Stubborn nitrite won't go down.

I can't get my 75 gallon heavy planted tank to get nitrite down. I added 2 bottles of fritz turbo start 700 1.5 weeks ago, nitrite spiked, and I can't get it to come down. The good thing if I add ammonia even to 2ppm it goes down less than 24 hours. It's just nitrite that I see no changes with. It's been 6 days like that.

What should I do? People adviced me not to add ammonia to 2ppm anymore since it makes nitrite worse. So I only added 1ppm yesterday. And I haven't added anything to do from the fear of nitrite haha. Any advice would be appreciated. Water temp is 75.3F.

 

Have you done any water changes yet? A large WC of 50-75% will lower your nitrites.

 

I can't get my 75 gallon heavy planted tank to get nitrite down. I added 2 bottles of fritz turbo start 700 1.5 weeks ago, nitrite spiked, and I can't get it to come down. The good thing if I add ammonia even to 2ppm it goes down less than 24 hours. It's just nitrite that I see no changes with. It's been 6 days like that.

What should I do? People adviced me not to add ammonia to 2ppm anymore since it makes nitrite worse. So I only added 1ppm yesterday. And I haven't added anything to do from the fear of nitrite haha. Any advice would be appreciated. Water temp is 75.3F.

Most likely you have just been adding far too much ammonia. You should only be dosing ammonia when both ammonia and nitrite reads zero.

Fritz nitrifiers are good, but seems like the nitrite oxidizers still take a bit of time to establish (while the ammonia oxidizers are fine).

For now don’t dose ammonia anymore, it’ll just make things worse.

Can you do a serial dilution test to estimate where your nitrite is at?

 

For now don’t dose ammonia anymore, it’ll just make things worse.

This text should be permanently stickied to the top of the water quality sub forum.

 

This text should be permanently stickied to the top of the water quality sub forum.

It really should. XD I feel like half the cycling issues is about elevated nitrites due to dosing a lot of ammonia.

 

I can't get my 75 gallon heavy planted tank to get nitrite down. I added 2 bottles of fritz turbo start 700 1.5 weeks ago, nitrite spiked, and I can't get it to come down. The good thing if I add ammonia even to 2ppm it goes down less than 24 hours. It's just nitrite that I see no changes with. It's been 6 days like that.

What should I do? People adviced me not to add ammonia to 2ppm anymore since it makes nitrite worse. So I only added 1ppm yesterday. And I haven't added anything to do from the fear of nitrite haha. Any advice would be appreciated. Water temp is 75.3F.

you can either go ahead and do a water change to lower them or just wait to let them drop to zero. This is not at all unusual. We think they are never going to drop and then seemingly like magic one day we run the test and they are gone. I have done the happy dance with lots and lots of folks when it finally happened for them. I know the waiting is hard and we think we need to do something but most of the time it is just a matter of giving it time.

You can of course stop adding ammonia as some have suggested or you can continue adding ammonia. Either way one day the nitrites will drop to zero. Should you choose to stop adding ammonia, eventually the nitrites will drop to zero. The thing is with doing it this way when you start adding ammonia again the nitrite could very well spike again.

If you choose to continue adding ammonia until the nitrites drop to zero it is one and done. Once the nitrites drop to zero you should never see them again. this is the method I recommend. I would continue getting it up to 2ppm but at this point in the cycle you can cut it down to adding it every second or third day instead of daily.

If at all possible I will recommend you raise the temp a few degrees. Bacteria grows faster in warmer conditions. Getting it up close to 80 may help. What is your pH level? Bacteria grows a bit faster in higher pH. As long as it is above 7 things should keep moving forward. Much lower than that can slow things down.

Are you seeing any nitrates yet? If you are it is telling you there is some nitrite eating bacteria. Just not enough yet to remove all of it. If you are not seeing nitrates yet you still have a way to go.

 

you can either go ahead and do a water change to lower them or just wait to let them drop to zero. This is not at all unusual. We think they are never going to drop and then seemingly like magic one day we run the test and they are gone. I have done the happy dance with lots and lots of folks when it finally happened for them. I know the waiting is hard and we think we need to do something but most of the time it is just a matter of giving it time.

You can of course stop adding ammonia as some have suggested or you can continue adding ammonia. Either way one day the nitrites will drop to zero. Should you choose to stop adding ammonia, eventually the nitrites will drop to zero. The thing is with doing it this way when you start adding ammonia again the nitrite could very well spike again.

