mdtaylor
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- Apr 24, 2018
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- Pittsburgh, PA
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Hi all,
First off... I'm super jazzed because I did a nitrate test (API master test kit) and got orange for the first time. I'm a little perplexed though, because I haven't ever detected any nitrites... if I see the ammonia start to stay at zero, I'll be happy, but I'd love to have an idea of why I "skipped" part of the cycle, or at least didn't see it. Any ideas? (Too many additional details below.)
My lotl was an unexpected rescue and so I didn't have a cycled tank ready. I've been doing partial water changes at least once or sometimes twice a day to keep the ammonia down below .25ppm, along with a healthy dose of Seachem Prime to detoxify it and Stability just in case it actually does something. I've also used a dash of Pristine here and there when things get a little cloudy, which also contains bacteria (of a different sort, at least according to the label).
About six weeks in, I was pretty sure my tank wasn't cycling at all, because I've never seen any nitrites show up. I test for ammonia several times a day, usually nitrite once every day or two, and nitrate maybe every four days just since I figured I'd see the nitrites first. My previous nitrate test didn't turn up anything, but the one today was decidedly orange rather than yellow.
My setup is a plain glass bottom 10-gallon tank with a huge Biosurge sponge filter (about three weeks old, ordered on Amazon and a whole lot bigger than specified) and the 10-gallon hang-on-back filter that I naively started with. He's got three russet potato sized rocks, a resin hidey cave, two marimo balls and a floating plant whose name I forget. My lotl, Kimchee, started at just under 5cm and is about 11cm now.
Do you think it's possible that the ammonia-eaters and the nitrite-eaters just grew at the right ratio to hide the nitrites? Could the nitrates be coming from some other source? I'm not using a whole lot of the Stability and the Pristine is just occasional. Anything I ought to watch out for? I did a partial change and re-measured the nitrates with a separate test tube and got a slightly reduced concentration, but still definitely a presence compared to two tests I did with tap water.
Ideally I would've done a lotl-less cycling; it just wasn't an option if I was going to save my little buddy (unless I tubbed him for a month, which I didn't really consider until a little while ago). I've just been obsessing over keeping the ammonia out of the water, maybe to the point of really slowing down the cycling.
Anyways... assuming this is actually the cycle getting established, I'm *so* excited! Let me know if I shouldn't be, but be gentle please :}. Thanks!
P.S. The attached photo is, from left to right, pH, Ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrates.
First off... I'm super jazzed because I did a nitrate test (API master test kit) and got orange for the first time. I'm a little perplexed though, because I haven't ever detected any nitrites... if I see the ammonia start to stay at zero, I'll be happy, but I'd love to have an idea of why I "skipped" part of the cycle, or at least didn't see it. Any ideas? (Too many additional details below.)
My lotl was an unexpected rescue and so I didn't have a cycled tank ready. I've been doing partial water changes at least once or sometimes twice a day to keep the ammonia down below .25ppm, along with a healthy dose of Seachem Prime to detoxify it and Stability just in case it actually does something. I've also used a dash of Pristine here and there when things get a little cloudy, which also contains bacteria (of a different sort, at least according to the label).
About six weeks in, I was pretty sure my tank wasn't cycling at all, because I've never seen any nitrites show up. I test for ammonia several times a day, usually nitrite once every day or two, and nitrate maybe every four days just since I figured I'd see the nitrites first. My previous nitrate test didn't turn up anything, but the one today was decidedly orange rather than yellow.
My setup is a plain glass bottom 10-gallon tank with a huge Biosurge sponge filter (about three weeks old, ordered on Amazon and a whole lot bigger than specified) and the 10-gallon hang-on-back filter that I naively started with. He's got three russet potato sized rocks, a resin hidey cave, two marimo balls and a floating plant whose name I forget. My lotl, Kimchee, started at just under 5cm and is about 11cm now.
Do you think it's possible that the ammonia-eaters and the nitrite-eaters just grew at the right ratio to hide the nitrites? Could the nitrates be coming from some other source? I'm not using a whole lot of the Stability and the Pristine is just occasional. Anything I ought to watch out for? I did a partial change and re-measured the nitrates with a separate test tube and got a slightly reduced concentration, but still definitely a presence compared to two tests I did with tap water.
Ideally I would've done a lotl-less cycling; it just wasn't an option if I was going to save my little buddy (unless I tubbed him for a month, which I didn't really consider until a little while ago). I've just been obsessing over keeping the ammonia out of the water, maybe to the point of really slowing down the cycling.
Anyways... assuming this is actually the cycle getting established, I'm *so* excited! Let me know if I shouldn't be, but be gentle please :}. Thanks!
P.S. The attached photo is, from left to right, pH, Ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrates.
