Cycle Help

[unitednations161]

Im cycling a tank well two, One with fish and one with out, For the one with, the ammonia tests are all different, the strips show .25 and the seachem test with the sensors, the sensor is supposed to go from green to blue, but it looks brown! it works on the fish less one tho. I had a nitrite spike then the nitrite went down but now I'm getting some ammonia again, unless my test kits are false.

My question is, i have 20 ppm nitrate in my tap water, so why after 3 weeks in the aquarium, trying to get it to cycle, my tests read

ammonia-.25 if its correct?
nitrites.25
nitrates .25! when my tap water had 20!!

how did it go down?

 

[littlenemo]

hello and welcome. best thing to do is have a look in the beginners centre it has all the info in there on fish and fishless cycling.

 

[Aqua Tom]

Im cycling a tank well two, One with fish and one with out, For the one with, the ammonia tests are all different, the strips show .25 and the seachem test with the sensors, the sensor is supposed to go from green to blue, but it looks brown! it works on the fish less one tho. I had a nitrite spike then the nitrite went down but now I'm getting some ammonia again, unless my test kits are false.

My question is, i have 20 ppm nitrate in my tap water, so why after 3 weeks in the aquarium, trying to get it to cycle, my tests read

ammonia-.25 if its correct?
nitrites.25
nitrates .25! when my tap water had 20!!

how did it go down?

It didnt go down, the test strips are not very accurate, get a liquid based master test kit.


Tom