[Zander]

Hi guys, First time post. I need some advice regarding my fishless cycle. I've just completed a six week fishless cycle as of yesterday. I've adhered to all the necessary steps as advised by the experts. My water reading was Ammonia=0 nitrite=0 and nitrate > 100ppm. I was told that the final step would be to do a 90% water change to get rid of the high concentration of nitrates in the water before I add any fish. After I did this my nitrites spiked and are now reading purple :|. Nitrates are still high. What have I done wrong and what can I do the regulate my cycle and bring down these levels back to 0? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[shellieca]

first just breathe . . . what was the nitrate reading after the water change? Have you tested your source water to see what you're starting parameters are? What is the exact reading of nitrItes after the water change? If nitrites are too high do another water change. Silly as this is . . . make sure you did the test correctly. How did you fish LESS cycle the tank; food, shrimp, pure ammonia? How long has the ammonia/nitrites been zeroing out within 24 hrs?