Still taking 48+ hours to clear 1 ppm of ammonia

[drm315]

I'm going to take a few samples to the lfs today and see if they can help me. There is one guy that works there that seems knowledgeable and not just there to sell fish. Hopefully he's working today. I'll take a sample for him to test the ph in the normal and high range and I'll ask him to test kh also. Thanks so much for your advice!

 

[drm315]

Went to the lfs today for water testing (they only use the test strips, not liquid):
kh is 20
ph was testing just under 6.8

I also talked to him about the fact that I have about .5-1 ppm of ammonia coming straight out of my tap currently. He recommended my best course of action on that is to put about 10% of my tank volume in a bucket(s) (weekly) and let it sit for about a day before putting it in the tank.

After doing much research, I tend to agree with this line of thought. I really wanted to avoid the bucket scenerio (which is why I bought the vacuum that directly attaches to faucet), but if it is going to be the best thing for the puffers, then that is what I will do.

 

[Delapool]

Just checking - I think post 3 had 0.25ppm ammonia out of tap? If the 1ppm was off a lfs strip test not sure I'd trust it?

I assume kh was 20ppm? Strip tests ime tend to under read but that would sound about right.

 

[pradeepcec]

I need to correct a mistake I made - my pH is actually now at 6.0. Hadn't tested for a few weeks on that (since beginning the cycle). It was 7.6 then, but is now 6.0.

Yes, the water is drinkable. We do use a Brita pitcher though.

Haven't done a water change in about a week or two.

pH of 6 will actually stall or slower the process extremely. I had got into similar issue and then I placed a cup of crushed coral that is keeping my pH stable and the cycle completed. I had used tetra safestart to start my cycle and I finished by cycle in 3 weeks.