I Think My Tank Has Cycled?

[Miss Wiggle]

Well i think it is 0ppm for Nitrite its sort of a really light bluey/greeny colour, is that right Miss Wiggle? Shall i just carry on adding half of the ammonia? Also if i do a 30% water change do i just put normal tap water in?

if i remember rightly from the API test kit it should be bright light blue, shouldn't be green at all, you need to keep going until it goes properly blue.

do a 30% water change with dechlorinated tap water, then add your ammonia afterwards, test it 12hrs later and see if it's got it down to 0. If it has then do a massive water change and add fish, if it hasn't then keep adding your ammonia until it does.

 

[Angel98]

Yeah thats what i thought because light bluey/green aint on the chart!

Ahh right ok then i will do that tonight! Hopefully i get light blue reading tomorrow morning as we wanted to go get some fish if not i will carry on. Thanks Miss Wiggle

 

[Miss Wiggle]

no problem

got my fingers crossed for you

 

[Angel98]

Mmmm it's still the same colour, blue but with a tinge of green, why why why?? Theres 0ppm ammonia so thats going within 12 hours!

Do you think i should get fish? I did the 30% water change lastnight but it has made no difference!

 

[Miss Wiggle]

i just don't think it's finished cycling yet love. just cos it converts the ammonia in 12 hrs doesn't mean it's done. nitrite takes a while longer.

i've just been looking for my colour chart for nitrite to see what bluey green could be but i seem to have mislaid that card if your in doubt take a sample of your water to the lfs and ask them to test it for you.

 

[Angel98]

*sigh* lol yeah i said to mum to take a sample of her water to the LFS to see what they think!

There isnt a bluey green colour on the chart, thats why it's confusing me!

 

[Majjie]

Like Miss Wiggle says - you're better off waiting until you are absolutely sure the tank is cycled before you add any fish.

Try rinsing out the tubes very thoroughly before you do the nitrite test - leave them soaking in water when you're not using them and then rinse thoroughly just before use. It's easy to get them contaminated. Also - did your nitrate level go up?

The good thing about doing the fishless cycling properly is that you don't then have to add just a few hardy fish - you can stock at 1 inch (adult size) per gallon straight away - unless you're going to have fish that prefer older tanks like panda corys and otos. I don't know whether frogs are ok with newly cycled tanks - try asking in the Invertebrates, Amphibians and Aquatic Reptiles Forum.

 

[DJayP]

This bluey green colour your on about, does it go from the dark purple and gradualy fade? If so mine was doing that and i think it because there is so much nitrite that the test doesnt read it properly.

 

[Angel98]

Yes!! Thats right! What does that mean then? That there is alot of Nitrite in the tank?

 

[DJayP]

Yeah im guessing so, i started off with adding way to much ammonia and i think this made the nitrites go totaly mad. I skipped adding the ammoina for a day and now the nitrite test tube just stays at the same colour and doesnt fade. My nitrates are still 10 though, they wont seem to get any higher

 

[Angel98]

Well i have cut my ammonia by half now as it said to do so in the pinned fishless cycling when ammona level drops back to 0.

My Nitrates are 10 also!

Heres a pic of my results, there are two bottles of Nitrite, the one on the left is from my mum's tank and the one next to it is mine from my tank just so you can see the difference in the blue's
.....
http/i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/aman...TestResults.jpg

Any more help?

 

[DJayP]

Yep, that one on the right is how mine went. Good news for me today tho as the nitrites was at 0 this morning.

 

[Angel98]

Ahh kool, hopefully mine will go like that soon then! Fingers crossed!

 

[DJayP]

Mine was like it for about 2 weeks, then the past 3 days the colour didnt fade, and then this morning hey presto!! My nitrates were 10 all the way up till this morning so hang on in there

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yup it can take weeks for the nitrites to go, just stick with it