my nitrites went back down to 0,
and my ammonia is between .5 and 1 now. It seems to never drop back down completely to 0.
Should I raise the ammonia back up to 5 PPM at this point? i also now have an anubia plant and a java fern in the tank.
ammonia seems to be decreasing, but no nitrites yet?
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and my ammonia is between .5 and 1 now. It seems to never drop back down completely to 0.
Should I raise the ammonia back up to 5 PPM at this point? i also now have an anubia plant and a java fern in the tank.
Yup, keep dosing ammonia until you are completely cycled and ready to add fish.
If you stop adding ammonia, that bacterial colony will begin to die off. Usually, it takes into the 3rd week, or later, for nitrites to spike up to a high level. After that happens, it will begin to decline, and when your ammonia & nitrites reduce to zero or near zero in a 12 hour period after adding the last bit of ammonia, you'll know you have it made. At that point, your nitrates should be quite high - but a large wc will fix that - and then you'll know your cycle has completed.
Keep the faith - see what has developed in another 5 to 7 days.
Go ahead and add as many plants as you want at this point - can't hurt the cycle & will likely help !
If you stop adding ammonia, that bacterial colony will begin to die off. Usually, it takes into the 3rd week, or later, for nitrites to spike up to a high level. After that happens, it will begin to decline, and when your ammonia & nitrites reduce to zero or near zero in a 12 hour period after adding the last bit of ammonia, you'll know you have it made. At that point, your nitrates should be quite high - but a large wc will fix that - and then you'll know your cycle has completed.
Keep the faith - see what has developed in another 5 to 7 days.
Go ahead and add as many plants as you want at this point - can't hurt the cycle & will likely help !
ALRIGHT!
i'm in business. Nitrites spiked up to 5+PPM yesterday 3/24, Ammonia is at 4-5PPM. took around 18 days before any nitrite reading showed up, and 3 days after that for it to spike. It probably helped that i put in media around the 15th day...
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Great - you're not far off now - it appears your cycle should be complete within the next few days/ a week or so. Just a reminder - you'll want to see "0" ammonia & nitrites with 12 hours of your last ammonia addition, and under 20 ppm of nitrates following a large wc at that point.
nitrites are still hanging around at >5 ppm. ammonia drops pretty quickly after 24 hours though.
29 days later.... my tank is fully cycled!!!!!! nitrites dropped down to zero yesterday from an off the chart reading, and ammonia is going from 2ppm to zero within 12 hours. going to do a water change tomorrow and start with some fishies!
