Still Cycling?
- Thread starter EthanF
- Start date
okay 
( i will post on this thread my results so i dont need to add another thread) i just really cant understand how its all went dodgy for me, i cant even get a fish tank sorted out .... also what happens if the ammonia drops?
( i will post on this thread my results so i dont need to add another thread) i just really cant understand how its all went dodgy for me, i cant even get a fish tank sorted out .... also what happens if the ammonia drops? If the ammonia drops then maybe it was just a blip so just leave it to sort itself out.
If it doesn't budge then you will need a water change and re-dose ammonia. It may take a while for the cycle to kick back in.
If it doesn't budge then you will need a water change and re-dose ammonia. It may take a while for the cycle to kick back in.
Tell me is this what you did:
1) Add 10 drops from Nitrate bottle 1 to 5ml tank water
2) Shake Nitrate bottle 2 as hard as you can for a full minute
3) Add 10 drops from Nitrate bottle 2 to the tube
4) Cap and shake the test tube for 5 seconds
5) Wait 5 minutes before reading the colour
(edit: added tube shake)
1) Add 10 drops from Nitrate bottle 1 to 5ml tank water
2) Shake Nitrate bottle 2 as hard as you can for a full minute
3) Add 10 drops from Nitrate bottle 2 to the tube
4) Cap and shake the test tube for 5 seconds
5) Wait 5 minutes before reading the colour
(edit: added tube shake)
I took 5ml tank water
shook bottle 1 for like 2 seconds added 10 drops
shook bottle 2 for a minuet added 10 drops
put lid on and shook for 4-6 seconds
waited five minuets and...
looks around 10-20 ppm....the other week it was red...?
shook bottle 1 for like 2 seconds added 10 drops
shook bottle 2 for a minuet added 10 drops
put lid on and shook for 4-6 seconds
waited five minuets and...
looks around 10-20 ppm....the other week it was red...?
Nitrate can't drop unless you have loads of plants and even then it would not drop by that much.
You could try Dave's suggestion and dilute your tank sample with distilled water to see if your nitrate is off the scale.
Otherwise just wait 24 hours and do a water change if it seems the cycle has truly stalled. Can't suggest anything else sorry!
You could try Dave's suggestion and dilute your tank sample with distilled water to see if your nitrate is off the scale.
Otherwise just wait 24 hours and do a water change if it seems the cycle has truly stalled. Can't suggest anything else sorry!
TwoTankAmin
Fish Connoisseur
Boy am I having a hard time figuring out what results you are reporting. Instead I am going to suggest what to do despite that.
1. To determine that a tank has finished the cycle you should be able to do the following: Dose the ammonia in the initial amount you used. This should have been the amount to create 2 or 3 ppm of ammonia. Wait 24 hours and then test ammonia and nitrite. If you get 0/0 you are good to go. If not go to #2
2. If you read a low level of ammonia but 0 nitrite, the odds are good it is an ammonia test kit error. .25 ppm is 1/12 of a 3 ppm addition. That means 3.75 ppm had to go somewhere. They became nitrite and then nitrate which is why your nitrite reads 0. If a tank can process 3 ppm in 24 hours it is roughly equal to .25 ppm every two hours. It isn't really this even, but if you have a functioning colony of ammonia eaters, that .25 should not last real long, unless it really isn't there. Test again in a few hours and see. So you can choose to ignore it and start setting up to stock, or you can go to #3.
If you get 0 ammonia but a low level nitrite reading, you are not cycled. Wait for the nitrite to hit 0 and go to #3.
3. Dose the same amount of ammonia again and wait 24 and test nitrite and ammonia. If nitrite is 0 but ammonia is .25 you know that its a bad reading and you are cycled. If there is still a little nitrite but no ammonia, repeat this step. it should not be long before you can see 0/0.
Now as for the nitrate kit, I laugh at these. The odds of getting a good reading are poor at best. And even if you get a reading, it wont matter much. If one is doing weekly water changes, there should never be a dangerous level of nitrate unless its from your tap water- not real likely. Besides, what do we do when nitrate gets high- we change water. Even if one's nitrate is acceptable, there are other reasons for doing the water changes. So again nitrate doesn't matter. Do the weekly water changes and keep the caps on those to bottles. The poor salt guys need to put up with the test and they have my sympathies.
PS- the nitrate kits will give two totally different readings depending on how you shake the tube for the final minute after adding both reagents. Shake moderately and you get a lower reading. Shake more violently and you get a higrer reading from the exact same water.
1. To determine that a tank has finished the cycle you should be able to do the following: Dose the ammonia in the initial amount you used. This should have been the amount to create 2 or 3 ppm of ammonia. Wait 24 hours and then test ammonia and nitrite. If you get 0/0 you are good to go. If not go to #2
2. If you read a low level of ammonia but 0 nitrite, the odds are good it is an ammonia test kit error. .25 ppm is 1/12 of a 3 ppm addition. That means 3.75 ppm had to go somewhere. They became nitrite and then nitrate which is why your nitrite reads 0. If a tank can process 3 ppm in 24 hours it is roughly equal to .25 ppm every two hours. It isn't really this even, but if you have a functioning colony of ammonia eaters, that .25 should not last real long, unless it really isn't there. Test again in a few hours and see. So you can choose to ignore it and start setting up to stock, or you can go to #3.
If you get 0 ammonia but a low level nitrite reading, you are not cycled. Wait for the nitrite to hit 0 and go to #3.
3. Dose the same amount of ammonia again and wait 24 and test nitrite and ammonia. If nitrite is 0 but ammonia is .25 you know that its a bad reading and you are cycled. If there is still a little nitrite but no ammonia, repeat this step. it should not be long before you can see 0/0.
Now as for the nitrate kit, I laugh at these. The odds of getting a good reading are poor at best. And even if you get a reading, it wont matter much. If one is doing weekly water changes, there should never be a dangerous level of nitrate unless its from your tap water- not real likely. Besides, what do we do when nitrate gets high- we change water. Even if one's nitrate is acceptable, there are other reasons for doing the water changes. So again nitrate doesn't matter. Do the weekly water changes and keep the caps on those to bottles. The poor salt guys need to put up with the test and they have my sympathies.
PS- the nitrate kits will give two totally different readings depending on how you shake the tube for the final minute after adding both reagents. Shake moderately and you get a lower reading. Shake more violently and you get a higrer reading from the exact same water.
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