lbr1022
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
We got a 20 gallon tank about 1 month ago, got a blue crayfish for it, and then learned about cycling (oops). So we've been cycling and blue cray appears to be handling it well. She's a tough one!
The ammonia spiked for a few days and then went down again to zero, as expected, but we've been in a nitrite spike for the past 14 days (guessing levels are between 2 and 5+...the color in the test tube comes out a magenta color but it doesn't really match ANY of the colors on the API freshwater master test kit level card - which is weird....anyone else have this problem?).
How long is a fish-in, first time nitrite phase of cycling supposed to last?
We add SeaChem Prime to the water to detoxify the nitrite while the cycle runs its course, the tank is only about 70% full to allow for increased oxygenation (we already have a pump and wall bubbler in there), we put in a fresh carbon filter, and I've been doing about a 20% water change with RO water every 2-3 days to try to help bring down the nitrite naturally. Today the nitrates tested at 10, which I hope is a sign that the nitrites will start to go down soon.
Is it normal for the nitrite spike to last this long?
Anything else I should be doing to bring it down naturally?
And does anyone else have the API Freshwater Master Test Kit and have color readings n nitrite that don't match the card?
Thanks!
The ammonia spiked for a few days and then went down again to zero, as expected, but we've been in a nitrite spike for the past 14 days (guessing levels are between 2 and 5+...the color in the test tube comes out a magenta color but it doesn't really match ANY of the colors on the API freshwater master test kit level card - which is weird....anyone else have this problem?).
How long is a fish-in, first time nitrite phase of cycling supposed to last?
We add SeaChem Prime to the water to detoxify the nitrite while the cycle runs its course, the tank is only about 70% full to allow for increased oxygenation (we already have a pump and wall bubbler in there), we put in a fresh carbon filter, and I've been doing about a 20% water change with RO water every 2-3 days to try to help bring down the nitrite naturally. Today the nitrates tested at 10, which I hope is a sign that the nitrites will start to go down soon.
Is it normal for the nitrite spike to last this long?
Anything else I should be doing to bring it down naturally?
And does anyone else have the API Freshwater Master Test Kit and have color readings n nitrite that don't match the card?
Thanks!
