Water chemistry during cycling

[Doug Corsa]

right just did todays water test.

PH - 7.2
Ammonia - 1.0
Nitrites - 2.0

Anyway i can bring these levels down? or are they just going to come down naturally? since i have een doing the water changes it seems as though the nitrites have risen which dosnt seen normal!
All help is appreciated!

 

[Doug Corsa]

well i just added some bog wood with java fern/moss on it. So i am waiting till everything settles down then i will do another water test. Will post todays results up in a min

 

[Doug Corsa]

Right todays test results are:
PH - 7.4
Ammonia - 1.0
GH - 8
Nitrites - 3.5!!!!!

How come my nitrites have gone up? Is this all part of the natural cycle? as in will it peak and then go down?

 

[Doug Corsa]

Is my tank just going through the normal cycle? Or is there anything i need to do to reduce these levels?

 

[Doug Corsa]

ok and todays test results are

PH - 7.2
Ammonia - 0.50
GH - 8
Nitrites - 2.5 - 3.0

Does this mean that the levels are starting to go down beacuse the cycle is nearing completion?

Cant wait to get some more fish! 4 tetras get boring after a while lol

 

[modernhamlet]

Unless I'm mistaken, you've only had the fish for about a week, right? Did you get some filter media or gravel from an established tank? That will effect the time to cycle. In general, a cycle will take anywhere from 2 to 8 weeks depending on technique used and bioload.

Keep doing water changes to keep the ammonia and nitrates down. 2.5 ppm is still way too high.

As far as other fish go... and I know this is hard... put it out of your mind until you have 0ppm Ammonia and 0ppm Nitrites. And even then, only add another few of the tetras and wait again.

I did a fishless cycle and had NOTHING in my tank for almost 3 weeks before the cycle was complete. Trust me, I understand, but the fishies will appreciate your patience!!!

Good luck!

 

[Doug Corsa]

yeah about 7 days with fish in now, so i assume i should just let it carry on for about a month or so.

I will do a 10% water change every other day to help reduce the levels of ammonia and nitrites.

Will i be getting nitrate readings yet? or do i know that my cycle is nearing completion when i am getting nitrate readings?

 

[Doug Corsa]

after 2 weeks with fish my ammonia levels are 0 but my nitrite levels are 2.0, Does this mean that my cycle is nearly complete?
will the nitrite levels drop?

 

[thecichlidaddict]

Doug, your cycle is going fine. Keep doing what you are doing and have patience! Your ammonia is down, nitrite will take a little longer to go down. Do not by any means add fish, no matter how tempting it is, until ammonia and nitrite are both 0.

But, it would seem that with each water change, you run the risk of adding some chlorine into the water for a short period of time (especially if your dechlor method isn't optimal), which could kill off some of the beneficial bacteria. Enough bacteria dies, and you crash.

You don't use dechlorinators?

 

[Doug Corsa]

yeah i understand that, i was just wondering what sorta time period i should expect it to be before the nitrites go down to 0

I always use decholinators