Weird Water test results

MikeO

MikeO

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Dec 7, 2004
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www.mikeoconnor.net
Ok sorry about all the posts in such a short time. I just tested all 3 Ammonia, Nitrites, and Nitrates. Amonia is holding at 1ppm (I was able to force it back up to 2ppm but in about an hour it droped back down to 1ppm) Nitrites are steady at 0ppm, but here is the odd part Nitrates are rising now. Should I have not seen Nitrites first. I am using "Aquarium Pharmaceuticals, Inc." "Freshwater Master test kit" could the cemical for the Nitrite test be bad (it is labled to contain Hydrocloric acid) There is no experation date on the bottle or the box. Is there something wrong here. I have tested and retested, I even had some one else look at the color of the water in the test tubs and he agreed with me that what I saw was correct. I am confussed :confused: right now (I have always hated chemestry, and I found bio-chemestry to be a total pain ...)
 
Sorry if you said this in an earlier thread, but have you tested your tap water for nitrates? If I remember right the tank's only been cycling for 1.5 weeks, so you'll start to see nitrite any time, but unless you used media from an established filter I'd be surprised if you're getting nitrates already (unless it's from the tap).
Fishless cycles can take more than a month but IMO it's well worth it.
 
Yes I did test the tap water no Nitrates there, I am very confused here, I also agree I should not see Nitrates. And you are right the tank is only 1.5 weeks old I started to cycle it on the 5th. Is it possible when I got the plants I brought home some bacteria that is making the Nitrates? I did get allot of plants I do have about 20 plants in there.

I doubt this but what the heck. Is it possible some bacteria survived 1.5 years in 4 of the rocks I had from my last setup, with out water and just went dormant or survived off the dead algae on the rocks with out water. (I will admit I doubt this but I am going to try to knock off anything and everything, then once there is nothing left to knock off, well you know)
 
Did the plants come with rock wool around their roots? It's supposed to be a wonderful source of nitrifying bacteria. Even without rock wool, if you put the plants into the tank without rinsing/dipping them, they could have had bacteria on them that has started to colonise the filter...
IME every cycle goes a little differently, but no matter what it always takes a good month or so before I see nothing but nitrates. That being said, I've never tried a fishless cycle with plants in the tank - since they'll consume ammonia, nitrite or nitrate, I'm not sure if there's a way to predict how the cycle will look. Just keep things steady - regular water changes, add ammonia daily, fertilize the plants, and one day everything will even out; you'll see no ammonia, no nitrites, and (if the plants aren't using it all) some nitrates.
 
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Blinky nailed this one I would say. ;)
The rock wool as mentioned is an excellent bio-media, If they came recently from a hydroponics grower, or have been in an active tank for awhile you probably got a pretty good seed.

The plants themselves will have some bacteria on them, but the smooth surface area is not a good place for bacteria colonies, so it would most likely be a really trivial amount. To say thay don't have bacteria on them would technically be incorrect, but to say they have enough to matter is really not true either.

In addition you are set up for some problems, I did the same thing to myself not long ago. Ammonia is plant food, it is also algea food. Plants + high ammonia titer + light = lots and lots of variuos algea specimens. Not usually reccomended as a good way to do things.

The plants are also most likely eating a lot of the ammonia, and therefore nitrite production would be slow, with the bacteria seed from the wool, the ammonia that is converted will quickly be converted to nitrate, but the ammonia drop you see is largely plant related, and not a sign of a good solid colony of amonia eaters.
dave
 
I wonder if you two are not correct, because things are getting stranger, the ammonia just droped again to .5ppm and the Nitrates are up to 5ppm's now. Nitrites still 0ppm. did I make a mistake some where? This just does not make sence. Maybe I am testting to often, I have tested 8 times already today.

Should I restart, or continue with what I have and just follow though?
 
MikeO said:
Update: the Ammonia is at 1ppm, Nitrites just showed up at .25ppm, and the Nitrates is now at 10ppm. So I am now seeing Nitritres, it was very odd that I was not having them before.
Click to expand...

I would say their right, like stated above, there is probably nitrifying bacteria in there, that is converting the ammo to nitrates. That is why your not going to see nitrites.

Now you are overloading your tank with ammonia, and it cant handle the bio-load anymore, and you are starting a mini-cycle again.
 
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