Have a question about my fishless cycle.

[danjones8623]

Hi everybody,

I currently in the process of doing a fishless cycle for my 120 gal. freshwater aquarium. I believe the aquarium is done cycling, but when I dose the ammonia back to 4 ppm, it take about two day for it to be converted back to nitrates. I was looking at the "Almost complete guide to fishless cycling," and it said this conversation should take place in 24 hours. I was wondering if my tank is alright to put fish into?

Thanks,

Daniel Jones

 

[shellieca]

Hi everybody,

I currently in the process of doing a fishless cycle for my 120 gal. freshwater aquarium. I believe the aquarium is done cycling, but when I dose the ammonia back to 4 ppm, it take about two day for it to be converted back to nitrates. I was looking at the "Almost complete guide to fishless cycling," and it said this conversation should take place in 24 hours. I was wondering if my tank is alright to put fish into?

Thanks,

Daniel Jones

Your tank has not completed cycling if the ammonia is taking two days to process. How long has your tank been cycling & have you seen nitrItes as of yet?

 

[librarygirl]

+1 to Shellieca; the tank isn't done cycling yet if it's taking two days to process ammonia. How long has it been cycling? Have you seen nitrites yet? What's your PH?

 

[danjones8623]

The tank has been cycling for about a month now. I've had nitrites and nitrates too. The ph of my water is naturally a little on the acidic side. It around 6.6-6.8ish after all the ammonia is gone.

Thanks

 

[shellieca]

Cycling can take 6-8 wks so you may only be 1/2 way there. NitrItes can last 2 or more wks. How high are your nitrites & nitrates? Too high nitrites & nitrates are also dangerous to fish & if you add fish you will need to do BIG water changes more often.

 

[danjones8623]

My nitrites are 0, and my nitrates were about 80. I did a large water change and now they are below 40.

 

[librarygirl]

So you had the nitrite spike and then they fell to 0? That usually indicates a cycled tank but ammonia should be converting faster. I'm suspecting the low PH is stalling things a bit. Has the PH always been mid-6's or has it been higher and then it dropped? Can you test your PH out of the tap and then let a glass of water sit out for 24 hours and then test PH again and let us know both numbers?