Ph crash

[steelo]

I have been using dr tims ammonia and one and only, can I switch over or stay with his because his say to wait till nitrites and ammonia are under 1ppm ?

Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk

I'm so sorry for creating confusion and I didn't mean to hijack your thread...I thought we were using the same method and were roughly in the same situation.

If I were you, I'd stick with Dr. Tims method if it seems to be working for ya =)

 

[Essjay]

I don't know what Dr Tim's instruction say as I've never seen them, but the method on here was specifically written to stop nitrite ever getting high enough to stall the cycle.
But I do know that Dr Tim's One & Only contains the right species of both ammonia and nitrite eating bacteria (a lot of makes have the wrong nitrite eaters) so this could prevent nitrite getting too high. If your nitrite level stays under 5 you should be OK following your instructions.

 

[g930751]

It doesn't have nitrites bacteria, bit I am worried my ammonia eating ones die off because nitrites have sat at 3-5 ppms for 2 day now

Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk

 

[eaglesaquarium]

It doesn't have nitrites bacteria, bit I am worried my ammonia eating ones die off because nitrites have sat at 3-5 ppms for 2 day now

Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk

No worries about the ammonia bacs dying off that quickly. Wait another day... and after the 3rd full day since you added any ammonia... add only a 'snack dose' (1/3 the full dose) to tick over the ammonia bacs while the nitrite bacs build up some bigger numbers.

Then wait 3-4 more days keeping an eye on nitrite. If the nitrite continues to hang in the 3-5 ppm range... add another 'snack dose'...

Patience is the key, even when using a 'bacteria booster' like Dr. Tim's.

 

[g930751]

[emoji106]thank you

Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk

 

[steelo]

Like magic! This is 24 hours after nitrites were around 5 ppm and adding between 4-6 ppm ammonia by accident 48 hours before. edit: I just tested nitrates and they appear to be around 20 ppm...not as high as I thought they would be but maybe I just didn't shake the bottle enough?

Is it safe to say I'm ready for fish after I do a 75% water change?

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Ci6ETMHt3zIgoWeybd1xT2UMNDMujXzb

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Like magic! This is 24 hours after nitrites were around 5 ppm and adding between 4-6 ppm ammonia by accident 48 hours before. edit: I just tested nitrates and they appear to be around 20 ppm...not as high as I thought they would be but maybe I just didn't shake the bottle enough?

Is it safe to say I'm ready for fish after I do a 75% water change?

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Ci6ETMHt3zIgoWeybd1xT2UMNDMujXzb

My suggestion would be, 1 more full dose - test after 24 hours and then go for it with fish this weekend.

Also, I'd take the water down all the way to the substrate for a full 'reset' on nitrates.

(Also, I recommend a 50%-75% water change twice a year in addition to the standard weekly changes.)

 

[steelo]

My suggestion would be, 1 more full dose - test after 24 hours and then go for it with fish this weekend.

Also, I'd take the water down all the way to the substrate for a full 'reset' on nitrates.

(Also, I recommend a 50%-75% water change twice a year in addition to the standard weekly changes.)

Okay, 1 more dose then. Thanks for your help!

 

[Cichlid4life]

And my nitrites are high but ammonia is 0

Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk

do you have any nitrates at all? Ammonia is 0 and that is good, because that means that the nitrosomonas bacteria is pretty much done establishing itself, if you have any readings of nitrates, then that means the nitrobacter bacteria is just starting to grow. If you don't have any nitrates, then the bacteria needs a few day to get going, and in about a week, hopefully, you would have no ammonia, almost no nitrites, and some nitrates.

 

[steelo]

do you have any nitrates at all? Ammonia is 0 and that is good, because that means that the nitrosomonas bacteria is pretty much done establishing itself, if you have any readings of nitrates, then that means the nitrobacter bacteria is just starting to grow. If you don't have any nitrates, then the bacteria needs a few day to get going, and in about a week, hopefully, you would have no ammonia, almost no nitrites, and some nitrates.

Hi, Yes I definitely have nitrates...whether I have a well-established colony is the big question. My 5+ ppm nitrites disappeared in about 24-48 hours after overdosing to about 6 ppm ammonia by accident.

The API test kit shows nitrates between 20-40 ppm (slight reddish orange), which is a lot lower than I expected. I thought before testing it that they would be off the charts with how quickly the nitrites were disappearing. Per eaglesaquarium's suggestion, I re-dosed it to about 2-3 ppm last night and will check it tonight. I'm pretty confident that the nitrites/ammonia will be at 0 or at least very very low. Nitrates seem to roughly be doubling every day I check them, so I'm hoping they'll be close to 70-80 ppm tonight. With any luck, that will be the case and I can do a 80% water change, wait 24 hours and get fish this weekend!

It's amazing how everything just seemed to flip a switch and start working. I was getting so tired of seeing dark purple every day for the past 3 weeks while testing nitrites.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

That's how the cycling process goes... honestly.

BTW, there's no need to wait 24 hours after the big water change. You can theoretically get fish the same day as the water change, as long as the water is the right temp... all is well.

 

[Cichlid4life]

Hi, Yes I definitely have nitrates...whether I have a well-established colony is the big question. My 5+ ppm nitrites disappeared in about 24-48 hours after overdosing to about 6 ppm ammonia by accident.

The API test kit shows nitrates between 20-40 ppm (slight reddish orange), which is a lot lower than I expected. I thought before testing it that they would be off the charts with how quickly the nitrites were disappearing. Per eaglesaquarium's suggestion, I re-dosed it to about 2-3 ppm last night and will check it tonight. I'm pretty confident that the nitrites/ammonia will be at 0 or at least very very low. Nitrates seem to roughly be doubling every day I check them, so I'm hoping they'll be close to 70-80 ppm tonight. With any luck, that will be the case and I can do a 80% water change, wait 24 hours and get fish this weekend!

It's amazing how everything just seemed to flip a switch and start working. I was getting so tired of seeing dark purple every day for the past 3 weeks while testing nitrites.

i was originally responding to the OP when i sent my previous message, but good to know you are almost done with the cycle.

 

[g930751]

Yes I do have nitrites and nitrates which is good just sick off seeing purple like most people haha

Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk

 

[Cichlid4life]

well then you must be about a week away from being done with the cycle

 

[g930751]

Yeah I was thinking that only been cycling the tank about a week aswell hopefully not to long now

Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk