Right, this is the scenario:
Got a used Juwel 300 and set it up before Xmas. Sadly I hadn´t done my research so everything got thoroughly washed and dried (read: filter sponges!).
Not the gravel though, and given how many snails survived, bacteria may as well. I put plant substrate underneath the gravel, in went the rocks, root and plants. The tap water here (Iceland) is perfectly clean and needs no purification. pH around 8.8 as I recall. It´s very soft water, although I don´t have the actual figures - does it matter?
My tank was bubbling on it´s own till the new year, when my API master test kit arrived. On the 8th I had 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites and 40 ppm nitrites. pH 7,5. The next day I put in 2 teaspoons of Salt of Hartshorn, which is just Ammonium bicarbonate (e 503). This got the ammonia to 0,4 ppm.
On the third day after this, the ammonia got down to 0,2 and nitrites showed the same. After this I added ammonia daily (to 0,4), dropping as low as 0,05 in 24 hours. Thought I was almost there, although nitrites weren´t showing. After a few days of adding ammonia, it stopped dropping and nitrites were showing 0 again. pH is now 6 or less (the test doesn´t go any lower). Nitrites are 40-80 (difficult to tell as it´s almost the same shade of colour).
I have the heat up to almost 30°C and full blast of air. In the filter I put a new Juwel Nitrax (anti-nitrate) and Juwel Carbon Sponge, as well as the mechanical Poly Pads. For bio-filter I used two old sponges as well as the used Cirax.
The low acidity would be the bicarbonate part of what I use to get ammonia. I´ve used advice on your site for my fishless cycle and according to this the pH should be above 6,5. Could my low acidity have stalled the cycle that was appearing to be almost there? Or are some other dark forces at work? Should I do some FWC to get the pH a bit higher?
Got a used Juwel 300 and set it up before Xmas. Sadly I hadn´t done my research so everything got thoroughly washed and dried (read: filter sponges!).
Not the gravel though, and given how many snails survived, bacteria may as well. I put plant substrate underneath the gravel, in went the rocks, root and plants. The tap water here (Iceland) is perfectly clean and needs no purification. pH around 8.8 as I recall. It´s very soft water, although I don´t have the actual figures - does it matter?My tank was bubbling on it´s own till the new year, when my API master test kit arrived. On the 8th I had 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites and 40 ppm nitrites. pH 7,5. The next day I put in 2 teaspoons of Salt of Hartshorn, which is just Ammonium bicarbonate (e 503). This got the ammonia to 0,4 ppm.
On the third day after this, the ammonia got down to 0,2 and nitrites showed the same. After this I added ammonia daily (to 0,4), dropping as low as 0,05 in 24 hours. Thought I was almost there, although nitrites weren´t showing. After a few days of adding ammonia, it stopped dropping and nitrites were showing 0 again. pH is now 6 or less (the test doesn´t go any lower). Nitrites are 40-80 (difficult to tell as it´s almost the same shade of colour).
I have the heat up to almost 30°C and full blast of air. In the filter I put a new Juwel Nitrax (anti-nitrate) and Juwel Carbon Sponge, as well as the mechanical Poly Pads. For bio-filter I used two old sponges as well as the used Cirax.
The low acidity would be the bicarbonate part of what I use to get ammonia. I´ve used advice on your site for my fishless cycle and according to this the pH should be above 6,5. Could my low acidity have stalled the cycle that was appearing to be almost there? Or are some other dark forces at work? Should I do some FWC to get the pH a bit higher?
