Can you test the water you are using to do water changes as well? If you test the tank water and its 0.5ppm and you test your water change water and its also 0.5ppm, then the answer is that the 0.5ppm ammonia reading is from your water changes?
Hi all,
My cycling have been 7 weeks already, recently just added a tub full of matrix from my friend's 1 year established tank currently, the water parameters are as follows,
ph : 6 or below...
ammonia : 0.5ppm (have been hovering since 2 weeks back)
nitrite : 0ppm (have been 0 ever since first day)
nitrate : 5ppm (have been hovering since 2 weeks back)
I am using shiruba xb303 canister filter 2 litre capacity, with 2 small tubs, 1 of them, the filter sponge, intend to add purigen to it, and the other tub contains matrix with at least 90% from my friend's established tank.
tank is about 30 litres, ans opticube 1.5ft tank
with ans planta soil, a driftwood, with some plants in it, algae starting to grow....
Added prime as water conditioner as well and also aged the water overnight.
will also add excel and seachem iron daily for my plants, followed by flourish once a week.
Using API Master Test Kit as well....
My question is,
1) as my tank completed its cycle?
2) Will purigen affect it?
3) why is my ammonia not falling to 0ppm after like so many weeks??
Thanks for the help, I know I have asked this quite a few times already, but I still find something amiss here that after almost like 2 months, my ammonia level is still hanging around 0.5ppm and not 0....
Last edited by da_xiong; 31st Dec 2013 at 18:38.
Can you test the water you are using to do water changes as well? If you test the tank water and its 0.5ppm and you test your water change water and its also 0.5ppm, then the answer is that the 0.5ppm ammonia reading is from your water changes?
How health your plants? Unhealthy/melted plant always leak ammonia as decay. Did you overfeed or massive fauna? That could be root cause too.
Or could be ammonia leaked from nutritious soil, like ada amazonia, especially first several months
Plant more plants, they like to absorb your ammonia as their nutrition.
Drop few catfish oto's. And see if they alright,
ammonia tend to build diatoms and other algae spores variants.
Oto's like diatoms
Wait a few more days and test again... the cycle might just be at the verge of completion.
What test kit are you using? If it's those test strips, they tend to be rather inaccurate. If you are using chemical reagent based test kits, those are more accurate but do make sure it's not expired as that can also generate odd readings.
Purigen is usually not recommended to be added to a new cycling tank as it may slow down the cycle, but at this point for your tank after so many weeks i don't think it'll affect the cycle so much.
I am using api test kit the liquid one my ammonia bottle is almost completed haha hmmm I think I ll just add purigen when cycling is completed im keeping my fingers crossed hoping that ammonia will really turn 0 in a few days really hoping to keep some fishes in my tank for cny...
I know this post is quite old but figured I'd post here to possibly help others that come across it. As soon as I saw your PH reading I knew what your problem may have been. Your post about not changing water may have confirmed it. First, tap water can show readings of .5 ammonia 0 Nitrites and 5.0 or so Nitrates. Mine does anyway. Readings of Nitrates can fool people into thinking it's cycling. It may not be. In this case I believe your PH is the issue. Bacteria will go dormant at 6.0 and below PH. It's happened to me. I was cycling a 10 gallon and layed off the water changes for probably two weeks before I caught it. I had alot of ammonia. 4.0 or more. 0 nitrites and 5.0 ppm Nitrates. I was doing a fish less cycle and just stopped trying to control ammonia. With zero results after adding two bottles of Bio-Spira and a weeks worth of Stability I checked the water again.... PH at 6 or below. Damn.. I did a 90% water change, which wasn't totally needed but that was enough to up the PH and added 2 teaspoons of pure baking soda to kick the PH into gear. My tap water PH is low, maybe 6.2. The added Baking soda kicked it up over 7.6 instantly. Less then 8 hours later I had a reading of almost 5.0ppm Nitrites. 9 hours later my ammonia dropped from over 4.0ppm to about 1.0 and Nitrates were at about 80 ppm. Tank fully cycled from that point in less then 4 days. This may or may not have been your case but the lesson.. Watch that Ph..
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