View Full Version : OK, what's happening?
VDub90
12-09-2004, 10:55 PM
Ok. So I've been checking my water daily. I'm just past the 8 week mark. On Tuesday, which was the 8 week mark my water tested as follows.
Ammonia-0
Nitrite-.05 (It had the most slightest hint of pink that you could just barely make out)
Nitrate-15 ppm
I was all happy and thought yay my tank is cycled. The water was the same on Wednesday. Today(Thursday) I check the water and now the nitrites have gone up!
Ammonia-0
Nitrites-.15
Nitates-10ppm
What's going on? Anyone have any ideas?
OrionGirl
12-10-2004, 8:34 AM
Had the nitrites spiked previously? Any changes in the tank?
mogurnda
12-10-2004, 8:47 AM
Have you run the test repeatedly, to be sure that the kit (and your technique) are consistent?
VDub90
12-10-2004, 3:50 PM
I test almost every day. With a 15% water change every week. The nitrites and nitrates were off the chart a few weeks ago, and have been going down steadily. The only thing I was doing before was adding "Prime" in the water daily, and I stopped adding it when I thought the cycle was complete. So this morning I started adding it again. I'll test again tonight, and we'll see.
OrionGirl
12-13-2004, 8:43 AM
Why are you adding Prime? It's going to mess up the cycle and the testing...
VDub90
12-13-2004, 9:38 AM
Why are you adding Prime? It's going to mess up the cycle and the testing...
You know I was thinking about this the other day. That's what I thought it would do. Everytime I stopped using it all the numbers started going up(except ammonia). I was just going by what the LFS told me, as this is my very first SW tank.
I guess what I should do is use it only on water changes, but first start gradually reducing the dosage down to none.
As an addition, this is probably why my tank is in the ninth week and still not quite fully cycled. Also now that I look back last week when all the numbers read 0 and I thought my tank was done, I stopped adding Prime the next day, and when I tested, the numbers were starting to go up.
Thanks, for everyones help. without the input it would probably have taken me another nine weeks of a partially cycling tank.
OrionGirl
12-13-2004, 12:15 PM
Prime should be used to treat your water to remove chlorine, chloramine, and the ammonia that results from breaking up the chloramine. By adding it daily, it's binding the ammonia--and while it should still be bio-available to the bacteria, it's might not be as easily useful to them. If there aren't any fish in the setup (or inverts), I'd just quit using it, now.