That shouldnt matter, as there is also bacteria in the gravel.
im guessing your on to something when you said that the water isnt fully dechlorinated before hitting your bacteria. It probably is dechlorinated before it hits the bacteria in the filter, but most of the other bacteria in the gravel might be killed off before the water is dechlorinated. After your nitrites and ammonia levels soar again, how long does it take to get the cycle back in order? if it takes less time its most likely becuase the bacteria in the filter cant handle the ammonia level because the gravel bacteria are dead. They're just being overwhelmed. It takes less time because the bacteria are already established.
if thats the case here's an idea, but it will take a while
take some gravel from your 77 and put it in a smaller tank (2gal, anything). Also take some water from your established 77gal and use it to fill the 2gal (create a scaled down version of your 77gal). Do a water change and then add the Aqua plus like normal, if you get the same results (nitrite and ammonia spike) then the chlorine is probably killing most of the bacteria before the water has a chance to dechlorinate.
if thats the case, then your going to have to use buckets, but by no means will you have to lug them up the stairs. Just put several large buckets by the tank and have someone work the faucet for you. Fill the buckets, add the aqua plus, stir it up a bit, and then add it to your tank. It might take a bit longer, but it might stop the endless cycle.
If you really want to be scientific, you can repeat the experiment i suggested above, only change the variable. Instead of adding the water then the aqua plus, add the aqua plus to the water in a seperate bucket before putting it in your 2gal experimental tank.
i dont think chlorine levels would be high enough to kill all your bacteria, but it might be enough to kill some, the ammonia source would then overwhelm the smaller amount of bacteria
im guessing your on to something when you said that the water isnt fully dechlorinated before hitting your bacteria. It probably is dechlorinated before it hits the bacteria in the filter, but most of the other bacteria in the gravel might be killed off before the water is dechlorinated. After your nitrites and ammonia levels soar again, how long does it take to get the cycle back in order? if it takes less time its most likely becuase the bacteria in the filter cant handle the ammonia level because the gravel bacteria are dead. They're just being overwhelmed. It takes less time because the bacteria are already established.
if thats the case here's an idea, but it will take a while
take some gravel from your 77 and put it in a smaller tank (2gal, anything). Also take some water from your established 77gal and use it to fill the 2gal (create a scaled down version of your 77gal). Do a water change and then add the Aqua plus like normal, if you get the same results (nitrite and ammonia spike) then the chlorine is probably killing most of the bacteria before the water has a chance to dechlorinate.
if thats the case, then your going to have to use buckets, but by no means will you have to lug them up the stairs. Just put several large buckets by the tank and have someone work the faucet for you. Fill the buckets, add the aqua plus, stir it up a bit, and then add it to your tank. It might take a bit longer, but it might stop the endless cycle.
If you really want to be scientific, you can repeat the experiment i suggested above, only change the variable. Instead of adding the water then the aqua plus, add the aqua plus to the water in a seperate bucket before putting it in your 2gal experimental tank.
i dont think chlorine levels would be high enough to kill all your bacteria, but it might be enough to kill some, the ammonia source would then overwhelm the smaller amount of bacteria
