[bonecrusher]

Been cycling my tank for a little over week now. I on thursday I had a zero ammonia reading and added some more at about 2ppm and then next day was zero again. Nitrite is high right now and has not gone down in days, seems to be in between 2.0 and 5.0 PPM. Been like that for days. My PH is also going down too....

So I have 2 questions..

1. Should I be adding ammonia every day to keep that bacteria going?

2. Should I do a water change?

 

[ironspider]

follow this tutorial https://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/fishless_cycle.php

 

[withomps44]

Been cycling my tank for a little over week now. I on thursday I had a zero ammonia reading and added some more at about 2ppm and then next day was zero again. Nitrite is high right now and has not gone down in days, seems to be in between 2.0 and 5.0 PPM. Been like that for days. My PH is also going down too....

So I have 2 questions..

1. Should I be adding ammonia every day to keep that bacteria going?

2. Should I do a water change?

I followed the tutorial as well the best I could. Ammonia began to do what yours is doing after the first couple weeks. it took about 3 more weeks to get enough nitrates to begin cycling correctly. It was incredibly difficult to remain patient. I never did any water changes until it was full cycled though. I started cycling mid January and finished at the end of February. I used DR. Tims ammonia and bottled bacteria but I don't know that it helped... didn't seem to hurt.

 

[SoCalSk8r]

I'm 8 days in and my ammonia level hasn't dropped....the suspense is killing me [EYES]

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[Ironhead727]

Trust the process, in the end you will be rewarded

 

[ironspider]

Mine didn't go exactly per the tutorial either, I remember at the same time another member was in the same boat as me. Although neither of us has patience, somehow we pulled it together and waited, both of us ended up with a nice cycle. I think overall, mine took three months or close to it. It's a long process but works and you'll be happy in the end when you have very little fish loss.

 

[Ironhead727]

if you have a local fish store near you, that run their aquariums with sponge filters, and you know their fish are always healthy, try taking to the owner, introduce yourself, let them know what your starting and what not, and ask if they can squeeze a nasty sponge filter into a bag, that nasty stuff is full of beneficial bacteria, that can help jump start your nitrogen cycle

 

[Slow-n-Steady]

if you have a local fish store near you, that run their aquariums with sponge filters, and you know their fish are always healthy, try taking to the owner, introduce yourself, let them know what your starting and what not, and ask if they can squeeze a nasty sponge filter into a bag, that nasty stuff is full of beneficial bacteria, that can help jump start your nitrogen cycle

Agree 100%. I haven't cycled a tank in a traditional way in maybe 15yrs. It's such a hassle and pain. If you have a very high quality LFS or if you can find good fishkeepers locally willing to help, I'd absolutely go that route. That plus a bag of Bio-Spira or Fluval's bacteria for extra insurance and it works like a charm instantly every time.

 

[SoCalSk8r]

I'm 8 days in and my ammonia level hasn't dropped....the suspense is killing me [EYES]

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Ok..so now I'm in 3 weeks and my ammonia level still hasn't dropped.

pH is 8.4
Nitrite is around 0
Nitrate is 5ppm
Ammonia is 4ppm

Should I try a partial water change? This seems a long time for ammonia to still be so high, but what do I know...

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