Quick Question

[Lizi_angelfish]

Last few days my nitrites have been falling within about 18 hours after a dose of 3ppm ammonia.

Yesterday afternoon I put in a bit more than 3ppm - didn't check it afterwards but it will have been 30-40% more ammonia. Not sure why... Mad moment probably.
To tonight nitrites were still at 5ppm (ammonia down to 0.25) despite the addition being 30 hours ago so checked the nitrates and they were well over 80ppm (not quite 160).

So.....

Just done a water change of about 50% to bring the nitrates down so that hopefully the cycle won't stall (I appreciate in hindsight its probably because I added too much ammonia).

Just put enough ammonia in to get it upto 3ppm again.

Does this sound ok? Don't want to undo all the good work grrrr!

 

[BerryAttack]

well ammonia is waste and should be at zero or roughly near it.. that's what i do. i think hmm fish peeing, and pooing then swimming around in that. so i do water changes every other week to get that stuff out, and cleaning the gravel (vacuuming it) helps keep the nitrates lower.
and the levels of ammonia and nitrates will depend on how stocked the tank is.. if there are too many fish then there need to be more water changes done to control everything, fewer fish then less maintenance..

 

[r.d.bid]

It sounds like you're in good shape Lizi. Don't think you have anything to worry about.
Seems like you just overdosed a bit and naturally it's going to take longer for your colony to process it.

 

[Lizi_angelfish]

This morning my ammonia is down to 1ppm, nitrite is 5ppm but the nitrate is still around 80ppm - will this stall the cycle at this level?

 

[fluttermoth]

No, it shouldn't do.

 

[4seasons]

I take it this is a fishless cycle? If so sounds like you are on track. If you overdose ammonia or nitrite get too high just do a large water change to get it back under control. Always dechlorinate and temperature match your water when you do a large water change. And dropping nitrates during a fishless cycle won't hurt either as high nitrates can stall a cycle especially in soft water.

 

[Lizi_angelfish]

Just as nitrites are dropping in 12 hours, the heater breaks! On a Monday morning too!!! Anyone have any experience with fixing them? Or know what could be the issue? Got it off amazon a few weeks ago so won't be a quick return job otherwise I'd less inconvenienced - it's a 100w interpet one btw.

Anything I can do in the meantime to stop the water cooling down? Besides having the heating on?

 

[wirralbull]

In the average home youre water temp probably wont drop much lower than 20 c. Im no expert but i wouldnt wurry too much i would think filter bacteria will adjust hapilly to lower temps so dont panic

 

[4seasons]

The magic 84 degrees that is recommended for a fishless cycle is just to help speed things up. If your heater dies it won't really affect much in a fishless cycle other than slow it down a little. Those bacteria colonies are a bit tougher than many think. As long as you keep them wet and away from chlorine they will live. They need some flow and some food (ammonia) but a little cool won't hurt them.

 

[Lizi_angelfish]

The heater seems to be working again? Not too sure so I've bought a spirit thermometer to use so that I can see how good it is at keeping a constant temperature when I get my fish. Cycle is fine - I just put in too much ammonia before so now the filter is safely processing 2-3ppm every 12 hours.

Thanks for all your help!