Day 13 fishless--big nitrite and pH change

[Laurielou]

I may need some help here. This is what has been going on:

Days 9-11 I had nitrites off the chart and nitrates at 5 ppm or so. Ammonia had been decreasing rapidly, 4 to 0 in 24 hours.

Yesterday my nitrites were still high and nitrates were up to 40. Very exciting! I dosed the ammonia back up to 4 last night.

This morning my ammonia was 3, nitrites high, nitrates around 40.
This evening my ammonia was only 2, nitrates only .5 and nitrates around 40.
I also just tested my pH which unfortunately have not been keeping track of. My tap water is 8.2 out of the faucet. My aquarium today read 6.6!

This isn't what I was expecting. I am guessing I should do a water change. Would 50% be good?

In case it matters I have Caribsea Peace River (it is an instant aqaurium gravel), some Malaysian wood from the LFS, and 5 low-light plants. Plus some brown stuff, I guess it is algae and part of my life now! I am using the API master kit, and my water was treated with Seachem Prime.

I have read some of the cycling threads, the EcoComplete log is good! Still I am not sure what is up with my tank. Is this normal?

 

[eco23]

pH crash. Normal at the end of a fishless cycle. I'd do a massive pwc (maybe 70-80%) to restore the natural pH value and refresh the buffers which hold pH stable. It seems like you caught it fairly early, so not too much damage can be done. Dramatic pH swings can shock the bacteria and pause things for a couple days, but it will bounce right back. Good news is that crashes tend to signify the end of a fishless cycle...they can just press rewind a couple days.

Check out this article, it has some info on pH crashes-
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...guide-and-faq-to-fishless-cycling-148283.html

* And the brown stuff is probably diatoms. Normal for a new tank.

 

[Laurielou]

Thanks eco! Yes, I have a printout of your guide and have been following its directions closely. I guess I was expecting the nitrates to go up more and then do my big water change. Glad I tested the pH!

Diatoms, sounds like something that would be good for my garden. I will try to lug a couple buckets outside for my veggies.

Thank you so much for your reply and your article!