Amonia & Nitirite Levels

[cbass179]

Hi, I have a 55 gallon aquarium that's almost done cycling. I added biospira from MarineLabs. Every amonia test comes back as 0. The nitrite test always indicates a 0.1-0.2, never 0.3 or over. So my question is, does it always take long for the nitrite levels to go down to zero?

I have two filters, the Aquaclear with biomax, & a cheap filter from aquaculture (no biowheel), however, the aquaculture does have white foam for the bacteria to stay. Should i replace my aquaculture for the Emperor 400? What i want to do is increase and have a good area for the bacteria. Might even want to go wet\dry. Any suggestions please?

[geoffgarcia]

filters are filters, they just act as pumps and move water around.
the media that you put inside of them is what will influence your various levels
so saying what your filter is doesn't help in evaluating your setup, you need to say what and how much media you are using.

Personally I dont use anything but ceramic chunks in my filters, and occassionally some filter moss (aka polyfill pillow stuffing)

[cbass179]

The media i use are the regular cartridges that come with the aquaculture, which i change every two weeks. For the aquaclear, i use the regular sponge on the bottom, carbon, then the biomax. I clean the sponge every three weeks, the carbon every month. I never change both filters at the same time.

[Alainuws]

Your Amonia is at 0. That means you are on the right track.
Nitrites takes longer to go away, should indicates 0 at week 6 or 7.

[Copper]

[QUOTE=cbass179]Hi, I have a 55 gallon aquarium that's almost done cycling. I added biospira from MarineLabs. Every amonia test comes back as 0. The nitrite test always indicates a 0.1-0.2, never 0.3 or over. So my question is, does it always take long for the nitrite levels to go down to zero? QUOTE]

The bacteria that process ammonia can build quite rapidly, but those that thrive on the produced nitrites can be slower to develop.