NoNitrites
Aquarium Advice Newbie
- Joined
- May 27, 2022
- Messages
- 9
This will be a bit of a dozy to explain, so here goes.
I am doing a fishless freshwater cycle. I originally had a 5 gallon tank that I started back on March 1st. I set it up, added water and added some fish food. I never saw ammonia come from the fish food, so I have since then used Fritz Ammonia. I try to dose it each time to 1-2ppm, though I have accidently overdosed on occasion due to measuring the exact amount needed being rather difficult.
March 7th was when I started adding Fritz ammonia, and here is where I run into my main issue: I have never seen nitrites. I tested a lot in the early days but it was always zero. I feel the absence of nitrites is what has caused this cycle to run so slowly. Couldn't even get nitrates because of it.
April 17th I used Tetra Safestart and that was when I finally saw nitrates. Now I have not kept track of the numbers, a mistake on my end, but ammonia finally starting going down. It took until April 20th to get to 0.50ppm, and by May 5th it had gone down to .25 every three days.
This week I was suggested to upgrade to a 10 gallon tank, which I did. I am unsure if moving everything from a 5 gallon to a 10 gallon may have messed with anything, but I was told a bigger tank cycled better. As of this week too, my ammonia goes down .25ppm everyday.
Currently, I have live java fern plants, crushed coral, and some driftwood in my tank. My tank currently has 0.75 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and 5 nitrates as of writing this. My Ph is 7.5 and my temperature reaches up to 82 degrees. My tap water does not have any signs of ammonia or nitrates. I live in New York just for reference.
With all of that out of the way, does my tank seem fine? How much longer must I wait? Should I try to get filter media from my LFS? Are there any ways to fix some of the problems above, and is there anything else I should look out for?
I am doing a fishless freshwater cycle. I originally had a 5 gallon tank that I started back on March 1st. I set it up, added water and added some fish food. I never saw ammonia come from the fish food, so I have since then used Fritz Ammonia. I try to dose it each time to 1-2ppm, though I have accidently overdosed on occasion due to measuring the exact amount needed being rather difficult.
March 7th was when I started adding Fritz ammonia, and here is where I run into my main issue: I have never seen nitrites. I tested a lot in the early days but it was always zero. I feel the absence of nitrites is what has caused this cycle to run so slowly. Couldn't even get nitrates because of it.
April 17th I used Tetra Safestart and that was when I finally saw nitrates. Now I have not kept track of the numbers, a mistake on my end, but ammonia finally starting going down. It took until April 20th to get to 0.50ppm, and by May 5th it had gone down to .25 every three days.
This week I was suggested to upgrade to a 10 gallon tank, which I did. I am unsure if moving everything from a 5 gallon to a 10 gallon may have messed with anything, but I was told a bigger tank cycled better. As of this week too, my ammonia goes down .25ppm everyday.
Currently, I have live java fern plants, crushed coral, and some driftwood in my tank. My tank currently has 0.75 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and 5 nitrates as of writing this. My Ph is 7.5 and my temperature reaches up to 82 degrees. My tap water does not have any signs of ammonia or nitrates. I live in New York just for reference.
With all of that out of the way, does my tank seem fine? How much longer must I wait? Should I try to get filter media from my LFS? Are there any ways to fix some of the problems above, and is there anything else I should look out for?