fish in cycle advise

[tinxy]

nitrite now off the scale but still very little nitrate come on boys

 

[tinxy]

i dosed to much amonia 2 days ago so did a 20% water change now i have no drop in ammonia my nitrite shows zero and nitrate shows 5 ppm i used tapsafe so no bacteria killing any ideas whats gone wrong cheers james

 

[librarygirl]

If nitrites were up the last time you posted and then came back down the tank should be cycled. So you added ammonia and it didn't disappear 24 hours later? How much did you add? Do you have a log that you can post of your levels for the past 10-14 days so we can see what happened? Also have you tested your PH? A significant PH crash can stall the cycle as well.

 

[tinxy]

ok this is my log so FAR
day ......... ammonia............... nitrite.............. nitrate

1................... 4............. .........0 ........................0
2 ....................4...................... 0........................ 0
3 .....................3.................... .25 ...................... 2
4 .....................3....................... .25...................... 2
5 .....................3 ....................... 5........................ 2
6..................... 3 ........................ 5...................... 5
7.................... .5 toped up to 4 off scale................ 5
8................... .25 topped up to 4 off scale ...............10
9 ................ .25 topped up to 4 off scale ..............10
10.................. .25 toped up to much wc off scale........ 10


now after doing a water change to lower my ammonia as i put to much in i have

11.................. .5 topped up............ 0....................... 5
12.................. .5 topped up............. 0....................... 5



so i seem to be eating less amonia i now have no nitrite and low nitrate

i would assume my tank has cycled if it was getting rid of the amonia alltogeather but it isnt will measure my ph now cheers james

 

[tinxy]

holly crap my ph on high range is 8.4 + so does this mean immediate water change yes ? cheers james

 

[tinxy]

did a water change and its now at 7.4 will ihave done damage im really worried now

 

[librarygirl]

I'm not sure why the PH rose. What's the PH of your tap water? Have you tried letting it sit out for 24 hours and then test the PH again? Sometimes the PH in tap water can change; usually it drops but I guess it could rise as well, not sure on that though.

I'd dose ammonia for another few days and see what happens. It's hard to tell if nitrites came down on their own or from the water changes. We'll see what happens.

 

[tinxy]

many thanks libarygirl youve been excellent with advise

tap water is about 7.4 and doesnt change after 24 hours maybe rises alittle to between 7.4 and 7.8

today we had a little progress

ammonia went from 4 to.5 nitrite is climbing again to .25 so it hasnt happened on its own it was the water change that droped it and nitrate is at 20ppm
and my ph is still 7.4
at least somthings happening i was starting to get disheartend by no progress cheers james

 

[librarygirl]

Glad to hear it. The water change must have kick-started something. Hopefully it won't be too much longer!

 

[tinxy]

today shows .5 ammonia topped up to 4 after
5 nitrite and 20 to 40 ppm of nitrate

ph is still around 7.4 7.8 thanks again james

 

[jlk]

Your doing well!! Glad to see things are progressing in a positive direction. Keep up the good work!

 

[tinxy]

cheers mate today shows .5 ammonia off the scale nitrite and 80ppm of nitrate ph is still good at 7.2

so topped the ammonia again and will let you guys in on how its getting on tomorrow cheers james

 

[tinxy]

todays report ammonia 0.5 nitite off the scale and nitrates is now singing at 80ppm

 

[tinxy]

yesterday showed 0 ammonia .25 nitrite and 80ppm nitrate and
today ammonia 0 no nitrite and 40ppm nitrate

any ideas why these are both dropping with out the water change im confused why my nitrate is dropping on its own ????

cheers james

 

[jlk]

Hi James! So, just so im understanding this correctly, today you have 0 ammonia & 0 nitrite? YAY!!! Im honestly not sure why the nitrate levels dropped. Is your tank planted? Plants use nitrates as a food source. My second guess would be a possible testing error. Make sure you shake & bang the nitrate bottles really well for a full minute before testing because the liquid can clump/crystallize. Keep dosing the ammonia to 4ppm daily for the next few days to see if your ammonia & nitrite keep returning to zero in 24hrs-if they do, your tank is cycled!!!! I wouldnt be too concerned about your nitrate levels as long as the amm/nitrite is zeroing out everyday!

 

[librarygirl]

It's great news your ammonia and nitrites are 0! I'd keep dosing ammonia for a few more days and if they both stay at 0 you have a cycled tank! Nitrates shouldn't really drop on their own unless you have a lot of plants but I agree with Jilk that it could just be a testing error. The nitrate tests are easy to get wrong even if you think you shook the bottles/tube enough sometimes they aren't shaken enough to get an accurate reading. I wouldn't worry about it though. Test a few more days, if ammonia and nitrite stay at 0, then you can plan to get fish this weekend! The night before you get fish do a 100% water change (don't dose ammonia), test it after about a half hour and make sure nitrates are as low as you can get them (you may need to do a couple of water changes if nitrates are high to begin with), and lower your temp to 77-78 for most tropical fish if you have it higher for the cycle.

Do a search on youtube for drip acclimation; it's a good way to properly acclimate your new fish to your tank before putting them in.

Pics of your new fish when you get them! Do you know what you'll be stocking with? Congrats!

 

[tinxy]

thanks guys today ammonia is 0 nitrite is at .25 and my nitrates are blood red yay i think hes just about there just going to hold out till my nitrite shows 0 for a few days hopefully will be getting my chiclids this weekend ph is 7.8 will keep you posted cheers james

 

[tinxy]

thought it may be worth putting that i did my tests about 3 hours earlyer today as i had to go out so may explain the nitrite still around will check in 24 hours bang on tomorrow cheers james

 

[jlk]

Ill keep my fingers crossed for you!

 

[tinxy]

nitrite 0 for two days solid now ,dosed one last time tonight then the water change tomorrow and drop the heater if tests show all is still well many thanks for all the help and support i will put a picture up on sunday nite for you guys to see what i get for the tank thanks again james