Stalled Fishless Cycling

[HasGills]

My cycling process was going really well up until a few days ago when the pH went from 7.0 down to 6.0.
I have been waiting patiently the last 4 days as there has been no change in nitrite or Ammonia levels..
Prior to the pH drop I was increasing ammonia levels daily to around 2-4ppm and getting a 0.25-0.5 24hrs later. Nitrite levels were a constant 5. Since the pH drop the ammonia levels are stuck at 4ish and nitrite 5..

Now, I have read several posts on here which suggest a few possible solutions 1) add bicarb soda to increase pH 2) water change

Another option I thought off was added some more of the tropical salts which my LFS sold me to increase kH and gH...

Which is the correct/best solution to get my cycle processing again..

Cheers
HasGills

 

[PaPeRo]

I think the first thing that should be done is to figure out WHY the pH went down. Anybody have any ideas?

 

[HasGills]

Going by the other posts Im guessing that its the drift wood (x3). The only other items in the tank are 2 rocks and various plants which are all growing too well..

 

[PaPeRo]

I assumed your tank didn't have anything in it. Did you presoak the driftwood? If the water is too acidic it will kill your bio filter AND fish. If you haven't presoaked the driftwood or boiled it, it will continue to leech out tannic acid which will lower your pH. Anyway IIRC at a lower pH your ammonia would read higher than at a higher pH. For example at a pH of 6 your ammonia could be 4 while at a pH of 7 it would read 1.

 

[HasGills]

I assumed your tank didn't have anything in it. Did you presoak the driftwood? If the water is too acidic it will kill your bio filter AND fish. If you haven't presoaked the driftwood or boiled it, it will continue to leech out tannic acid which will lower your pH.

No the tank doesnt have any fish.. Just plants, gravel substrate and snails.
I presoaked the wood for 24 hours and boiled it for around 1hr.

 

[PaPeRo]

Try adding some more ammonia to around 6ppm and see if it goes back down to 4. Has your temperature changed? Do you have a heater? Temp, pH, an ammonia are all interrelated.

 

[HasGills]

Yes I have a heater (Jager 300w). Temp is a constant 27DegC. and pH of tank has been hovering around the 7.0 mark during the cycling process.

I decided to add some BiCarb to bring the pH back to 7 and added some Ammonia to bring it up to 4ppm.

After 12hrs I retested and Ammonia has decreased and pH has remained at 7. So hopefully the cycle will continue where it left off.