Just a little advice please ?

[Maisonmatt79]

Hi there
Not new to fishkeeping but it’s been a few years..I’ve set up a 120L tropical tank for nearly 4 weeks now..at first I was testing with strips..which are useless..had the API kit for a week and a half..my current reading are ammonia 0-0.25 (I have been dosing with ammonia as and when needed to 2ppm) my nitrites have been stuck on 2ppm for over a week now and yesterday my nitrates shot up to around 80ppm after being on around 10..so next step? Sit and wait for the nitrites to drop? Or do a 50%ish water change and test again? Thank you ?

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Perform a 50% water changes and then test again. That should make the ammonia readings go down.

 

[Maisonmatt79]

Perform a 50% water changes and then test again. That should make the ammonia readings go down.

I’d like to think I’m nearly cycled! I’ll do a water change and see what happens

 

[PheonixKingZ]

You’re close to being cycled, if your ammonia/nitrite is that low. That water change should help.

 

[mbsqw1d]

Dose 4 ppm ammonia and leave it, test after 24 hours and if Ammonia and Nitrite read 0, you're done.

@Essjay is the queen of cycling

 

[Essjay]

Have you tested your pH? In soft water areas, KH is usually low and there is a danger of a pH crash. When this happens, the bacteria stop multiplying.


I would do a water change as big as you can, more than 50%, then test ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. If ammonia and nitrite are now zero and nitrate close to tap water level, add 3 ppm ammonia and test ammonia & nitrite 24 hours later. If both are zero, the tank is cycled. But if one or both are not zero, it's not cycled yet.
From your description it sounds as though you have been doing the old 'add ammonia every time it drops to zero' method. We advocate the method on here rather than the old method; in our method ammonia is only added when certain targets have been reached. This is because when a lot of ammonia is added, a lot of nitrite is made which can stall the cycle. I know your nitrite reading is well below stall point, but if you do the water change and add ammonia then discover the tank is not cycled, I would go by the instructions in our method rather than the older one.

Cycling Your New Fresh Water Tank: Read This First!

Cycling Your First Fresh Water Tank What is Cycling and Why is it Important? Fish waste, and especially fish breathing, plus uneaten food and other organic matter breaking down in a tank all produce Ammonia. This can quickly become toxic to fish if it is allowed to build up to any measurable...

www.fishforums.net

Because you've already grown a lot of bacteria, if one or other (or both) are not zero 24 hours later, start here in the linked method

If ammonia and nitrite do not both read zero, continue to test daily. Whenever ammonia is again at .25 ppm or less and nitrite is clearly under 1 ppm, add the full amount of ammonia and test in 24 hours. Follow this pattern of testing and adding until both tests do read 0 ppm within 24 hours.

If you have had a pH crash, the water change will also sort that out.

 

[Maisonmatt79]

Have you tested your pH? In soft water areas, KH is usually low and there is a danger of a pH crash. When this happens, the bacteria stop multiplying.


I would do a water change as big as you can, more than 50%, then test ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. If ammonia and nitrite are now zero and nitrate close to tap water level, add 3 ppm ammonia and test ammonia & nitrite 24 hours later. If both are zero, the tank is cycled. But if one or both are not zero, it's not cycled yet.
From your description it sounds as though you have been doing the old 'add ammonia every time it drops to zero' method. We advocate the method on here rather than the old method; in our method ammonia is only added when certain targets have been reached. This is because when a lot of ammonia is added, a lot of nitrite is made which can stall the cycle. I know your nitrite reading is well below stall point, but if you do the water change and add ammonia then discover the tank is not cycled, I would go by the instructions in our method rather than the older one.

Cycling Your New Fresh Water Tank: Read This First!

Cycling Your First Fresh Water Tank What is Cycling and Why is it Important? Fish waste, and especially fish breathing, plus uneaten food and other organic matter breaking down in a tank all produce Ammonia. This can quickly become toxic to fish if it is allowed to build up to any measurable...

www.fishforums.net

Because you've already grown a lot of bacteria, if one or other (or both) are not zero 24 hours later, start here in the linked method




If you have had a pH crash, the water change will also sort that out.

