Weird Results!

[Fireman_jam]

Hi guys, have posted a couple of other times on here but just started up my tank again after a while, started the cycling process and got the ammonia levels up to 3ppm, done my first test on day 4 and my results have come back as 0.25ppm ammonia, 0ppm Nitrite and 40ppm nitrate, is it possible that my bacteria have survived in the filter after a few weeks of being left in old tank water and then had a good squeeze in clean dechlorinated water before being put into this tank to cycle?
 
Will do a water change today and add some more ammonia to bring the levels back up and test again during the week but it seems a bit odd to me? Could anyone help me?
 
Many Thanks in advance!

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Yes, it is possible. The bacteria are much hardier than most realize. They actually have strategies for surviving "bad times" for months to a year and more. The longer the time period, the fewer that survive and the longer it takes for those remaining to return to the same level they were at when they were forced to go "dormant."
 
When one is able to seed a tank with bacteria at the start of cycling, it changes what will follow. That means how often one needs to test also changes. Usually, in such cases one should be testing daily. Things can happen much faster than in the cycling article here and, without frequent testing, things can happen that are missed. This could explain your results.

 

[Fireman_jam]

Many thanks for your reply, I have bought the ammonia levels back up to 3ppm and shall test daily from now on, what should I look for now to be sure my tank is cycled properly? 3ppm of ammonia to be reduced to 0 within 24 hours on consecutive days, or something else?

 

[TwoTankAmin]

That would do it for me