sinibotia
Aquarium Advice Addict
Well, I have a cycled (or maybe was-cycled) 20 gallon tank set up for shelldwellers. It's been 2 weeks since I moved the fish that cycled it, and I was expecting the new fish sooner, but since I haven't gotten them I added about a tablespoon of ammonia to try to keep the tank cycled. Apparently it was too much, because the ammonia went off the charts. I did a 50% water change and then let the tank sit for a while. 24 hours later, and the ammonia is gone, but now my nitrite readings (which were 0 immediately before adding ammonia yesterday) are above 5 and my nitrates appear to be in the 80 range (they were around 20 yesterday post water-change). Are the high nitrites going to cause a problem before they can be converted, or is my cycle just "catching up" after 2 weeks of inactivity? Basically, should I be worried, and should I do another water change?