomorrow! Am I doing something wrong? Any help is appreciated!
Also FYI, ph is between 7.4-7.6, gh and kh are in the normal range for "most tropical fish and live plants."
HALP!
Also FYI, ph is between 7.4-7.6, gh and kh are in the normal range for "most tropical fish and live plants."
HALP!