Fishless Cycle Confused

[chadthedad]

Well, I tested last night and still had zero Nitrites so the test has to be wrong. I tested Nitrate last night too and that is up to 5 so there has to be nitrite in the water (right?, right?). Before I go and get a replacement Nitrite kit are there any common mistakes that are made with the API drop nitrite test? Basically I put 5ml of water in the tube, add 5 drops of nitrite test stuff and shake it up for 5 seconds. then wait 5 minutes for the result.

Thanks again for your help.

 

[chadthedad]

Got to the LFS today had my water tested and sure enough there were those little pesky nitrites. I bought a replacement nitirite test and tested at home today.

Ammonia 0
nitrite .75
nitrate 15

I added more ammonia to get that back up. Unfortunately I don't know if my Nitrite is on the way up or down. I guess I will know over the next couple days.

Thanks again for all the help.

 

[CatatonicBug]

Sounds good. Just keep adding ammonia on a daily basis to keep it up to 4-5 ppm, until tests show zero Ammonia and zero Nitrites 24 hours after adding the ammonia.
You're almost there!

 

[chadthedad]

So I am now to the point where my ammonia level goes from 4 to 0 in less than 24 hrs. Nitrite is on the rise as is Nitrate. I decided to test pH today as well and it's at 8.4 which is high for the fish I want to keep. What are some inexpensive ways to bring that down to around 7 or so. I think driftwood does this but how much driftwood would I need in my 75 to bring it down? I am planning on adding a couple pieces to grow some low light plants on. will that be sufficient? I think crushed coral effects pH as well but I'm not sure if that is for FW or SW and if it brings the pH up or down. Any info would be great.

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

Normally you do Not want to mess with the PH, especially with chemicals as it will lead to instability and possible/probable crash. Most will tell that stability of the PH is much more important then the actual number. That being said my PH is 8.0 as it all of the LFS in the area, the LFS only alters PH for there discus tank, all others are fine.

So which fish exactly are you considering? Its a good idea to call all the LFS in your area and ask them about the PH and if they alter it. So I guess if your getting fish from another source it would be good to ask the PH that the fish are in there also.

So basically unless its a rare/wild caught fish then it should get used to your PH and do fine. Now some like specific PH's for the fish to breed, again most common fish sold PH is not an issue

Natural ways to change PH include:
Crushed coral is used to raise/buffer PH, I read ~7.8 is about max that it will do(not positive on ths).

Peat is used to lower the PH

Now I have recently added driftwood into my tank(8.0PH) and it has been reading 7.6pH lately. I was not aware of this before hand but seems to confirm what you mentioned.

 

[Purrbox]

Something else to keep in mind is that the process of cycling can throw off your pH test results. I would worry about checking your pH until after the cycle is complete.

Most fish will be fine with your natural pH, so you probably won't need to worry about changing it. If you do have to change it for say Discus or breeding certain fish, then don't use chemicals to adjust it. You can bring it down some with Peat and/or Driftwood, but your best bet to target a specific pH would be to use a RO unit and then mix the RO water with the waste water to get the specific water that you want.

 

[chadthedad]

Next question...

My nitrite test now turns almost a brown color instead of the purple on the chart. I think I read something that when the nitrite gets super high the API test will show a brown or green instead of the blue to purple. I couldn't find that info again so I thought I would ask. Also, if it's that high should I do a water change to reduce it a bit or just let it go?

Thanks

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

If you feeling that the cycle is stalling a PWC may help to get it to finish, I guess this could be debatable. I'm not sure what brown on the nitrite test means? Have you repeated the test with the same result?

 

[chadthedad]

Last night it was back in the purple at 5ppm. Hopefully this means it's dropping. I have only been cycling for three weeks so it hasn't been too long yet. Just growing impatient

 

[chadthedad]

It is finished! My cycle is complete. Ammonia and Nitrites drop to zero and nitrate is sky high. I'm doing a large water change tonight and planning to get fish tomorrow.

One last question... I added ammonia last night again and will do my water change tonight. Do I add ammonia again tonight or let it go until I add fish tomorrow night?

Thanks again for all your help it's been an adventure.

 

[rich311k]

One more addition would not hurt. It should go to zero in 24 hours, that way you will know for sure you are done.

 

[Purrbox]

As long as the fish are added within 24 hours of the last dose of Ammonia you should be fine. I'd wait on the water change until right before the fish are added (within a couple of hours) if at all feasible.