Fishless cycling... totally confused 8n

[Rocky998]

Got it.

Maybe I should say LIGHTLY vacuum the substrate... Just a bit

 

[metropolis93fan]

Maybe I should say LIGHTLY vacuum the substrate... Just a bit

Ok. Lightly vacuum it is. May I ask why lightly? I'm trying to learn to do better at this trade!

 

[Essjay]

At this point you don't really need to vacuum the substrate as there's been nothing in the tank to fill it with debris - no fish so no poop or uneaten food, and no plants so no bits of dead plant.
But it's a good idea to practice while there are no fish in the tank

 

[Rocky998]

Ok. Lightly vacuum it is. May I ask why lightly? I'm trying to learn to do better at this trade!

Because there may be a lot of beneficial bacteria growing and stabilizing in the substrate at this time. By doing a heavy vacuum you may disturb it. But as @Essjay said, it is a good time to practice with no fish in the tank.

 

[becky412]

How do you know the test strips were wrong and it wasn't the master test kit giving the bad information?

Because I tried using Dr. Tim's Ammonium Chloride and in trying to artifically raise the ammonia, kept testing and adding and testing and adding and added an entire bottle of Ammonium Chloride meant for a 100 gallon aquarium in a 55. And I was testing every........single.......day........ AND..... API is the gold standard for water testing. Since having this problem, I have seen on other forums that state not to use the test strips at least when first starting up an aquarium. So the knowledge of many have lead me to my conclusion. AND FYI, the company was nice enough to refund my entire purchase price plus shipping after returning 1/2 of a bottle of strips.