Whats Going On With My Cycle?

[BLUFOX]

ive been cycling my fluval roma 125 litre tank for 1 week.im using the add and wait method using pure ammonia.
this morning i tested the ammonia and it was at 0.50ppm.i then added so more ammonia and tested it 2 hrs later and it had gone up to 2ppm.i then added some more to get it between 4-5ppm.i tested 2 hours later and it was still at 2ppm.so i decided to try one more time and add a little more ammonia.so i did and tested 2 hours later and its still at 2ppm??? whats going on

my other results are

nitrite is 5ppm and nitrate is between 120ppm & 140ppm

 

[BLUFOX]

any1??

 

[SaTiVa1984]

If nitrite is showing then the bacteria is already converting ammonia.

Also with the nitrate being really high, its possible nitrite is also being converted.

I have never done a fishless cycle but i guess the process is just the same but speeded up? personally now i would stop adding ammonia and test in 24 hours to see if it has gone completely from the tank or dropping, if it has gone or is less, then your cycle is coming along nicely.

 

[BLUFOX]

isnt it a bit early tho as its only been cycling for a week? it normally takes between 4-6 weeks i thought?

 

[Prime Ordeal]

Did you use a bacterial starter or seeded media? what test kit are you using?

What is the nitrate level out of your tap?

 

[BLUFOX]

i did put 1 cap full of nutrafin cycle the day i set the tank up, but havent used it since as ive heard its useless.im using the liquid api test kit.its still in date also.
when i got the tank the filter was mature but i did clean it under the tap so i doubt any of the bacteria will still be present.

 

[HayzH]

there is a calculator at tab at the top of this page, calculate your tank's volume by its measurements (taking substrate,decor into concideration)
If your ammonia dropped to 2ppm in 2 hrs there is a chance you arent adding enough to get it to 4ppm
Only add "this" ammount once in 24 hrs, too much ammonia can breed the wrong kind of bacteria. And only test once in 24hrs too.

Before you dose next time, do as big as w/c as you can to lower those Nitrates down, and start dosing the correct dose of Ammonia,
Make sure your temp is 30 deg, and no lights are used, and no plants in there. HTH x

 

[SaTiVa1984]

i did put 1 cap full of nutrafin cycle the day i set the tank up, but havent used it since as ive heard its useless.im using the liquid api test kit.its still in date also.
when i got the tank the filter was mature but i did clean it under the tap so i doubt any of the bacteria will still be present.

Some still could have been present after the clean, it would explain why your ammonia is already converting to nitrite after only 1 week.

 

[BLUFOX]

its been 24hours since i added the ammonia and its at 0.
so do i just carry on dosing the ammonia now.

 

[Prime Ordeal]

You keep dosing ammonia until the nitrite also falls to zero in the same time. Eventually you want both to fall to Zero in twelve hours.

 

[SaTiVa1984]

its been 24hours since i added the ammonia and its at 0.
so do i just carry on dosing the ammonia now.

What's your nitrite readings? if they are also zero but nitrate is high its cycled.

 

[BLUFOX]

how much should i dose too? 2ppm maybe?

no the nitrites off the chart

there is a calculator at tab at the top of this page, calculate your tank's volume by its measurements (taking substrate,decor into concideration)
If your ammonia dropped to 2ppm in 2 hrs there is a chance you arent adding enough to get it to 4ppm
Only add "this" ammount once in 24 hrs, too much ammonia can breed the wrong kind of bacteria. And only test once in 24hrs too.

Before you dose next time, do as big as w/c as you can to lower those Nitrates down, and start dosing the correct dose of Ammonia,
Make sure your temp is 30 deg, and no lights are used, and no plants in there. HTH x

im very confused by your reply.you dont do any water changes while you're cycling. You want nitrates while you're cycling, that's what is going to eat your nitrite! The only reason you would do a water change would be if you'd accidentally added far too much ammonia which would stall the cycle.

 

[the_lock_man]

how much should i dose too? 2ppm maybe?

no the nitrites off the chart

there is a calculator at tab at the top of this page, calculate your tank's volume by its measurements (taking substrate,decor into concideration)
If your ammonia dropped to 2ppm in 2 hrs there is a chance you arent adding enough to get it to 4ppm
Only add "this" ammount once in 24 hrs, too much ammonia can breed the wrong kind of bacteria. And only test once in 24hrs too.

Before you dose next time, do as big as w/c as you can to lower those Nitrates down, and start dosing the correct dose of Ammonia,
Make sure your temp is 30 deg, and no lights are used, and no plants in there. HTH x

im very confused by your reply.you dont do any water changes while you're cycling. You want nitrates while you're cycling, that's what is going to eat your nitrite! The only reason you would do a water change would be if you'd accidentally added far too much ammonia which would stall the cycle.

In this stage of the process, it's recommended to dose up to 3ppm, until all ammonia and nitrite is processed in 24 hours.

Then dose every 24 hours to 4ppm, until ammonia and nitrite are processed within 12 hours.

THe reason for the change is that if nitrates get ridiculously high, it can start converting itself into nitric acid, thus dropping the pH of the water, thus causing the cycle to stall. If your pH is still fine, don't worry about the w/c.

 

[Prime Ordeal]

im very confused by your reply.you dont do any water changes while you're cycling. You want nitrates while you're cycling, that's what is going to eat your nitrite! The only reason you would do a water change would be if you'd accidentally added far too much ammonia which would stall the cycle.

It's clear that you're confused about the whole process bluefox.

The ammonia is converted to nitrite which in turn is converted to nitrate.

To keep it simple, continue to dose to 2ppm when it falls to zero. When the nitrite falls to zero in the same time as the ammonia, you are essentially cycled.

You can make water changes during the cycle but it just complicates things for you so forget about it for now.

 

[BLUFOX]

i know how the cycle works.im very certain on that.the only thing i was confused about was being told to do a water change what its not needed in my situation.although i am greatful for any advise but you also do get told many different things.just on this thread different members are telling me different things.dose to 2ppm then dose to 3ppm then another site is stating 4ppm then 5ppm.so some confusion can come from what you are being told.the reason i said at the beginning to dose to 4-5ppm is i am using this cycling method.http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/113861-fishless-cycling/