Barliman
Aquarium Advice Addict
Hi all,
As I mentioned in my tank-diary thread, this is the first time I've tried fishless cycling.
Well, I think I screwed it up.
Water went into the tank last Sunday. On Monday, I added 20 drops of Dr. Tim's Ammonkium Chloride, per the bottle's instructions. I also added two capfuls of Seachem Stability, hoping to jumpstart the creation of the bio filter.
Tuesday I began measurements. Here's the data:
2/23: Ammonia 0.5; Nitrite 0.25; Nitrate N/A
2/24: Ammonia 1.0; Nitrite 1.0; Nitrate 5
2/25: Ammonia 1.0; Nitrite 5.0; Nitrate 5
2/26: Ammonia 0.25; Nitrite 5.0; Nitrate 5
2/27: Ammonia 0.00; Nitrite 5.0; Nitrate 10
2/28: Ammonia 0.25; Nitrite 1.0; Nitrate 5
On the 24th I added 20 more drops of ammonia and a capful of Stability. On the 25th, concerned at the Nitrite spike, I cut the ammonia to ten drops and added another capful of Stability.
On the 26th, with the Nitrites not moving, I stopped adding ammonia, did a 20% water change, and added a capful of Stability.
On the 27th, I did a 40% water change. That brought about the results measure today. (I think the .25 ammonia is caused by the Prime I used to dechlorinate the water in the bucket. I've heard it can cause false positives.)
I'm confused by the ammonia rising only to 1.0, but the nitrites going through the roof. A function of the bacteria introduced by Stability, only to have them killed by the nitrite spike? But, since I kept adding Stability (including after each water change), why didn't the nitrates go up much?
I should mention that these measurements are approximate. I used the API Master kit, but telling the differences between the color shades was sometimes tough, especially by lamplight. Each test was made roughly 24 hours after the prior one.
So, that's where we stand. I'd be grateful for any advice folks can give and if anyone can explain the data. At this point, I assume I killed the cycle. What should I do to restart it?
Thanks much!
As I mentioned in my tank-diary thread, this is the first time I've tried fishless cycling.
Well, I think I screwed it up.
Water went into the tank last Sunday. On Monday, I added 20 drops of Dr. Tim's Ammonkium Chloride, per the bottle's instructions. I also added two capfuls of Seachem Stability, hoping to jumpstart the creation of the bio filter.
Tuesday I began measurements. Here's the data:
2/23: Ammonia 0.5; Nitrite 0.25; Nitrate N/A
2/24: Ammonia 1.0; Nitrite 1.0; Nitrate 5
2/25: Ammonia 1.0; Nitrite 5.0; Nitrate 5
2/26: Ammonia 0.25; Nitrite 5.0; Nitrate 5
2/27: Ammonia 0.00; Nitrite 5.0; Nitrate 10
2/28: Ammonia 0.25; Nitrite 1.0; Nitrate 5
On the 24th I added 20 more drops of ammonia and a capful of Stability. On the 25th, concerned at the Nitrite spike, I cut the ammonia to ten drops and added another capful of Stability.
On the 26th, with the Nitrites not moving, I stopped adding ammonia, did a 20% water change, and added a capful of Stability.
On the 27th, I did a 40% water change. That brought about the results measure today. (I think the .25 ammonia is caused by the Prime I used to dechlorinate the water in the bucket. I've heard it can cause false positives.)
I'm confused by the ammonia rising only to 1.0, but the nitrites going through the roof. A function of the bacteria introduced by Stability, only to have them killed by the nitrite spike? But, since I kept adding Stability (including after each water change), why didn't the nitrates go up much?
I should mention that these measurements are approximate. I used the API Master kit, but telling the differences between the color shades was sometimes tough, especially by lamplight. Each test was made roughly 24 hours after the prior one.
So, that's where we stand. I'd be grateful for any advice folks can give and if anyone can explain the data. At this point, I assume I killed the cycle. What should I do to restart it?
Thanks much!