Cycled In Three Days?

[f111shy]

hey guys, i have never had a readable level of nitrite in my tank (believed to be non existant) yet my nitrate is at 80 ppm ? how has this happened please help me.

Karl.

 

[soybean]

How long has your tank been set up? Did you have fish from the start?

 

[Prime Ordeal]

What test kit are you using?
What's the nitrate level in your tap water?
Have you added any additives to the tank apart from dechlorinator?
Did you use any seeded media from another filter?

 

[f111shy]

How long has your tank been set up? Did you have fish from the start?

it has been set up for about a week and a half and added ammonia three days ago. and no it has never had fish within it.

What test kit are you using?
What's the nitrate level in your tap water?
Have you added any additives to the tank apart from dechlorinator?
Did you use any seeded media from another filter?

api master test kit
nitrate was un traceable
dechlorinator, nutrafin cycle, ammonia.
i have mature media but only a small portion. some plants from an established tank ( which i have noticed a snail came with them)

hope you can help me

Karl.

 

[Fishy friend2]

i think it might have been because you seeded it with mature media

 

[Prime Ordeal]

Matured media + nutrafin cycle + ammonia = nitrate (lots of)

It's perfectly possible that the filter is cycled.

 

[f111shy]

but what about the abscence of the nitrite? and the steady level of ammonia at 0.25 ppm all the way through ?

Karl.

 

[Fishy friend2]

how much ammonia did you test when you first added the ammonia, if it tested 4ppm when you first added it then came down to .25ppm then I would say that you are still making progress

 

[f111shy]

it was at 2.0 ppm as i heard people cycle their tanks with 0.25 ppm and others at 4.0 ppm so i went half way.

Karl.

 

[Prime Ordeal]

but what about the abscence of the nitrite? and the steady level of ammonia at 0.25 ppm all the way through ?

Karl.

You didn't mention anything about ammonia? The absence of nitrite just means the nitrite eating bacteria are working well. If you are stuck with 0.25ppm ammonia then check your pH to make sure it hasn't fallen so low as to stall the ammonia eaters. I'm assuming you've been dosing above 0.25ppm ammonia at some point, or is this a fish in cycle?

 

[Fishy friend2]

it was at 2.0 ppm as i heard people cycle their tanks with 0.25 ppm and others at 4.0 ppm so i went half way.

Karl.

how long is it taking for the ammonia to lower from 2.0 ppm to 25 ppm

 

[f111shy]

it took one day and it stayed at 0.25 ppm, my ph is 7.8 and my temp is at the higher end of 26 degrees. this is not a fish in cycle unless one or two snails counts as this?

Karl.

 

[Prime Ordeal]

Are you making sure the water is well aerated?

 

[f111shy]

aerated as in oxygen in the water ? if so then yes as its filtration system is designed especially around this as it has a waterfall effect.

Karl.

 

[f111shy]

Success! guys jus to inform you all that my search for nitrite is over as this morning i have 0.25 ppm of nitrite in my tank i guess i just had to wait and not panic

Karl.