Fishless Cycle opinions needed!

[chazeman2]

I have been fishless cycling for just over 4 weeks now. have been following the Almost Complete guide to it from this forum almost to a T. For the past two weeks my ammonia has been getting eaten.(slowly at first and now within 12 hours) . My nitrites seem to be a bit lower they were off the charts now they are around 2 or 3, but no nitrate increase yet.

What should I do?if anything.

Thanks!!

 

[jlk]

Hi! Has your ph been staying stable? The ohter thing is to make sure you really shake and bang those nitrate bottles on a hard surface before testing for a full 1-2mins. If they are not well mixed, they will give a zero or very low result. Do you have plants in this tank?

 

[Reygan2]

+1 ph crashes will definitely stall your cycle.

 

[chazeman2]

Hi! Has your ph been staying stable? The ohter thing is to make sure you really shake and bang those nitrate bottles on a hard surface before testing for a full 1-2mins. If they are not well mixed, they will give a zero or very low result. Do you have plants in this tank?

I have shaken according to directions, but maybe should do it a bit better. My ph started at about 8.2-8.3 now it is down to 7.6-7.8

 

[jlk]

Try retesting after you have really shaken & banged those bottles and see if you get a different result. Make sure you shake the tube for atleast 30secs after adding the 1st drops and then again for another 30secs after adding the 2nd drops. Your ph is not at a critical level for for stalling a cycle but it has dropped a bit and will likely continue to drop. It would be a good idea to do a 50% water change with temperature matched, properly conditioned water before you dose ammonia again and continue to keep a close eye on it.

 

[chazeman2]

Try retesting after you have really shaken & banged those bottles and see if you get a different result. Make sure you shake the tube for atleast 30secs after adding the 1st drops and then again for another 30secs after adding the 2nd drops. Your ph is not at a critical level for for stalling a cycle but it has dropped a bit and will likely continue to drop. It would be a good idea to do a 50% water change with temperature matched, properly conditioned water before you dose ammonia again and continue to keep a close eye on it.

Thank you. I have aqueon water conditioner and prime. Should i avoid using prime during the cycle because it removes nitrites and ammonia?

 

[chazeman2]

shook the H out of those bottles and no difference.

 

[jlk]

Thanks! A bit odd in respect to your nitrates but nothing to be overly concerned about. Yes, you can use Prime if you want for a water change- it will have no effect on your cycle but I would probably save it for when you have fish. Prime doesnt actually remove ammonia or nitrite- it just converts them temporarily to less toxic forms for fish.

 

[chazeman2]

Thanks! A bit odd in respect to your nitrates but nothing to be overly concerned about. Yes, you can use Prime if you want for a water change- it will have no effect on your cycle but I would probably save it for when you have fish. Prime doesnt actually remove ammonia or nitrite- it just converts them temporarily to less toxic forms for fish.

haha yeah right as i said that i re read the bottle. Yeah ill just save it thank you for your help.