I would consider your water on the soft side. Ignore the high pH, it is actually just an indication that the water is well buffered(as per your KH indicating the same), which is even better for the fish. With a GH of 3 drops you can have any soft water fish...
Cycle
- Thread starter Megan33
- Start date
I would consider your water on the soft side. Ignore the high pH, it is actually just an indication that the water is well buffered(as per your KH indicating the same), which is even better for the fish. With a GH of 3 drops you can have any soft water fish...
I would of liked to take some media from an established tank but don't have friends who keep fish anymore. They are the four legged lovers.lol
The WC was more of a clean up of the tank as the algae was getting out of hand but I did feel the numbers were going up.
Im trying to get to the point where I only have readings of Nitrate but this is never the case. I always have readings of all 3 and not tiny quantities. That leaves me reluctant to add ammonia but I need to,in order to carry on the cycle.
I just want the cycle to be done!
No miracle at this point though
The WC was more of a clean up of the tank as the algae was getting out of hand but I did feel the numbers were going up.
Im trying to get to the point where I only have readings of Nitrate but this is never the case. I always have readings of all 3 and not tiny quantities. That leaves me reluctant to add ammonia but I need to,in order to carry on the cycle.
I just want the cycle to be done!
No miracle at this point though
Hello; First perhaps the better way to deal with algae is no lights for a time. Another thing is you have nitrates which will feed the algae. Not sure why you have 40 ppm nitrates but the ammonia continues to persist.
Go back to my suggestion of cleaning the test vials with distilled (or de-ionized water DI). Not only just to rinse with but perhaps also to fill them and allow to sit for a while. One of our mods (
duanes
) describes distilled water (DI) as something like a vacuum for contaminants.My next suggestion is to add some ammonia and test the water every 8 to 12 hours until the ammonia and nitrites are at zero.
Shorten the light period or turn the intensity of the light down. Ammonia and light would almost always result in algae. Diatoms in particular are very common in newly cycled tanks anyway and will go away in a few months when the system matures.
There is no point testing nitrate during the cycle because the nitrate test in essence tests for nitrites after its converted all nitrates back to nitrites also.
There is no point testing nitrate during the cycle because the nitrate test in essence tests for nitrites after its converted all nitrates back to nitrites also.
I'm currently doing no light as plants look pretty healthy. I will try leaving the tubes to sit with distilled water in them.
I will add ammonia tomorrow morning and keep testing until I see zero. I've never seen zero so this might take days...
I will add ammonia tomorrow morning and keep testing until I see zero. I've never seen zero so this might take days...
There is no need to add ammonia before whatever is already there is gone down to zero. The whole point is having ammonia at some level to keep the cycle going. I've personally only redosed ammonia when the previous one is fully converted.
Yeah, as long as it's green, don't add anything. There's really no point as there's clearly enough ammonia to move the cycle. Once it goes down, add you dose. See how many days it takes for the next dose to go down to zero, it will give you an idea where you are at also.
There is another reason I am saying that. A fish tank is not a sewage system so the bacteria that establishes is actually sensitive to both high ammonia and nitrite levels. If you cycle a tank as if it were a waste water system, the bacteria that will establish will be different species. When you turn your tank back to an aquarium, which is in essence much lower ammonia/nitrite levels at any given moment, the tank could go through a 2nd mini cycle while new type of bacteria is establishing. Basically, high ammonia and nitrites are toxic to the same nitrifying bacteria you're trying to establish. So keep the cycle ticking without being excessive about the dosing.
Keep in mind that as you are adding ammonia, and the nitrite bacteria is still being established, the nitrite levels can build up out of proportion before they start going down, so a water change here and there to offload some build up will help the cycle. Plus the water change will replenish buffers which are being exhausted by the cycle. No buffers will stall the cycle.
There is another reason I am saying that. A fish tank is not a sewage system so the bacteria that establishes is actually sensitive to both high ammonia and nitrite levels. If you cycle a tank as if it were a waste water system, the bacteria that will establish will be different species. When you turn your tank back to an aquarium, which is in essence much lower ammonia/nitrite levels at any given moment, the tank could go through a 2nd mini cycle while new type of bacteria is establishing. Basically, high ammonia and nitrites are toxic to the same nitrifying bacteria you're trying to establish. So keep the cycle ticking without being excessive about the dosing.
Keep in mind that as you are adding ammonia, and the nitrite bacteria is still being established, the nitrite levels can build up out of proportion before they start going down, so a water change here and there to offload some build up will help the cycle. Plus the water change will replenish buffers which are being exhausted by the cycle. No buffers will stall the cycle.
Thanks so much for this! Felt like I didn't know where I was with the cycle and was guessing but you make so much sense!
Everything you said rings true and you explained it in a straight forward manner.
Everyone going through a fish less cycle needs to know this, even Google don't tell you. Thankyou Cory
Everything you said rings true and you explained it in a straight forward manner.
Everyone going through a fish less cycle needs to know this, even Google don't tell you. Thankyou Cory
