Ok, I have a 40 gallon. Rocks driftwood and several live plants. I've been doing a fishless cycle. Everything was going fine. Now my ammo is almost none but not quite, my nitrites are zero and my nitrates are sky high! Which is a good sign. Should I continue to dose ammo and check to see if it will go to zero in 24 hrs? Or do I do the big water change? Also my PH dropped from 7.6 and higher to around 6.0! Any suggestions on boosting it to a neutral level?
Cycling progress.
- Thread starter criderd
- Start date
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threnjen
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Dose the ammo and watch for it to 0 in 24 hours.
But first - right now you are stalled at 6.0 pH; add some baking soda (maybe 1/2 tsp) to get your pH back up. This is a fix ONLY for the fishless cycling period. Once you are cycled your pH won't drop out of whack like this all the time. This is a side of effect of the fishless cycling process if you have soft water. You do need to do this step as nitrification is halted at pH 6.0. Once you boost it back up you will likely find you are cycled.
When you clear in 24 hours, perform the largest water change you can (90%), wait 24 hours for your pH to settle, and get your fish.
But first - right now you are stalled at 6.0 pH; add some baking soda (maybe 1/2 tsp) to get your pH back up. This is a fix ONLY for the fishless cycling period. Once you are cycled your pH won't drop out of whack like this all the time. This is a side of effect of the fishless cycling process if you have soft water. You do need to do this step as nitrification is halted at pH 6.0. Once you boost it back up you will likely find you are cycled.
When you clear in 24 hours, perform the largest water change you can (90%), wait 24 hours for your pH to settle, and get your fish.
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