major issues

B

blankenship

AC Members
Sep 27, 2004
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I'm am about 4 and a half weeks into a fishless cycle of my 10 gallon tank, and I'm having KH and PH problems.

Last night I took some readings:
KH = 1.9
PH = 5
Ammonia = 5mg/l

So I put 1 tsp of baking soda in to bring th KH and PH up. About 6 hours later my KH and PH were:
KH = 3.8
PH = 7.5

I also put some tap water in a bowl and let it sit over night. Today I took some readings:

Tap Water after sitting over night:
PH = 7.5
Ammonia = .25-1.5

Tap Water right from faucet:
PH = 7.0
Ammonia = .25-1.5

I just took som readings from my tank and my KH and PH have dipped again:
KH = 1.6
PH = 6.5
Ammonia = 3.0mg/l

There are also 3.3-33mg/l of Nitrites present and 100mg/l of Nitrates present.

I haven't done any water changes. I only added a little bit of water after about 5 inches evaporated. I did this a few days ago. Do I just keep adding more baking soda or is there something else I should be doing?
 
Keep adding baking soda to keep the hardness up, and you can try possibly do partial water changes with any addition to the tank. This will help restore the buffering capacity and keep your pH constant. Good to know your tank is still cycling 2 mg/l of ammonia per day, and that the nitrifying bacteria is still present. Water changes and baking soda will help you keep a steadier pH during the cycle, which will help keep the bateria colonies growing strong.
 
I really feel for you
since your going through
cycling the tank, it can be
a tedious experience , but
i have to say i think 4 weeks of
cycling for a 10 gal is more than
A++ work. Im sure that any fish
at the fish store would love to be
in a tank that is under that good of observation
I think you should go for it
go this weekend and get the fishies
that you want if you get some small fish
it will help your cycle some thing about
helping the cycle with amonia created by the fish waste
what kind of fish are you thinking about .
 
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