Hi...
About a month ago I started a fishless cycle using Chris Cow's cycling method as my basis (http://malawicichlids.com/mw01017.htm), and all seemed to be going well until recently.
Tank Specs
20 Gallon w/ Penguin 150 and plenty of aeration (water temp @ 82-84 F/ 28-29 C)
Day 1 ~ Started the cycling process by adding enough ammonia to reach 5-7 PPM
Day 2 - Day 15 ~ Ammonia remained stable around 5 PPM, Nitrite and Nitrate both at 0
Day 16 - Day 18 ~ Ammonia begins to drop (down to 2 PPM), Nitirite 2 PPM, Nitrate 1-3 PPM
Day 19 ~ Ammonia drops to 0, Nitrite 3-4 PPM, Nitrate 5 PPM
Day 19 - Day 26 ~ Added ammonia daily to reach 1.5-2 PPM, Nitrite remained stable around 2-4 PPM, Nitrate remained at 5-7 PPM
Day 27 ~ Ammonia registers at 1 PPM (only 1 PPM drop in approx. 24 hours), Nitrite is off the chart at around 8-9 PPM (had to dilute the solution to get the results), Nitrate still 5-7 PPM -- no ammonia added
Day 28 - Day 29 ~ No change in ammonia, nitrite or nitrate (ammonia still at 1 PPM) -- no ammonia added
Day 30 ~ Ammonia at 0.5 PPM, no change in nitrite/ nitrate -- added enough ammonia to bring it back up to 1.5 PPM
Day 31 - Day 32 ~ Ammonia drop to 1 PPM and remains stable, Nitrite still off the chart around 8-10 PPM, Nitrate 5-7 PPM -- no ammonia added
It seems ammonia consumption has slowed down quite drastically since the nitrite spike, and I'm wondering if this is normal (I have a feeling it isn't).
And now the questions...
1) Should I just leave everything as is and continue to monitor?
2) Should I continue to add ammonia whenever it drops to 0 or so?
3) Would a 10-20% water change help?
Any answers or comments would be greatly appreciated....
Thanks
About a month ago I started a fishless cycle using Chris Cow's cycling method as my basis (http://malawicichlids.com/mw01017.htm), and all seemed to be going well until recently.
Tank Specs
20 Gallon w/ Penguin 150 and plenty of aeration (water temp @ 82-84 F/ 28-29 C)
Day 1 ~ Started the cycling process by adding enough ammonia to reach 5-7 PPM
Day 2 - Day 15 ~ Ammonia remained stable around 5 PPM, Nitrite and Nitrate both at 0
Day 16 - Day 18 ~ Ammonia begins to drop (down to 2 PPM), Nitirite 2 PPM, Nitrate 1-3 PPM
Day 19 ~ Ammonia drops to 0, Nitrite 3-4 PPM, Nitrate 5 PPM
Day 19 - Day 26 ~ Added ammonia daily to reach 1.5-2 PPM, Nitrite remained stable around 2-4 PPM, Nitrate remained at 5-7 PPM
Day 27 ~ Ammonia registers at 1 PPM (only 1 PPM drop in approx. 24 hours), Nitrite is off the chart at around 8-9 PPM (had to dilute the solution to get the results), Nitrate still 5-7 PPM -- no ammonia added
Day 28 - Day 29 ~ No change in ammonia, nitrite or nitrate (ammonia still at 1 PPM) -- no ammonia added
Day 30 ~ Ammonia at 0.5 PPM, no change in nitrite/ nitrate -- added enough ammonia to bring it back up to 1.5 PPM
Day 31 - Day 32 ~ Ammonia drop to 1 PPM and remains stable, Nitrite still off the chart around 8-10 PPM, Nitrate 5-7 PPM -- no ammonia added
It seems ammonia consumption has slowed down quite drastically since the nitrite spike, and I'm wondering if this is normal (I have a feeling it isn't).
And now the questions...
1) Should I just leave everything as is and continue to monitor?
2) Should I continue to add ammonia whenever it drops to 0 or so?
3) Would a 10-20% water change help?
Any answers or comments would be greatly appreciated....
Thanks