Fishless cycle Back to square 1?

[JZS]

So I started cycling my 10 gallon in January. About 2 weeks ago, my nitrifying bacteria were doing great. So to test my bacteria, i added more ammonia. The result? over 8ppm of ammonia (tested with API Master Kit). Now, every time i add a bit of ammonia, the level goes down at just .25 ppm a day. Did I kill all my bacteria with my overdose? sigh.

 

[Reygan2]

So I started cycling my 10 gallon in January. About 2 weeks ago, my nitrifying bacteria were doing great. So to test my bacteria, i added more ammonia. The result? over 8ppm of ammonia (tested with API Master Kit). Now, every time i add a bit of ammonia, the level goes down at just .25 ppm a day. Did I kill all my bacteria with my overdose? sigh.

Hi! You should do water changes asap until you get your ammonia levels much lower. What are your parameters now? Nitrate? Nitrate? PH?

 

[armymp327]

So I started cycling my 10 gallon in January. About 2 weeks ago, my nitrifying bacteria were doing great. So to test my bacteria, i added more ammonia. The result? over 8ppm of ammonia (tested with API Master Kit). Now, every time i add a bit of ammonia, the level goes down at just .25 ppm a day. Did I kill all my bacteria with my overdose? sigh.

it is possible you could have killed of some of the bacteria with a high enough overdose, however if you acted quickly damage should of been minimal. what are your nitrite and nitrate levels?

 

[JZS]

I don't think I acted quickly enough. I didn't test nitrate, but right now, nitrite is at about 0. Ammonia, slowly going down every time i add about 3 ppm ammonia. My pH is low (has been low ever since my nitrites went down) at about 6.2 pH. I have a few shells in the water but they aren't helping too much.

 

[Reygan2]

I don't think I acted quickly enough. I didn't test nitrate, but right now, nitrite is at about 0. Ammonia, slowly going down every time i add about 3 ppm ammonia. My pH is low (has been low ever since my nitrites went down) at about 6.2 pH. I have a few shells in the water but they aren't helping too much.

Low ph can stall your cycle. A 50%+ water change will raise your ph and help your cycle progress. Personally I wouldn't add any more ammonia until it zeros out. Then check your parameters and dose again. Knowing your nitrates would be helpful. Depending on your stocking plan, dosing to 2 ppm of ammonia should be sufficient in a 10g tank. When that zeros out consistantly for a few days, do a large pwc and get some fish!