Very confused about Prime and the results I'm getting from testing...
- Thread starter volkl23
- Start date
Looks like a lot of conflicting suggestions. I guess I'll just stick with my 50% PWC x 2 a day.
Even if my nitrites reach over 1.5PPM. My ammonia is fine. I'm just worried about nitrites.
as you should be - nitrite is more toxic than ammonia. NO2 (nitrite) at 1.5, you're going to start seeing floaters if you don't knock that way down...
1.5 should go down to ~0.1 if you do 2 back-to-back 75% PWCs.
1.5*0.25=0.375, 0.375*0.25=0.094
1.5 should go down to ~0.1 if you do 2 back-to-back 75% PWCs.
1.5*0.25=0.375, 0.375*0.25=0.094
/AGREE 110% !
Start with 75+% WC immediately, wait about an hour (2 max), test and redo as needed.
Another way of saying the same thing Squawkbert said is:
The % of water replaced should equal the % drop in your readings.
i.e. 75% WC is equal to 75% off of the current readings (in this case 1.5ppm) which would = ~0.4ppm (still WAY too high)!
FYI - I think Yourchoice ment to type .5 not 5
you won't hurt the cycle by doing water changes..keeping the nitrites in check is a much better path than to leave them unchecked.
your fish will thank you for it.
it does sound like you are very close to completing the cycle...hang in there..one day you'll test and the nitrites will be 0...it can happen very quickly just as the ammonia becomes undetectable shortly after you do water changes. tha baceria will utilize the NH3 and the NH4..
your fish will thank you for it.
it does sound like you are very close to completing the cycle...hang in there..one day you'll test and the nitrites will be 0...it can happen very quickly just as the ammonia becomes undetectable shortly after you do water changes. tha baceria will utilize the NH3 and the NH4..
Thanks for all the replies guys. It just seems like something is amiss. I've been doing 50% PWC TWICE a day for a very long time now (last 3 weeks out of a total of 8 weeks) and nothing seems to be changing.
I get up in the morning and test my water. Ammonia - .25, Nitrites, .5-.65 so I do a 50% change.
At night, I do another check. ammonia .25, nitrites .5-.65 so I do another 50% change.
Rinse and repeat. Also, the ammonia is from chloramined water. I believe it's a false positive from Prime. After a full day, my ammonia is completely gone (but at the expense of my nitrites going sky high).
Am I just overstocked? I have 6 cherry barbs and 3 rummy-nose tetras in a 20H. I just can't believe this cycling is taking this long. My ammonia bacteria seems to be well-stocked, just not my nitrite ones :*(
PS - I am seeing Nitrates so I guess I do have nitrite bacteria.
So the consensus is water changes DO NOT SLOW down the cycling process?
I get up in the morning and test my water. Ammonia - .25, Nitrites, .5-.65 so I do a 50% change.
At night, I do another check. ammonia .25, nitrites .5-.65 so I do another 50% change.
Rinse and repeat. Also, the ammonia is from chloramined water. I believe it's a false positive from Prime. After a full day, my ammonia is completely gone (but at the expense of my nitrites going sky high).
Am I just overstocked? I have 6 cherry barbs and 3 rummy-nose tetras in a 20H. I just can't believe this cycling is taking this long. My ammonia bacteria seems to be well-stocked, just not my nitrite ones :*(
PS - I am seeing Nitrates so I guess I do have nitrite bacteria.
So the consensus is water changes DO NOT SLOW down the cycling process?
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Just stick with what your doing. I did a fishy cycle on my 29 when I first got it. Bad idea it was a real pain and took close to 4 months. That and once it is cycled you will still see spikes somtimes for many different reasons. I had the same problem ammonia went to zero fairly quickly while it took for ever for the nirite consuming bacteria to establish enough to get nirites to stay at zero. I found that when I let nitrites stay higher (knowing the risk) they started to drop faster(the bacteria grew faster). I think your fish will make through up to 3.Ni but keep a very close eye on them and add salt to reduce the stress. But its your risk to take. I didn't loose any but maby I just got lucky. However if you dont mind doing what you are doing id just stick with that.
Thank you for your post! I am glad I am/was not the only one experiencing this! Wow, it took you 4 months?! What were your PWC schedule like and what levels of nitrites did you keep?
