moving forward

[Zecolmeia]

I raised ammonia to approximately 4 at 7am. At 430 pm readings are as follows.
Ammonia 2.5-3
Nitrites 2
Nitrates 5
Ph7.8-8

How far into cycle Am I and how should I proceed.

 

[jlk]

You need to give your tank a full 24hrs before checking your numbers. Also, make sure you test your tap water for ammonia, nitrite & nitrate- this may be factor in some of the numbers you are seeing. Let us know how thigs look at the 24hr mark and what the numbers are for your tap water and we will have a better idea of how your cycle is progressing.

 

[Zecolmeia]

@ 24 hour
Ammonia .25
Nitrite 3ish
Nitrate 6ish

 

[jlk]

What are the numbers for your tap water? Your amm dropped nicely and you have nitrites so go ahead & redose.

 

[Zecolmeia]

Tap params show no nitrites or nitrates. But dosed and tested
Ammonia below.25
Nitrites off the charts
Nitrates were between 10 and 20.

Should I keep dosing till nitrates comes up?

 

[librarygirl]

Yep, keep dosing, just only dose once in 24 hours. Nitrites are rising which is a good sign which means you're entering the last phase of the cycle. Once nitrites drop to 0 on their own you'll be ready for fish. The nitrite phase is the longest though, it can take 3 weeks on average so just keep testing and dosing.

 

[Zecolmeia]

So with the storm things seemed to slow, lost Power here and there. I have dosed back to 4ppm nitrite and nitrates are still Same. Now I have v small amounts if ***. Should I bb doing something different

 

[librarygirl]

Very small amounts of what? That part got cut off in your reply. Is your power back on now? The outages might have affected things especially if the filter media dried out or if the tank was devoid of surface agitation (oxygen) for a while. Things should bounce back in a few days. Just keep testing and dosing. Also test your PH; PH drops during cycling are common and can stall the cycle if it drops too low (mid-low 6's); if that happens do a water change to get the PH back up.

 

[Zecolmeia]

So ammonia went to 0 in 24hrs. Nitrites are real high. Phone is 7.4 which is a lil low. Redosed ammonia. Going to do a 50 perecent water change in all

 

[Zecolmeia]

So the ammonia is 0 after 24 hours yesterday I dosed to 4. In 24 hours ammonia is at 0 nitrites are at 0 and nitrates are between 40 and 60. I read that nitrates should be off the charts before nitrites begin to drop. My PH is 8.2 is this okay and is cycle almost finished. I reduce ammonia to 4. What am I looking for now 0 ammonia 0 nitrites and a lot of nitrate correct?

 

[jlk]

It looks like your just about done! Continue to dose ammonia to 4ppm for a few more days. As long as your ammonia & nitrite zero continue to steadily zero out in 24hrs and you have lots of nitrates, its safe to say your cycled!