I've poked around on here and have seen a few people with a similar issue and I just wanted to verify I didn't screw something up.
I have a 30-gallon tank with a basic rock substrate and a few artificial plants. All were cleaned with hot water before entering the tank. The tank has a Tetra 30-60 gallon heater and a filter with a single bio cartridge. (I can't remember the brand at the moment, but it was rated for 30-50 gallons). I also have a 10" bubble stone for aeration.
During the initial startup, I used tap water (unfortunately it was city water) and Tetra AquaSafe per instructions on the bottle (I believe 1ml per gallon) and Tetra SafeStart per instructions on the bottle.
I started a fishless cycle by adding a little bit of food to the tank once a day for the first week. After about 3-4 days the water went cloudy and a week later the cloudiness cleared up overnight. I gave the tank another 2 weeks before testing it with API 5 in 1 test strips, and Jungle Ammonia Test Strips.
The API kit showed the following:
GH ~60ppm
KH ~240ppm
pH ~7.5
and untraceable amounts of Nitrites and Nitrates.
The ammonia test kit does not give ppm values but after looking on the internet for values I believe the kit to show well above 8ppm.
Given the news, I decided to drain the tank to about 1/3 and refilled with distilled water instead of my tap water. I once again treated the water with Tetra AquaSafe per instructions adding 1ml to each gallon I added. I did not add anymore SafeStart as after investigating I saw a lot of people speak against adding bacteria starters.
The tank once again "bloomed" the day after the change and lasted for about 3 days before cleaning up overnight once again.
I tested the tank every other day for weeks and here are my results.
GH ~45ppm, did not change over the 2 weeks
KH ~8pppm, did not change over the 2 weeks
pH ~ 8.0 (Unable to get an accurate reading on pH but it is definitely above 7.5 and below 8.5, this rose during the two weeks starting at around neutral.)
and untraceable amounts of Nitrites and Nitrates.
The ammonia kit showed ammonia at the first test ~5ppm and this rose to ~8ppm and has stagnated out, but my kit doesn't go much above 8ppm so it may be higher.
I am going to grab an API Masterkit in the next few days for more accurate test results but I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions or comments. I'm thinking I will have to do another water change as I believe my ammonia and pH to be really high. Any help is appreciated and Thank y'all in advance!
I have a 30-gallon tank with a basic rock substrate and a few artificial plants. All were cleaned with hot water before entering the tank. The tank has a Tetra 30-60 gallon heater and a filter with a single bio cartridge. (I can't remember the brand at the moment, but it was rated for 30-50 gallons). I also have a 10" bubble stone for aeration.
During the initial startup, I used tap water (unfortunately it was city water) and Tetra AquaSafe per instructions on the bottle (I believe 1ml per gallon) and Tetra SafeStart per instructions on the bottle.
I started a fishless cycle by adding a little bit of food to the tank once a day for the first week. After about 3-4 days the water went cloudy and a week later the cloudiness cleared up overnight. I gave the tank another 2 weeks before testing it with API 5 in 1 test strips, and Jungle Ammonia Test Strips.
The API kit showed the following:
GH ~60ppm
KH ~240ppm
pH ~7.5
and untraceable amounts of Nitrites and Nitrates.
The ammonia test kit does not give ppm values but after looking on the internet for values I believe the kit to show well above 8ppm.
Given the news, I decided to drain the tank to about 1/3 and refilled with distilled water instead of my tap water. I once again treated the water with Tetra AquaSafe per instructions adding 1ml to each gallon I added. I did not add anymore SafeStart as after investigating I saw a lot of people speak against adding bacteria starters.
The tank once again "bloomed" the day after the change and lasted for about 3 days before cleaning up overnight once again.
I tested the tank every other day for weeks and here are my results.
GH ~45ppm, did not change over the 2 weeks
KH ~8pppm, did not change over the 2 weeks
pH ~ 8.0 (Unable to get an accurate reading on pH but it is definitely above 7.5 and below 8.5, this rose during the two weeks starting at around neutral.)
and untraceable amounts of Nitrites and Nitrates.
The ammonia kit showed ammonia at the first test ~5ppm and this rose to ~8ppm and has stagnated out, but my kit doesn't go much above 8ppm so it may be higher.
I am going to grab an API Masterkit in the next few days for more accurate test results but I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions or comments. I'm thinking I will have to do another water change as I believe my ammonia and pH to be really high. Any help is appreciated and Thank y'all in advance!