Water Parameters (Post Cycling)

[Trops_Newbie2012]

Hi,

Ive been cycling my 150L tank for 2 weeks now, and have had zero readings of ammonia after 24 Hours when topping up to 8ppm and the nitrites about 12 hours later.

Ive topped up ammonia quite a few times now and the bacteria has built up nicely.

Now of my understanding:

Ammonia -> Nitrite
Nitrite -> Nitrate

and then water change to bring nitrates down.

By my thinking, I should have off the chart Nitrate reading......but I'm only getting readings of about 20ppm??

Is this normal to have such (Fairly low) readings of nitrates?

Other readings:

High Range PH - 8.2
Ammonia - 0pp
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate - 20ppm

For those interested, I am using an API Freshwater master test kit.


Thanks in advance,
Mike

 

[sadguppy]

Do you have live plants? They can use up nitrates.

 

[CezzaXV]

Liquid nitrate tests are notorious for solidifying in the bottles. Give bottle number two several whacks on a table and shake it vigorously for a minute. It's likely just a test goof.

 

[OldMan47]

Trops, stop topping up to 8 ppm. That will cause you to develop a very nice bacterial colony for a human waste treatment system but it will be the wrong bacteria for a fish environment. At over about 5 ppm of ammonia, the bacteria more common in sewerage treatment plants becomes the dominant type. You want to always have your ammonia levels at 5 ppm or less. Once you correct that factor, you may or may not suffer a serious setback from having developed the wrong bacteria in the first place which will no longer be seeing enough ammonia for them to prosper and dominate the environment. You need to recognize that the bacteria we want will be living long term in an environment where ammonia levels are virtually undetectable. Those same bacteria have been shown to be the dominant strain up a maximum of only about 5 ppm. After that bacteria more appropriate to waste treatment systems tend to take over.
Another factor to consider is the nitrate readings you are getting are probably wrong. Almost any of the nitrate measurement systems require that you mix the chemicals very well to get a decent reading. I have found that when I increase the mixing time from the 30 seconds recommended to at least 60 seconds and often longer, my results are far more consistent. To put it simply, the chemical we use to detect nitrates tends to settle at the bottom of the bottle. People have suggested everything from smacking the bottle against objects to tons of extra mixing time to ensure you get a decent reading. If you do not, the test will under-report your nitrate levels.

 

[Trops_Newbie2012]

Trops, stop topping up to 8 ppm. That will cause you to develop a very nice bacterial colony for a human waste treatment system but it will be the wrong bacteria for a fish environment. At over about 5 ppm of ammonia, the bacteria more common in sewerage treatment plants becomes the dominant type. You want to always have your ammonia levels at 5 ppm or less. Once you correct that factor, you may or may not suffer a serious setback from having developed the wrong bacteria in the first place which will no longer be seeing enough ammonia for them to prosper and dominate the environment. You need to recognize that the bacteria we want will be living long term in an environment where ammonia levels are virtually undetectable. Those same bacteria have been shown to be the dominant strain up a maximum of only about 5 ppm. After that bacteria more appropriate to waste treatment systems tend to take over.
Another factor to consider is the nitrate readings you are getting are probably wrong. Almost any of the nitrate measurement systems require that you mix the chemicals very well to get a decent reading. I have found that when I increase the mixing time from the 30 seconds recommended to at least 60 seconds and often longer, my results are far more consistent. To put it simply, the chemical we use to detect nitrates tends to settle at the bottom of the bottle. People have suggested everything from smacking the bottle against objects to tons of extra mixing time to ensure you get a decent reading. If you do not, the test will under-report your nitrate levels.

HaHa.....I see you point, it makes perfect sense.

I will start lowering the ppm of ammonia I am adding.

Although (and I am just spitballing here) if I were to leave the bacteria to die off.

A) would it create ammonia as it dies off, and

B) would bacteria then build up to a more stable level to deal with itself?

I am going to go with the first option of lowering the input of ammonia, but I am just curious about the 2nd method?

Cheers,
Mike

 

[OldMan47]

The bacteria will not really die off per se although they will be produced in smaller numbers. Instead you will see them have difficulty processing ammonia so quickly, until the new bacteria take over the task. Just stop adding ammonia until levels reach near zero then only add enough to get 3 to 5 ppm instead of 8 ppm. At first, the new ammonia level may not clear at once but you will be developing the right bacteria in your colony.