Am I on the right track?

[jlbfish]

So we have a 28 gallon freshwater tank with 6 neon tetras. The tank is 76-78 degrees. I test the water with API Master Test Kit.

Today the Ammonia is .25
The Nitrites are 0 and the Nitrates are 0

The ammonia has gone up to 1 but is usually low. We usually do every other day 50% water changes but if it stays low we skip a day here and there to try to help.

We added a live sponge to try to encourage bacteria growth but haven't seen any changes.

Am I being impatient or should I be seeing more? We started the tank around 2-25 (almost 3 weeks ago).

Thanks!
Jana

 

[librarygirl]

It can take a while. Cycling can take 4-8 weeks depending on many factors. It sounds like you're staying on top of things. I'd give it more time.

 

[jlbfish]

Should I be testing for PH as well? We have a 28 gallon fish in cycling and a 20 gallon no fish cycling. Does PH matter in either ?

 

[HeatherW]

I was told to get used to testing the PH. the Ph should remain stable in your fish in cycle and possibly drop in that fishless cycle. thus the reason to go ahead and check it fairly frequently while you are still cycling.

a common problem in the fishless cycle is a PH drop which could stall your cycle. this usually doesn't occur until you start getting really high nitrites.

so far everything looks good - just hang in there! took me a while to get my 20 gallon fish in cycle completed - probably 2 months. but now I am done and it is great!