bicarbonate and the fishless cycle
- Thread starter happychem
- Start date
nope.. still high as crap.
and this morning the ammonia has gone up too? is it possible that since i didnt add any ammonia overnight some of the bacteria died, thus re-increasing the ammonia?
and this morning the ammonia has gone up too? is it possible that since i didnt add any ammonia overnight some of the bacteria died, thus re-increasing the ammonia?
Hmmm, that's odd. Perhaps you did something wrong when you tested it last time?
It may be worthwhile doing a water change or 2 to get NO2 down to readable levels, then at least you have 2 things to measure. For every decrease in ammonia, nitrite should increase, so you'll have 2 parameters to watch to confirm your cycle is working.
THe extra ammonia could be decaying plant matter. I think I remember you mentioning putting a plant in, or was that someone else? If you did put a plant in, how's it looking?
It may be worthwhile doing a water change or 2 to get NO2 down to readable levels, then at least you have 2 things to measure. For every decrease in ammonia, nitrite should increase, so you'll have 2 parameters to watch to confirm your cycle is working.
THe extra ammonia could be decaying plant matter. I think I remember you mentioning putting a plant in, or was that someone else? If you did put a plant in, how's it looking?
it looks about the same.. it doesnt seem to have grown any.. but it doesnt seem to be dieing either..
i'll do a water change later this afternoon.
i'll do a water change later this afternoon.
How much did the ammonia increase overnight? You'd have to have a lot of decaying plant matter for it to show up as a sizable overnight spike. Anytime I've had such wacky results, it was usually traceable to either bad tests or a problem with testing technique.
You mentioned that you're testing with strips, is that correct? I'd be concerned that you may have strips that are old or that maybe were exposed to moisture and aren't reading correctly. Also, if you're using strips for ammonia testing, you have to make sure you rinse the little tube really well, or your readings will be off the next time you test.
Finally, you mention you read .05 ppm ammonia. Are you sure that's correct? With most hobby tests, you're lucky if you get results that are readable to tenths of a ppm, much less hundredths.
I agree with happychem's suggestion to get get nitrite down to readable levels. You can change 50%, then see what nitrite is at. (If you want to add a bit of baking soda with the partial water change to beef up your buffer, that's fine, too.) If it's not maxing out your test strips, dose with ammonia to 4-5 ppm and see what happens in 24 hours.
Good luck,
Jim
You mentioned that you're testing with strips, is that correct? I'd be concerned that you may have strips that are old or that maybe were exposed to moisture and aren't reading correctly. Also, if you're using strips for ammonia testing, you have to make sure you rinse the little tube really well, or your readings will be off the next time you test.
Finally, you mention you read .05 ppm ammonia. Are you sure that's correct? With most hobby tests, you're lucky if you get results that are readable to tenths of a ppm, much less hundredths.
I agree with happychem's suggestion to get get nitrite down to readable levels. You can change 50%, then see what nitrite is at. (If you want to add a bit of baking soda with the partial water change to beef up your buffer, that's fine, too.) If it's not maxing out your test strips, dose with ammonia to 4-5 ppm and see what happens in 24 hours.
Good luck,
Jim
i'm sorry, i meant last night it was .5 ppm
now its all the way back up to about 4ppm.
i only have one class today so ill have time to do a big water change this afternoon.
now its all the way back up to about 4ppm.
i only have one class today so ill have time to do a big water change this afternoon.
I agree w/Jim that soft-water folks should add bicarb when doing fishless, and should monitor KH routinely - maintaining 3-4 degrees minimum.
I am fresh post-op from a kneee cleanup, so limited mobility and highly limited time sitting at the desk online. I will not be reliable for a while. :sad
I am fresh post-op from a kneee cleanup, so limited mobility and highly limited time sitting at the desk online. I will not be reliable for a while. :sad