Thank you..I was going by that old method for a couple of weeks but funny enough this week I started using the method in the link..as my nitrites aren’t below 1 I’ve not added any ammonia for a week now..I’ll do that water change right away

 

[Maisonmatt79]

Thank you..I was going by that old method for a couple of weeks but funny enough this week I started using the method in the link..as my nitrites aren’t below 1 I’ve not added any ammonia for a week now..I’ll do that water change right away

Have you tested your pH? In soft water areas, KH is usually low and there is a danger of a pH crash. When this happens, the bacteria stop multiplying.


I would do a water change as big as you can, more than 50%, then test ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. If ammonia and nitrite are now zero and nitrate close to tap water level, add 3 ppm ammonia and test ammonia & nitrite 24 hours later. If both are zero, the tank is cycled. But if one or both are not zero, it's not cycled yet.
From your description it sounds as though you have been doing the old 'add ammonia every time it drops to zero' method. We advocate the method on here rather than the old method; in our method ammonia is only added when certain targets have been reached. This is because when a lot of ammonia is added, a lot of nitrite is made which can stall the cycle. I know your nitrite reading is well below stall point, but if you do the water change and add ammonia then discover the tank is not cycled, I would go by the instructions in our method rather than the older one.

Cycling Your New Fresh Water Tank: Read This First!

Cycling Your First Fresh Water Tank What is Cycling and Why is it Important? Fish waste, and especially fish breathing, plus uneaten food and other organic matter breaking down in a tank all produce Ammonia. This can quickly become toxic to fish if it is allowed to build up to any measurable...

www.fishforums.net

Because you've already grown a lot of bacteria, if one or other (or both) are not zero 24 hours later, start here in the linked method




If you have had a pH crash, the water change will also sort that out.

Did roughly a 60% change and nitrites are still showing basically what they did before (2ppm)?? Ammonia is 0 and nitrates are at 40ppm so not much has changed..do you suggest dosing ammonia or just sit and let it settle overnight and test again tomorrow?

 

[Essjay]

Can I suggest you test nitrite in your tap water. The maximum allowed in the UK is 0.1 ppm so if your tap water tests 2 ppm you'll know there's a problem with the tester.
But if it reads under 0.1 the tester is fine, so try dilution tests. Start mixing a bit of tank water half and half with tap water and see what reading that gives. If it's still 2 ppm, try 1 part tank and 9 parts tap (a 1 in 10 dilution).

I know that when nitrite is extremely high the tester can't cope but it usually goes purple initially then changes to a steely blue on standing; that steely blue is not the same colour as the 2 ppm colour which is why I suggest testing the tester first (with all tap water).

 

[Maisonmatt79]

Can I suggest you test nitrite in your tap water. The maximum allowed in the UK is 0.1 ppm so if your tap water tests 2 ppm you'll know there's a problem with the tester.
But if it reads under 0.1 the tester is fine, so try dilution tests. Start mixing a bit of tank water half and half with tap water and see what reading that gives. If it's still 2 ppm, try 1 part tank and 9 parts tap (a 1 in 10 dilution).

I know that when nitrite is extremely high the tester can't cope but it usually goes purple initially then changes to a steely blue on standing; that steely blue is not the same colour as the 2 ppm colour which is why I suggest testing the tester first (with all tap water).

Thank you so much for your advice again..I have an established cold water tank and I’ve tested that and it’s spot on and shows zero nitrites so I assume the testing kit is ok..but I will test the tap water as well...When I test my cycling tank the colour doesn’t change at all from the 2ppm colour no matter how long I leave it..it’s strange it seems to be stuck on 2 even after a fairly big water change

 

[Essjay]

If another tank tests zero, it's not the test kit. I would try the dilution tests in that case, but go straight to 1 in 10.

 

[Maisonmatt79]

If another tank tests zero, it's not the test kit. I would try the dilution tests in that case, but go straight to 1 in 10.

So I tested again this morning..ammonia 0 nitrite 0 and nitrates are 40...I’ll now dose up ammonia to 3 and cross my fingers ??

 

[Essjay]

That's good.

Thought - was there any contaminant in the test tube which messed with the readings when you had 2 ppm nitrite before and after a water change?

 

[itiwhetu]

30-50% live plant in your tank, wait 10 days or until the plant starts to grow, add fish a few at a time.

 

[Essjay]

@Maisonmatt79 There seems little point in stopping now after all the time you've been cycling. Since you are almost there with a fishless cycle, I would finish it then if you want live plants you can put them in.