First Fishless Cycle - Big Mistake Already

[KCB]

I've recently downsized to a 46L tank and just discovered this whole cycling thing (thankfully I hadn't moved the fish to the new tank yet!). I started following the fishless cycling guide on this website but I feel I've made a huge mistake already; I've acciddently put double the amount of ammonia into my new tank, so it's reading 8ppm at the mo. Does this mean it'll just take longer for the level to drop, and therefore longer to cycle or should I do a partial water change and start again from there?

Thank you.

 

[fluttermoth]

You should do a water change (about 50%); a very high ammonia level encourages the wrong families of bacteria to grow.

It's not that big of a mistake; we've all done far worse than add a bit too much ammonia to a fishless tank! Have you 'seeded' your new filter with some of the media from your old one? It would make your cycle go a lot faster.

 

[KCB]

Thank you for your very speedy reply! I've just changed the water like you suggested, should I test the ammonia right away and add some if needed or wait for longer and then test and add ammonia?

I didn't seed my tank as, to be honest, I've been an ignorant fish keeper for years and so I didn't want to contaminate my new tank with anything from my old tank. Basically I wanted to start from scratch and get things right this time around.