Should I Be Seeing More Nitrate By Now?

[DJayP]

Im on day 18 of a fishless cycle, ammonia is dropping to 0 in less than 24 hours, nitrite is 5 but my nitrate has not risen at all through the whole cycle. Its currently at 10 and this is the same as my tapwater. Iv been making the ammonia upto about 4ppm each day.

Thanks
Neil

 

[Majjie]

It does sound unlikely - all that ammonia must have gone somewhere.

Try doing some dilutions on your tank water and testing those - sometimes there's just so much there that the test can't read it. Did it not rise at all - even earlier in the cycle?

 

[idlefingers]

Are you using liquid or test strips? I read a post on here in the last week about why the nitrate liquid tests need to be shaken so much - because one of the chemicals is constantly wanting to turn to a solid. If it isn't shaken enough, the tests would be inaccurate.. perhaps it could be this??

 

[DJayP]

Its the API liquid kit, I shake the second bottle like mad. I tryed it without shaking and did get diffrent results - it went dark red. By dilouting tests do you mean take some water from the tank and diloute it with some tap water?(dechlorinated of course!)

Neil

 

[Majjie]

This is the post idlefingers was talking about (I'd forgotten about it):

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showto...hl=nitrate+test

By dilution - I mean just dilute a sample from the tank - say 1 in 2 (concentration will be 50%), and 1 in 10 (concentration will be 10% of tank). Ideally you'd use distilled water, or RO water because that wouldn't have any nitrate in it - but just using tap water you'll be able to see if that's what 's causing the problem (no need to dechlorinate it - it's not going in the tank).

 

[DJayP]

Iv just read that post and im getting the oposite, if i dont shake the second bottle i get a high result and if i do it get a low one. Iv just brought a brand new kit and it still gives me the same resluts so it cant be that its out of date or anything.
I tried diluting some water by 50 % and got the same results. I Really dont know what to do, should i try changing some water to see if it gives the cycle a reboot?

 

[idlefingers]

Do you have any plants in there? They consume nitrate (i think). I think this has exceeded my amateur knowledge.. sorry. If you're ammonia and nitrites are coming down, then at least that part of the cycle is working.

My nitrites don't move much and didn't while the tank was cycling. It went up a little, but not much. I'm jealous of your 10ppm tapwater, though. Mines 40!

Sorry I can't help more.

 

[DJayP]

The ammonia is being processed but the nitrites are stuck on 5, well actually the nitrite test fades down to a blue colour once its been left for 5 mins or so. I dont understand whats going on. I am seeding the tank with some substrate form another tank, could this be effecting anything?

 

[Majjie]

If the nitrate test is working and the nitrate isn't off the scale - then it must still be low.

This means that the nitrite isn't yet being converted to nitrate. So, just continue adding ammonia each day and keep testing the nitrite until you see it come down. There's no point in changing any water - you want the nitrite level to stay high to encourage nitrite eating bacteria.

Substrate from another tank shouldn't have any effect - except to add a few bacteria that might help. Can you not get some squeezings from the filter of the other tank - or even better a piece of media from the filter?

 

[DJayP]

I have been squeezing the sponge from my biube into the tank each week when i do its water change. The nitrate level is lower than 10 today which is odd becuase my tapwater is 10 to start with. There isnt any plants in my tank so there isnt anything using the nitrates up. Suppose ill just have to stick with it. I did add far to much ammonia to start with, could this be causing the problem?

 

[mark.w.jones]

I have been squeezing the sponge from my biube into the tank each week when i do its water change. The nitrate level is lower than 10 today which is odd becuase my tapwater is 10 to start with. There isnt any plants in my tank so there isnt anything using the nitrates up. Suppose ill just have to stick with it. I did add far to much ammonia to start with, could this be causing the problem?

Nope. Just keep going. Nitrate levels are really not that important at the moment. Keep up your ammonia additions and good luck. Stick at it.

 

[Majjie]

I think adding too much ammonia initially often does slow things down - but usually it slows down the disappearance of the ammonia - not the nitrite. All I can recommend is patience

 

[DJayP]

Thanks for all the help, I think what is making me abit worried is the fact that the nitrite test tube colour fades from a dark purple to a very light colour as aposed from light to dark. I have emailed API though to see what they say.