Help With Testing And Cycle...please!

[mbriggs84]

Ok... I've been doing a fishless cycle for about a month. I believe I've had my nitrite peak. It was reading 5.0 (deep purple) on the test kit. I had a pH crash after this and added some baking soda to bring it back up to 8.2. After about a week of testing every other day, the nitrite dropped to zero. Have been testing every 12 hrs and dosing ammonia every 24 hrs. The nitrite appears to be dropping to zero every 12, I think. This is where I'm starting to get a little confused. This mornings nitrite test is actually looking more like light green. And after testing the nitrates they appear to be about a 5. If my nitrites have been dropping to zero for close to a week now shouldn't the nitrates be much higher?

 

[KittyKat]

Which test do you use? The API liquid test will go purple (5 ppm) for a second, then settle on 0 ppm blue if the nitrite is well over 5 ppm.

If you are unsure, I would recommend a water change, then re-dose the ammonia, as that would re-set the nitrite to 0ppm and then you can watch the buildup or double zero readings.

 

[mbriggs84]

Which test do you use? The API liquid test will go purple (5 ppm) for a second, then settle on 0 ppm blue if the nitrite is well over 5 ppm.

If you are unsure, I would recommend a water change, then re-dose the ammonia, as that would re-set the nitrite to 0ppm and then you can watch the buildup or double zero readings.

I do use the api liquid kit. The instructions say to wait 5 mins to read results... but you're saying the results are immediate??? And also how much of a water change would you recommend?

 

[KittyKat]

No, I am saying that if immediate result is 5 ppm and after 5 minutes it is 0 ppm, then the real reading is a lot higher than 5 ppm.

Is your tap water pH similar to the tank pH? Probably do 50-70% with warm, dechlorinated water.

 

[Essjay]

The easy way to see what happens if the nitrite is zero is to test your tapwater. If the tank water test colour looks different, the reading is not zero.

Zero nitrite looks sky blue from as soon as the drops are added, and it doesn't change during the 5 mins standing.

 

[KittyKat]

The easy way to see what happens if the nitrite is zero is to test your tapwater. If the tank water test colour looks different, the reading is not zero.

Tap water sometimes already contains nitrite, actually

 

[Essjay]

The easy way to see what happens if the nitrite is zero is to test your tapwater. If the tank water test colour looks different, the reading is not zero.

Tap water sometimes already contains nitrite, actually

I forgot when I posted that some people do have some in their tapwater. Just because mine doesn't, I tend to forget that some does.

If the OP does test their tapwater, at least they'll know what their tapwater is like. Testing the tapwater for everything is quite useful.