Yes Its Another Cycling Question

[freyathemermaid]

Hi

i've been cycling (fishless) for around 25 days now Ammonia is going from 4ppm to 0.25 in 12 hours, Nitrites been at 2ppm for 6 days and Nitrates aat 40ppm for last 5 days

am i almost there i thought i'd was looking for a spike in the Nitrites before seeing Nitrates?

also is it just me being a bit thick but the colours on my Nitrate chart (API kit) look so close in the mid ranges 20-80
do you hold the tube off the card so the light is seen bouncing off the white to match colours

or does it touch, but then a darker shadowing colour is seen, excuse the stupidness of the question

second daft question once i have finished cycling, i know i need to do a big water change but when in relation to putting in some fish

if i do it the night before will the bacteria die off before the fish go in?

thanks

FTM

 

[rabbut]

You would usualy see a much larger spike than 2ppm of nitrite. Ammonia is going OK though by the sound of it I would be expecting nitrates to rise, though if nitrites aren't.... I don't use the API kits, and never have, so can't comment on their use. After the big waterchange, I would add ammonia, if you are doing it the night before, and collect your fish after a water test the following morning to ensure that all is still well

HTH
Rabbut

 

[freyathemermaid]

You would usualy see a much larger spike than 2ppm of nitrite. Ammonia is going OK though by the sound of it I would be expecting nitrates to rise, though if nitrites aren't.... I don't use the API kits, and never have, so can't comment on their use. After the big waterchange, I would add ammonia, if you are doing it the night before, and collect your fish after a water test the following morning to ensure that all is still well

HTH
Rabbut

thanks Rabbut

i'll keep an eye on things


FTM

 

[Aussie_Dog]

also is it just me being a bit thick but the colours on my Nitrate chart (API kit) look so close in the mid ranges 20-80
do you hold the tube off the card so the light is seen bouncing off the white to match colours

or does it touch, but then a darker shadowing colour is seen, excuse the stupidness of the question

You know what, I've wondered this exact thing, but never did ask. I personally hold the tube against the card and kind of back my head up and don't look too closely at the color comparisons. Just kind of look at the "general idea" of which color is closest. Otherwise I'd drive myself nuts never being able to find the right number, lol. And it helps if I cover up the surrounding colors and compare the tube to one color in particular. If the color isn't right (too light/too dark), I pick the next color to compare to. It seems to work a little bit: my eyes aren't being confused by the similar colors surrounding the one I'm trying to look at.

 

[rdd1952]

I think someone posted this a while back along with a response from API and if Im not mistaking, they said to hold it slightly off the card and not against it.

 

[freyathemermaid]

I think someone posted this a while back along with a response from API and if Im not mistaking, they said to hold it slightly off the card and not against it.

thanks

FTM