I dont know what my tank is doing!

[picture_117]

So I started cycling on the 30th, I added some seeded filter cartridges and substrate. Ammonia was at 5ppm, I did PWC's and it was still at 5ppm. My tap water has 1ppm of Ammonia in it so I used spring water to do a PWC yesterday the 7th to bring it down to 1ppm because it wasn't moving from 5ppm.Today I decided to test for Nitrates and Nitrites and I got this: NO3's at 10ppm. NO2 at 8ppm. Does this make any sense?

 

[TankMan]

what is your ammonia reading?

 

[picture_117]

My ammonia reading is at 1ppm now

 

[TankMan]

personally, i think nothing is wrong. when i cycled my 10g (which is now fully cycled and working fine), i would get nitrIte and nitrAte readings like that; however, are you sure that they are 10ppm and 8ppm and not .8 and 1.0 or something of the sort?

 

[picture_117]

Well the reason I'm saying that the readings are odd is because ammonia wasn't going down, which should have meant there were no Nitrites in the tank, but I took a reading and they show up as Nitrate: 10ppm and the Nitrites are higher than what shows up on the API color chart, but I used some strips just to make sure they were even present and it read Nitrites: 8ppm.

& yeah They are 10 & 8

 

[TankMan]

Well the reason I'm saying that the readings are odd is because ammonia wasn't going down, which should have meant there were no Nitrites in the tank, but I took a reading and they show up as Nitrate: 10ppm and the Nitrites are higher than what shows up on the API color chart, but I used some strips just to make sure they were even present and it read Nitrites: 8ppm.

& yeah They are 10 & 8

Hmmm. I'm stumped. However, I'm nø expert

 

[Tigroscr]

If I'm understanding correctly are you using the test strips or the master kit to test your params? Btw love your bunny pic!

 

[jeffp]

did you add straight ammonia to your tank or something like fish food or shrimp?

 

[picture_117]

1st reply: Yeah I am too & I'm no expert either! lol

2nd reply: I'm using the API test kit, I saw that it was reading nitrites and nitrates, figured test strips would at least in someway confirm they are present. Thanks! He's a big bunny ha

3rd reply: I added pure ammonia the first day of the cycle.

 

[Tigroscr]

Trust me I know how frustrating it can be! just keep doing your pwc's like you are and it should balance out sooner or later! It sounds to me that your doing everything the way your supposed to! Good luck!

 

[picture_117]

Okay thanks! Hopefully ammonia starts going down automatically.

 

[Tigroscr]

If after a few days it still tests this way if you have a reputable lfs maybe take a sample to them and see what kind of readings you get! This is a fish less cycle, correct?

 

[picture_117]

I have two around me, if by Monday they are still the same I will take a sample for them to test.
Yes I am doing a fishless cycle.

 

[Tigroscr]

I know when you do a fish less cycle it seems to take somewhat longer, you said you transferred some seeded media, did you keep it wet? Because if it doesn't stay wet IME you can lose a lot of the BB!

 

[Tigroscr]

It's been awhile since I've done a fish less cycle. But I will be doing one soon when my 55g tank comes in, I like you will be transferring over seeded media from existing filters so hopefully it should cycle a little quicker

 

[picture_117]

Yes I transferred over a carbon cartridge and a sponge, some sand and a DW.

The tanks are right next to each other so they couldn't have dried.
Good luck on the 55g!

 

[Tigroscr]

Yes I transferred over a carbon cartridge and a sponge, some sand and a DW.

The tanks are right next to each other so they couldn't have dried.
Good luck on the 55g!

Thx! My Hubby will probably flip out! Lol! I need another tank like I need a hole in the head, lol! But I couldn't resist the sale @ petco. I'll just have to tell him this will be my last tank.................rofl! Good luck to you too!

 

[picture_117]

Good News! When I got home around 4:30 I had no more ammonia! Dosed it back up to 5ppm, it's at 3ppm now, Nitrites are off the chart and Nitrates are at about 100. The cycle seems to be working correct?