Fish Tank Cycling Query

Thanks Sue, i'll have a look at them 

But back to topic.....Help!!!! lol

I have just tested my tank water 24hrs after adding full dose:
Ammonia 0.25ppm
Nitrite 0.25ppm
pH 7.5

I seem to be going backwards? the last 3 times i have added a full dose of 3ppm after getting 0ppm i have not had a 0 ammonia reading, but my nitrites have been zeroed, now they are not? and my pH in the tank has dropped from 7.8 (that was last measured 01/01/16) should this be happening?

I haven't added anything yet, not sure whether i should?, so i'll wait to hear your thoughts.

Thanks Sue, i'll give that a go, i was concerned that the nitrites had not gone this time around, i did check my levels 2 hrs after dosing it last night just to make sure it was not sky rocketing (2.7ml for 84ltrs) and it showed between 3-4ppm ammonia so that must be right, so like you said let them eat up before feeding again lol

If you do 2 15% water changes a week rather than 1 25% water change, the new water won't have as much impact on the pH and the fish should be fine.
You may find in time that the tank pH begins to creep up towards tap level as the tannins leaching from the wood become exhausted.

The ammonia tester can be very tricky. Some people do find it impossible to tell the difference between the 1 and 0.25 colours. It is not uncommon for people to have had tanks for years, full of healthy fish with an ammonia of 0.25, which is put down to the problems reading the tester.

Nitrite is different; it is usually very easy to tell that zero sky blue from even a hint of purple below 0.25.
Does nitrite ever drop to zero, and how long after adding the ammonia? If it is over 1ppm when you test, don't add 2ppm ammonia, just add 1ppm - but that is only when you also have zero ammonia twice, two days apart. Adding too much ammonia, even though nitrite is not going off the top of the scale, might be leading to too much nitrate which can also have a detrimental effect on the bacteria, coupled with the falling pH. These bacteria like high pH to multiply.

Thinking about it, remove the wood till the cycle finishes. If you can bear the thought, empty as much water as possible from the tank, refill it with warm water adding bicarb as you do so, then add 3ppm ammonia. This won't harm the bacteria you have already grown, they are nice and safe inside the filter (and on everything else in the tank) but it will reset the water back to low nitrate and high bicarb. Then test in 2 days, and again in another 2 days. If you have 2 zero ammonias, go by the nitrite readings.
If nitrite is over 1ppm at the same time as the second zero ammonia, add 1ppm ammonia; if nitrite is below 1 at that reading, add 3ppm.






I have 0.5ppm ammonia and 5+ppm nitrite today for the first time. It is day 28.

That sounds like the ammonia tester being awkward.

I would do the really big water change (and remove the wood) mainly because of the current pH. Don't forget to add enough bicarb to replace the amount you take out with the water. Check the pH afterwards.

ARRGGGHHHHH!!!

I swear this is driving me crazy lol

Si, i changed 90% of my water last night to reduce the nitrates, let the tank settle for an hour and took some readings- amm 0.25ppm, nitrite 0ppm, nitrate 5ppm, happy days  so i added the 3ppm amm and left if for 24hrs

24hrs later- (8.30pm) amm 3ppm, nitrite 0ppm? so, i scratched my head a bit....i had forgot to add bicarb on the water change like you suggested...pH 6...or less but thats as low as the kit goes!!

Does that mean that my cycle has now crashed and i'm back to square one? i have added bicarb now, just letting it circulate for an hour or so then i will check pH again. I am really concerned that if this happens with the fish i'm going to have alot of casualties.

Any ideas? 

Thanks Sue,
I added bi carb and the pH is now 7.8, i have not added any Ammonia, so i will leave it for 24 hrs and test again.
I did add 2 5ml spoonfuls of crushed coral to the filter after the change (maybe thats why i forgot about the bi carb) but that hasn't made any difference in 24hrs (obviously!) maybe that was not enough or too soon to tell?
Maybe i'll have a walk around garden centers/ fish shops and try to find a piece of limestone/tufa, that might work quicker than coral?

Well it's been a while since my last post, things were a bit bleak after the ph crash, and it took a couple of days for the bacteria to recover , but i left them alone and followed from step 8, waited for my 2 zero ammonia results, got them but nitrite was still high, so added 1ppm amm, waited 2 days, then got step 10 result yesterday, so i added full 3ppm dose and have just tested now.....
Ammonia 4ppm???
Nitrite 5ppm
Nitrate 80ppm

I don't know how my ammonia level has actually increased at this point? I have just changed 20/25% of the water which has fetched the ammonia level down to approx 2ppm and nitrite to about 3ppm.

Should i now wait for the amm/nitrite levels to reduce to 0, and then dose to 1ppm again, or dose back up to full 3ppm when they have dropped, pH did drop from 7.8 to 7.5 2 days ago but has not moved since.

Just as a side issue, i purchased some tetra test strips over the weekend (mainly for the kh/gh ) and when i got the above results, i thought i would test them out!! The results where a bit alarming to say the lease.

Nitrite 0ppm (safe)
Nitrate 100ppm
pH 7.2

They don't have an ammonia test on them, but they look along way from accurate!!!

Any advice, as always, is greatly appreciated.

Tony

I find the ammonia test colours hard to distinguish once you get above 2. That's the downside to using 3ppm doses, there is no colour for 3ppm with the API tester so you have to estimate half way between 2 and 4. While I was waiting for my ammonia to drop it was going up and down like a yoyo over a ppm or two.

I'm not sure what to suggest next. I do realise you will be getting impatient for fish soon but I would be inclined to wait a bit longer, keeping on with the 1ppm doses. The danger comes with adding too much ammonia and creating too much nitrite or nitrate, both of which can inhibit the bacteria.
Do you know a shop that will test the water for you using a different brand tester? It would be interesting to see what they get.