So I have been cycling my tank with pure ammonia and today I got my first nitrIte readings!!!!
My levels right now are:
Ammonia-2.5
Nitrite-1
Nitrate-0
In all my excitement I got confused. Now I don't what to do! When do I add more ammonia? What should my ammonia level be?
dont add no more ammonia just do a 25 to 50% water change once there is no ammonia or nitrites reading for a few days there will be a nitrate reading that is a good sign wait a few days if the ammonia & nitrites are 0 your tank should be done cycling how long has it been cycling? your nitate ppm should never reach higher then 40ppm some nitrates are normal
Ok thanks for the reply I was starting to get a little worried that nobody would respond.
But my tank has been cycling for almost two weeks now. But I will follow your directions and hopefully all goes well. If you had to take a guess at how much longer it would be until my tank finishes its cycle what would you say?
any where from i to 6 weeks i know thats crazy but thats how it is but since your seeing signs of nitrites its going good next you will see nitrates just keep doing partial water changes and youll be fine
I will post a pic of the tank but I am in the middle of my aquascaping so I only have about half of the rock that I want in the tank. But I am going to keep African Cichlid.
But you said keep doing pwc's, but do I have to do water changes since I am doing a fishless cycle?
You do need to keep adding ammonia though. Without ammonia, the nitrosomonas bacteria will die off, and then the nitrospira when the nitrite runs out. You will be back at square one then.
A tank is only "cycled" when there is a colony of both types of bacteria sufficient to handle the ammonia/nitrite being generated daily.
Ok guys thank you for the quick replies So I should keep my ammonia level at about 1-2 for now and then when I go to put fish in it need to be zero correct?
Do I have to wait for the ammonia to get turned into nitrite then to nitrate or can I remove the ammonia with a big water change?
Have a read of the sticky on cycling at the head of this [Freshwater Aquarium] section. It up at the top of this column. It will explain this. Then ask questions, we can clarify.
yes wait until the ammonia 7 nitrites are 0 for atleast 2 days then your good to go good luck the tank looks nice post some pics when its complete ok..
Alright Bryon and jbonez thanks for the help. I'll be sure to post some pics of my tank probably this weekend once I get everything up and running and stocked with fishies
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