Recent content by australopithecus

06/26/07: NH3: 0 ppm. NO2: 3 ppm. NO3: 5 ppm. added 5 ml ammonia. 06/27/07: NH3: 0 ppm. NO2: 3 ppm. added 5 ml ammonia. still waiting for nitrite to drop. waiting waiting waiting.

06/25/07: NH3: 0 ppm. NO2: 5 ppm. NO3: 5 ppm. Well my ammonia levels are consistently at 0. Now I'm still waiting for Nitrite levels to drop. Adding some more ammonia.

Last night (06/23/07) I checked the NH3 and it was about .25 ppm. I added about 20 drops of ammonia. This morning when I woke up the NH3 level was 0! 06/24/07: NH3: 0. NO2: 3 ppm. NO3: 80 ppm. adding a few drops of ammonia. [edit] I just realized that I have been testing for nitrate...

06/23/07 - NH3: 1 ppm. NO2: 3 ppm. NO3: 40 ppm. PH: 7.2 I decided to test for Nitrate today and found fairly high levels. The ammonia is low, but I won't add any more until it comes down to almost zero, and then I'll add only a few drops. Now I'm just waiting for Nitrite levels to go down...

06/21/07 - NH3: 3 ppm. NO2: 1 ppm. 06/22/07 - NH3: 2 ppm. NO2: 2 ppm.

06/20/07: NO2 1 ppm. There are now several baby snails in my aquarium and I don't know how they got there. Maybe they came in on a live plant? Should I get rid of them? Will they disrupt anything? Strange that they can live in such high ammonia levels.

06/17/07 (evening): NH3: 6 ppm. NO2: 0 ppm. no ammonia added. 06/18/07 (evening): NH3: 6 ppm. NO2: 0.1 ppm. no ammonia added. 06/19/07 (morning): NH3: 4 ppm. NO2: 0.4 ppm. Nitrite on the rise! Ammonia declining! Bacteria growing! So far so good.

06/15/07: did a 100% water change to rid tank of tiny amount of surfactant in original ammonia. 06/16/07: added 5ml Ace janitorial strength ammonium hydroxide (10%). NH3 4ppm. NO2: 0.

what is the effect of surfactant on an aquarium? is it possible that a very small amount will not destroy the environment? i will do the water change regardless, but i would still like to know and i am not finding any specific info online. thanks for the advice.

I hope its okay to use this forum to post my fishless cycle for my new (and first) aquarium. any help or info would be appreciated. aquarium: 55 gallon, 48" by 13" by 20", 60 lbs gravel. 4 live plants, lots of fake plants. 06/12/07: put 1 tblspn of "Always Save" ammonia, realized ammonia had...