I Need Help

so i did test on my water ammonia is 4.0ppm and nitrite is 5.0ppm...thats seems ok so ive been told...ill check daily to drop ammonia level. one thing i dont understand why you have to bring the ammonia level up if were trying to get then down.
 
You have to bring the ammonia level up so that the bacteria you need to have to keep the ammonia down are established.  You are making the tank an inviting place for the bacteria by giving them an "all you can eat" buffet.  They will multiply and eat more and more until you see no ammonia reading anymore.  Then when you add the fish, which supply the ammonia pretty much continually (through respiration primarily), the "ravenous" bacteria that are there will immediately "consume" it. 
 
I'd say that you could either hold where your levels are or perform a 50% water change to put the levels at the proper level for "optimum" growth - and then wait.  Either way, you are well on the path if you have nitrite readings.
 
ok good i feel much better now that you said that...ok so now i wait for ammonia to drop to zero and nitrite aswel ...and whats spike?
 
As the bacteria start to eat the ammonia, the nitrite will start to rise.
 
When the bacteria have built up a really good colony, suddenly all the ammonia gets eaten and turned into nitrite very quickly. The nitrite level will get really high, and that's your spike.
 
ok so what is it i have to do now my ammonia at 4ppm and nitrite at 5ppm...ill check the the levels again..if i had hair id pull it out im so confused.makes me not want to carry on with my cycle
 
Just wait until you see the ammonia drop.
 
so when it drops i check for high nitrite readings right? then wait for that to drop and check for nitrate?
 
Basically yes.
 
 
The "Add and Wait" method is just that...  Add ammonia and then Wait for it to drop to zero.  Then add again and wait again. 
 
ok so i done another test today...
yesterday ammonia 4ppm and nitrite 5ppm.....
today ammonia between 1-2ppm and nitrite 5ppm but the color is really dark compared to the chart.

so how many times is the add and wait method.
 
Until both ammonia and nitrite are zero 12 hours after dosing.
 
Next time you dose ammonia drop the dose to only 1ppm, to allow the nitrite bacs to catch up.
 
ah i see....i think i got it....when they both reach zero, drop some ammonia in? i put 5ml in my tank (120l) so how much do i dose this time? then i wait to hit double zeros again or do i check nitrate too?
or do i add and wait?
 
You will be dosing ammonia daily (eventually... whenever ammonia drops to zero), but the nitrite won't drop to zero for a while yet.  Regardless you dose a bit (1ppm) of ammonia to give those bacteria something to survive on while you wait for the nitrite to also hit zero.
 
What dose did 5mL give you?  If that was for 3ppm, you'll want to add about 1.5ml (just above actually at 1.67mL) to get ~1ppm.  The exact measurement doesn't really matter that much so don't sweat it too much.
 
 
Cycling process in a nut shell:
 
Day 1: Dose ammonia to 3ppm.  Wait and test - wait and test...
 
Day 4-7: Ammonia has reached zero, and nitrite is starting to rise.  Dose ammonia to 2 or 3ppm.  Wait some more and test some more...
 
Day 6-9: Ammonia has dropped again to zero.  Nitrite is starting to jump off the chart.  Add ammonia to 2-3ppm.
 
Day 10-14: Ammonia drops to zero in 24 hours.  Nitrite is probably off the chart.  (Crossroads - either a huge water change to reset the nitrite to zero, or sit and wait it out.  I suggest a water change here - good practice anyway).  Either way, you dose ammonia to 1ppm - wait and test.
 
Day 11 - 15: Ammonia keeps dropping to zero, but the nitrite keeps bumping up higher and higher.  Add ammonia at 1ppm daily. (Keep an eye on the pH - it may start to fall.)
 
Day 15-21: Ammonia keeps falling, nitrite starts to drop back lower.  Keep dosing at 1ppm ammonia and testing daily - start testing at 12 hours.
 
Day 18-28: Ammonia falls to zero in 12 hours, nitrite falls to zero after 24 hours, but still isn't zero at 12.
 
Day 28-42: Both ammonia and nitrite reach zero in 12 hours...  Dose again daily for a week, to verify that this continues for the full week.
 
Day 35-49: Assuming no changes, add fish
fish.gif
after a massive water change (100%) to reset the tank to tap conditions.  The bacteria will be just fine.
 
cycle in a nut shell is really helpful thanks mate...ok one question on the api master kit the nitrite chart is dark purple for 5ppm so is there a level higher than that.
 
No; once your nitrite gets to over 5ppm, when you add the drops to the tube, they'll go instantly purple on the bottom and/or the test will go an odd sort of greeny blue.
 

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