Huge Problem Lol

[modernhamlet]

low side. the lowest my chart says is 6.0 and the color mine is looks about a 5.0 i would guess

All the nitrogen compounds in there will cause that.

Seriously, just do a huge 90% water change. That should bring everything back close to a baseline. You can then add enough ammonia to get to 4-5ppm and go from there...

 

[jolaf]

I suggest doing smaller water changes every day of about 25 percent. my reason is I had the same thing you are oging through for almost 4 weeks and what i noticed happening was I feel I was doing too large of water change causing the cycle to always have a mini cycle. If there are no fish then watch it go through the cycle as it will even itself out with smaller changes.

well i thought 50% water change was a big change

 

[modernhamlet]

I suggest doing smaller water changes every day of about 25 percent. my reason is I had the same thing you are oging through for almost 4 weeks and what i noticed happening was I feel I was doing too large of water change causing the cycle to always have a mini cycle. If there are no fish then watch it go through the cycle as it will even itself out with smaller changes.

well i thought 50% water change was a big change

If there are no fish, then the size of the water change doesn't matter...

 

[Fishboy17]

Ok I did another water change modernhamlet. Now my readings are nitrate 20-40 hard to tell. nitrite 8 or 9. ppm hardness is 50 ppm alkanity is 80 ph is about 6.4. ammonia is 0.25 what should i do now everything is on the chart now atleast

 

[Tolak]

The last larger tank, a 65, that I fishless cycled used around a cap & a half of the ammonia I was using to bring it to 4-5 ppm. Not knowing how strong the concentration of your ammonia is, or how large the cap is, I would say add 1/4 teaspoon & retest. If it raises it by 1 ppm you need to add 2 or 3 times the amount. If it raises it to 2 ppm, you need to add another 1/4 teaspoon. Once you add enough to bring it to around 4 ppm, do not add any more until ammonia tests say 1-2 ppm. Only then add enough to bring it to 4-5 ppm

Tolak

 

[Fishboy17]

Why do I need to raise ammonia to 4-5 ppm. I thought the reason for doing that was to get a nitrite spike which I have lol. But I am noob so pleas explain why I need to get ammonia to 4-5 ppm.

 

[yvez9]

there are 2 kinds of bacteria growing in your filter
the one that transforms ammonia in nitrites and the one that convert nitrites to nitrates

now the first kind is established as it brought your ammonia to almost 0

you must wait for the second kind to establish to have a cycled tank. You have nitrites in your water but no ammonia right now. If you don't add ammonia on a regular basis, you will starve the bacteria so you'll have to cycle again.

Keeping ammonia between 3 and 5ppm every day is a good measure. You just need to find out how much to add to bring it to this level to maintain your colony while your tank is cycled and the fish will do it for you

 

[Fishboy17]

Ok I just added like 2 cap fulls, the cap is very small and the color is diff now. lol but i cant tell what number it is, it isnt a 6 its like in between 2 and 6 its hard to tell on the test kit i have. my brother cant tell either.

 

[Tolak]

Check again tomorrow at the same time to see what your ammo level is, without adding any more ammonia. If it appears to be below 2 ppm, add 1/2 a capful of ammonia, & check again. If it still seems a little low, add a second half cap.

I'll try this in shop guy terms. Your first type of bacteria eat ammonia, crap out nitrites. Just like a dog, no food no crap, lots of food you get a lot of piles of crap. The second set of bacteria eat nitrites, crap out nitrates. Just as before, no food, no crap, too much food, too much crap.

Just like a dog, you want to provide the bacteria with a regular source of food, which is ammonia. If the dog does well on 1 scoop of food per day, and you increase it to 6 scoops per day, the dog will eat too much, crap all over the place, & be sick as, well, a dog. This is what you did by adding ammonia when no more was needed, overfed the first set of bacteria, which overfeeds the second set of bacteria, extending the cycle.

You need to provide just enough ammonia to fed the bacteria, without overfeeding them. If you check the food level using ammonia tests, and there is still food, you don't need to add more. If it's low, just add enough to feed them.

Tolak

 

[Fishboy17]

ok..makes sense now, i hope i dont mess this up again ill cry lol so many water changes

 

[Synirr]

Normally I don't post in this section, but Fishboy17 sent me a link

I'm just wondering why you guys are recommending he add more ammonia if his bacteria colonies are already established (as evidenced by the nitrate spike)? It seems like, although his levels are off right now, since the bacteria are there and doing their job they should continue to do so even after he does enough water changes to get his levels where they should be and adds fish?

 

[modernhamlet]

Normally I don't post in this section, but Fishboy17 sent me a link

I'm just wondering why you guys are recommending he add more ammonia if his bacteria colonies are already established (as evidenced by the nitrate spike)? It seems like, although his levels are off right now, since the bacteria are there and doing their job they should continue to do so even after he does enough water changes to get his levels where they should be and adds fish?

Just because there are nitrates doesn't mean the cycle is complete. You still have the part where the ammonia and nitrite have to reach 0.

Frankly, I think they will very soon once he gets them both down to more reasonable levels, but to say he's cycled right now would be a major misunderstanding of what cycling is.

 

[Fishboy17]

so the numbers I have now are not reasonable levels? what do i need to get themdown to andshouldi do another water change..sigh

 

[modernhamlet]

so the numbers I have now are not reasonable levels? what do i need to get themdown to andshouldi do another water change..sigh

I guess you don't really have to know where nitrites are, but it'd be nice to not have to wait forever if nitrites are still sky high.

But I suppose you're right. Just keep ammonia in the 4ppm range now and you'll eventually cycle. If ammonia doesn't go down below 2ppm, don't add any that day

 

[Fishboy17]

well the nitrite is 7 or 8, its on the chart