What did I Do???,

[Matthew C.]

I cycled a 30 gallon tank and I used Dr. Tims. After 2 weeks everything was complete and I was wanting to put fish in on Tuesday.
Ph 6.8
Ammonia 0.0
Nitrite 0.0
Nitrate 40.


This morning I checked my water parameters and this is what I got

Ph. 5.3
Ammonia 0.0
Nitrite 0.0
Nitrate 180.0

Did a 50% water change to lower nitrate.. .

Ph 6.8
Ammonia 0.0
Nitrite 0.0
Nitrate 0.0

Did I just destroy my cycle....I double tested and got the same results. Do I need to cycle my tank again?

 

[Yorg]

I cycled a 30 gallon tank and I used Dr. Tims. After 2 weeks everything was complete and I was wanting to put fish in on Tuesday.
Ph 6.8
Ammonia 0.0
Nitrite 0.0
Nitrate 40.


This morning I checked my water parameters and this is what I got

Ph. 5.3
Ammonia 0.0
Nitrite 0.0
Nitrate 180.0

Did a 50% water change to lower nitrate.. .

Ph 6.8
Ammonia 0.0
Nitrite 0.0
Nitrate 0.0

Did I just destroy my cycle....I double tested and got the same results. Do I need to cycle my tank again?

********************************************
Hi Matthew:

I would wait a few days and keep testing to get more results. What source of ammonia are you using? Is it the one that comes with the Dr. Tim's kit?

 

[Matthew C.]

********************************************
Hi Matthew:

I would wait a few days and keep testing to get more results. What source of ammonia are you using? Is it the one that comes with the Dr. Tim's kit?

Yes, it is the one that comes with the one and only. I spoke with the fish place near my house, and they said the cycled isn't damaged because both nitrate and nitrite are 0.0. But just watch the parameters for the next week or two....also mentioned to me about putting in some oyster grit or crushed coral to buffer the ph.....this I plan on doing Tuesday, after I get the product. What do you think??

 

[Yorg]

Yes, it is the one that comes with the one and only. I spoke with the fish place near my house, and they said the cycled isn't damaged because both nitrate and nitrite are 0.0. But just watch the parameters for the next week or two....also mentioned to me about putting in some oyster grit or crushed coral to buffer the ph.....this I plan on doing Tuesday, after I get the product. What do you think??

******************************
Hi Matthew:

They're probably right that the cycle is still moving forward, but it's certainly a good idea to monitor everything for awhile just to be sure.

I can see why they recommended adding something to buffer the ph, since you had a very wild swing there. Aside from that one reading, has your ph remained relatively stable throughout? Have you by any chance tested your water's hardness?

 

[Matthew C.]

******************************
Hi Matthew:

They're probably right that the cycle is still moving forward, but it's certainly a good idea to monitor everything for awhile just to be sure.

I can see why they recommended adding something to buffer the ph, since you had a very wild swing there. Aside from that one reading, has your ph remained relatively stable throughout? Have you by any chance tested your water's hardness?

Hi Yorg,
To answer your question, I have never tested the water hardness as a daily routine. I have some API test strips which I use once in a while, but I don't rely on the test results because a lot of people mentioned that they give a false reading. Is this another test that I should do on a daily basis. If so, what brand label do you recommend??

 

[Yorg]

Hi Yorg,
To answer your question, I have never tested the water hardness as a daily routine. I have some API test strips which I use once in a while, but I don't rely on the test results because a lot of people mentioned that they give a false reading. Is this another test that I should do on a daily basis. If so, what brand label do you recommend??

*************************************
Hi Matthew:

No, in most cases it's not necessary to monitor hardness as regularly as ammonia, etc. If you could either find out from your water company what the average hardness of your water is, or ask your LFS to check a sample of your water for harndess, that would give you enough information to go forward. If you learn that your water is either very hard or very soft, then that might be a reason to buy a test kit (I use the API kh/gh kit) since it affects ph (and since certain fish do better in harder or softer water).

