I hadn't tested it in a couple days, I admit. I even skipped a "feeding" of ammonia, because I spent a night reveling and frankly... forgot. I figure that didn't hurt my bacteria *too* much, as I now harbor a small colony of pond snails and I did a wicked thing and added some hornwart with all the water from the petstore included -- I saw a tiny bit of duckweed floating in the baggie and after a brief (slightly drunk) bit of thought, simply emptied the bag into the tank. With all the Planaria, water flea, snails, and hydra in the tank, I can't imagine much more that could happen to me while fishless. 
I know, that was bad of me. I didn't even sterlize it like I normally do. What can I say? I was careless, but at least I wasn't driving?
About 3 hours ago, I added enough ammonia to raise it to 3ppm, and then decided to test just for the heck of it.
NitrItes: 0ppm
Normally, it'd read at least 5ppm. So, I whip out ye old ammonia kit and test away.
Ammonia: 1ppm
That's a significant reduction for 3 hours, isn't it?
NitrAtes: 20? 40? I can't seem to tell orange from orange apart on my test kit. I would expect my nitrAtes to be ... uh, on the lower end of high, to be honest, since I fishless cycled with many plants in the tank, and relatively high light. Everyone is happy in there, let me leave it at that.
What's the standard wait for ammonia to return to zero, if it's going to be well planted and have a low bioload? I've read anywhere from 1 to 12 hours.
I imagine it'll be at least a week before I'm totally rid of hydra, as I have to further research the means of their death and then treat, and then make sure my tank is safe for fish. I hear the 'copper' method will likely leave my bacteria alone. I suspect it'll kill my pond snails, which actually isn't desirable in this case as the 10gal is currently slated to be a Dwarf Puffer species tank. The 'heating for an hour' solution sounds positively ideal, except my heater only goes up to 86 degrees.
I know, that was bad of me. I didn't even sterlize it like I normally do. What can I say? I was careless, but at least I wasn't driving?About 3 hours ago, I added enough ammonia to raise it to 3ppm, and then decided to test just for the heck of it.
NitrItes: 0ppm
Normally, it'd read at least 5ppm. So, I whip out ye old ammonia kit and test away.
Ammonia: 1ppm
That's a significant reduction for 3 hours, isn't it? NitrAtes: 20? 40? I can't seem to tell orange from orange apart on my test kit. I would expect my nitrAtes to be ... uh, on the lower end of high, to be honest, since I fishless cycled with many plants in the tank, and relatively high light. Everyone is happy in there, let me leave it at that.
What's the standard wait for ammonia to return to zero, if it's going to be well planted and have a low bioload? I've read anywhere from 1 to 12 hours.
I imagine it'll be at least a week before I'm totally rid of hydra, as I have to further research the means of their death and then treat, and then make sure my tank is safe for fish. I hear the 'copper' method will likely leave my bacteria alone. I suspect it'll kill my pond snails, which actually isn't desirable in this case as the 10gal is currently slated to be a Dwarf Puffer species tank. The 'heating for an hour' solution sounds positively ideal, except my heater only goes up to 86 degrees.
