Ammonia Level Not Dropping..

[RISC]

I started cycling my first tank (10 gal) 10 days ago using (Dr.Tim's) pure ammonia. Following the instructions I added 40 drops to the 10 gallons of dechlorinated water bringing the ammonia level to 4ppm, which I tested to confirm. My concern is if I should have seen a decrease with the ammonia by now. I have not added any additional ammonia as the API Test Kit still reads the ammonia at 4ppm. The pH has been a steady 8.2 since the start. The bubbles and lights are only on during the day while the filter is running 24/7. My used decorations were cleaned with a 95% water and 5% bleach solution then soaked in dechlorinated water for 20 minutes, rinsed, and introduced to the tank. However, my heater doesn't seem to be doing much (even with the indicator light coming on), it's a 50w non-adjustable which maintains the tank at a concerning 72°... I believe the recommended temp for cycling is in the 80's? Is the low temperature enough to stall the process?

 

[Colin_T]

72 degrees F is fine for cycling a filter. When it is below 60F that's when the bacteria really slow down.

Filters can take anywhere between 2 weeks and 3 months to develop properly, most take around 4 -5 weeks.

It is normal for the ammonia to stay high for about 2 weeks, then one day it will start to come down. When it does the nitrite will start to go up. A few weeks later and the nitrite will start to go down. Once the ammonia has gone up and come down, and the nitrite has gone up and come down to 0, the filters will be cycled.

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Do you have any live plants in the tank? if not, I would turn the lights off. Lights are used to see the fish and to help live plants grow. If you don't have live plants there is no need for light until you get fish.

 

[seangee]

72° (22°C) is at the low end for most tropical fish. depending on what you are planning to stock you may want to get a new one. (Having a spare is always good anyway)

 

[RISC]

72 degrees F is fine for cycling a filter. When it is below 60F that's when the bacteria really slow down.

Filters can take anywhere between 2 weeks and 3 months to develop properly, most take around 4 -5 weeks.

It is normal for the ammonia to stay high for about 2 weeks, then one day it will start to come down. When it does the nitrite will start to go up. A few weeks later and the nitrite will start to go down. Once the ammonia has gone up and come down, and the nitrite has gone up and come down to 0, the filters will be cycled.

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Do you have any live plants in the tank? if not, I would turn the lights off. Lights are used to see the fish and to help live plants grow. If you don't have live plants there is no need for light until you get fish.

Nope, no live plants in the tank; the lights will remain off from now on. I'll give it another week before I start to worry. Thanks for easing my concern.

72° (22°C) is at the low end for most tropical fish. depending on what you are planning to stock you may want to get a new one. (Having a spare is always good anyway)

Would an adjustable 50w get the temps up or do I need higher wattage?

 

[Colin_T]

go for an adjustable 100watt heater. It will cost about the same as a 50watt but will heat the water faster.

 

[RISC]

go for an adjustable 100watt heater. It will cost about the same as a 50watt but will heat the water faster.

Now what would be a good temp to set it at for cycling?

 

[Colin_T]

26-28C (78-82F) is optimum for cycling.

lots of surface turbulence helps too by increasing oxygen levels in the water.

 

[RISC]

Should I be running the bubbles 24/7?

 

[Colin_T]

I would at this stage. It will maximise the oxygen in the water and the filter bacteria like oxygen so it wouldn't hurt

 

[RISC]

It's been a couple days and the ammonia level has dropped to about 1ppm. The nitrite level is still reading 0ppm. Should I add ammonia to bump it up or should I be waiting for a nitrite reading first? I've had to replace 2 gallons of water that evaporated since I started running the bubbles 24/7.. Think this has something to do with the ammonia drop...

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

 

[Colin_T]

When the ammonia level drops below 1ppm, you can add a little bit more ammonia but only enough to get it up to 2ppm. Do this until the nitrite goes up. Then stop adding ammonia and let both come back down to 0. When the nitrite has gone up and come back to 0, and there is 0 ammonia too, the tank is cycled.

Water evaporating will not cause the ammonia to drop. It is dropping because there is some bacteria in the filter eating the ammonia. You should see a small nitrite reading soon.