I have very hard well water, so in order to keep certain fishes I dilute the tap water with distilled water in order to maintain a certain hardness and ph. That's why I test mine so often. If you have fairly neutral water, though, it's likely not an issue.

 

[Matthew C.]

******************************
Hi Matthew:

They're probably right that the cycle is still moving forward, but it's certainly a good idea to monitor everything for awhile just to be sure.

I can see why they recommended adding something to buffer the ph, since you had a very wild swing there. Aside from that one reading, has your ph remained relatively stable throughout? Have you by any chance tested your water's hardness?

Yes, my Ph has remained stable throughout the entire cycling process until Friday morning after adding ammonia to the tank. Then it spiked. Did a wc yesterday of 50%, it seemed to have helped, last night I checked it is going back down. From 6.8 around 1300 hrs to 6.2 at 2030 hrs. Gonna check it in a few minutes.

 

[Matthew C.]

Yes, my Ph has remained stable throughout the entire cycling process until Friday morning after adding ammonia to the tank. Then it spiked. Did a wc yesterday of 50%, it seemed to have helped, last night I checked it is going back down. From 6.8 around 1300 hrs to 6.2 at 2030 hrs. Gonna check it in a few minutes.

Just checked the pH, it is below 6.0 again..... the test results are yellow!

Yes, my Ph has remained stable throughout the entire cycling process until Friday morning after adding ammonia to the tank. Then it spiked. Did a wc yesterday of 50%, it seemed to have helped, last night I checked it is going back down. From 6.8 around 1300 hrs to 6.2 at 2030 hrs. Gonna check it in a few minutes.

Just checked the pH, it is below 6.0 again..... the test rules are yellow

 

[TMaier]

Need to add some coral or oyster shell to your filter. Steady that PH for you.

 

[Matthew C.]

Need to add some coral or oyster shell to your filter. Steady that PH for you.

Do I need any of that media you may have left over from your filter cleaning?

 

[Matthew C.]

Do I need any of that media you may have left over from your filter cleaning?

This 1/2 cup that you are referring to.....is it something that must be done periodically? And if so how often?

 

[TMaier]

I've had it in my canister since May 2016. Still holding steady. PH of 7.4 to 7.8. Snails are happy.

 

[Matthew C.]

I've had it in my canister since May 2016. Still holding steady. PH of 7.4 to 7.8. Snails are happy.

So with that said, I will maintain it in my canister until it is depleated, or I suddenly begin to see my pH values beginning to drop, then at that time I will add more. Just wasn't sure if this needs to be in the filter as a steady diet. Thanks for everything

 

[Autumnsky]

Yes, keep some grit in there, and periodically check the levels.

 

[skrapeNKA]

Going from 40 to 180 to 0 NitrAte seems pretty wonky to me, you might want to insure you're testing it correctly. For example, with the API liquid tests, you need to make sure you vigorously shake (beat the crap out of) solution number 2 for 30 seconds, and then vigorously shake the tube for 1 minute after adding it to get accurate results. If you don't shake either enough, you get bum results

 

[Matthew C.]

Going from 40 to 180 to 0 NitrAte seems pretty wonky to me, you might want to insure you're testing it correctly. For example, with the API liquid tests, you need to make sure you vigorously shake (beat the crap out of) solution number 2 for 30 seconds, and then vigorously shake the tube for 1 minute after adding it to get accurate results. If you don't shake either enough, you get bum results

I appreciate your imput, and the results didn't chanel even after I double tested the levels. I even went as far as getting a new test kit as this 9ne is only good til 11/2017 to be on the safe side.

Hi Yorg,
To answer your question, I have never tested the water hardness as a daily routine. I have some API test strips which I use once in a while, but I don't rely on the test results because a lot of people mentioned that they give a false reading. Is this another test that I should do on a daily basis. If so, what brand label do you recommend??

 

[skrapeNKA]

I appreciate your imput, and the results didn't chanel even after I double tested the levels. I even went as far as getting a new test kit as this 9ne is only good til 11/2017 to be on the safe side.

Better safe than sorry! I've had some of the API tests come back silly only to go back and do it over shaking everything more to come out with a different result (ammonia and nitrite included!)