If you choose to continue adding ammonia until the nitrites drop to zero it is one and done. Once the nitrites drop to zero you should never see them again. this is the method I recommend. I would continue getting it up to 2ppm but a ]t this point in the cycle you can cut it down to adding it every second or third day instead of daily.

If at all possible I will recommend you raise the temp a few degrees. Bacteria grows faster in warmer conditions. Getting it up close to 80 may help. What is your pH level? Bacteria grows a bit faster in higher pH. As long as it is above 7 things should keep moving forward. Much lower than that can slow things down.

Are you seeing any nitrates yet? If you are it is telling you there is some nitrite eating bacteria. Just not enough yet to remove all of it. If you are not seeing nitrates yet you still have a way to go.

Well said mattgirl.

As I’ve said many times, there’s often more than one way to accomplish the same objective. And that’s definitely true with the cycling process. I’ve always dosed and re-dosed ammonia without any issues at all.

Maybe it’s just my eyeballs, but the OP’s nitrite level doesn’t look extremely high to me? 2ish? Definitely not 5? Or do I need another set of glasses to place on top of the ones I’m wearing?

 

Maybe it’s just my eyeballs, but the OP’s nitrite level doesn’t look extremely high to me? 2ish? Definitely not 5? Or do I need another set of glasses to place on top of the ones I’m wearing?

I agree, it doesn't look to be off the chart high. I am also seeing some nitrates so some nitrites are being processed unless there are some in the source water. (sorry I missed the photo before my last post)

 

Charbel1011 To the point mattgirl made above, you should test your source water for nitrates. Doing so will tell us whether or not your cycle is converting some nitrites to nitrates.

 

The 2nd phase of waiting for nitrites to drop seemingly takes forever, so patience.
Stop dosing ammonia for now and re-test over the next several days. We’ll see if the nitrites lower and the nitrates start rising. If you see movement in that direction then you could dose ammonia but I’d wait until you see some nitrite processing of some level.

I agree to test your tap for nitrates also as it gives a baseline.

 

Have you done any water changes yet? A large WC of 50-75% will lower your nitrites.

I did 2 50% water changes 3 weeks ago when I started the tank but since the cycle has started I did not.

Most likely you have just been adding far too much ammonia. You should only be dosing ammonia when both ammonia and nitrite reads zero.

Fritz nitrifiers are good, but seems like the nitrite oxidizers still take a bit of time to establish (while the ammonia oxidizers are fine).

For now don’t dose ammonia anymore, it’ll just make things worse.

Can you do a serial dilution test to estimate where your nitrite is at?

I'll try to estimate my nitrite and keep u updated. And I'm not gonna add ammonia till few days.

Charbel1011 To the point mattgirl made above, you should test your source water for nitrates. Doing so will tell us whether or not your cycle is converting some nitrites to nitrates.

I use RO water no nitrite from that I tested.

The 2nd phase of waiting for nitrites to drop seemingly takes forever, so patience.
Stop dosing ammonia for now and re-test over the next several days. We’ll see if the nitrites lower and the nitrates start rising. If you see movement in that direction then you could dose ammonia but I’d wait until you see some nitrite processing of some level.

I agree to test your tap for nitrates also as it gives a baseline.

you can either go ahead and do a water change to lower them or just wait to let them drop to zero. This is not at all unusual. We think they are never going to drop and then seemingly like magic one day we run the test and they are gone. I have done the happy dance with lots and lots of folks when it finally happened for them. I know the waiting is hard and we think we need to do something but most of the time it is just a matter of giving it time.

You can of course stop adding ammonia as some have suggested or you can continue adding ammonia. Either way one day the nitrites will drop to zero. Should you choose to stop adding ammonia, eventually the nitrites will drop to zero. The thing is with doing it this way when you start adding ammonia again the nitrite could very well spike again.

If you choose to continue adding ammonia until the nitrites drop to zero it is one and done. Once the nitrites drop to zero you should never see them again. this is the method I recommend. I would continue getting it up to 2ppm but at this point in the cycle you can cut it down to adding it every second or third day instead of daily.

If at all possible I will recommend you raise the temp a few degrees. Bacteria grows faster in warmer conditions. Getting it up close to 80 may help. What is your pH level? Bacteria grows a bit faster in higher pH. As long as it is above 7 things should keep moving forward. Much lower than that can slow things down.

Are you seeing any nitrates yet? If you are it is telling you there is some nitrite eating bacteria. Just not enough yet to remove all of it. If you are not seeing nitrates yet you still have a way to go.

I can't get a PH of 7. My substrate is tropical soil contains peat. And no matter how much KH I add to boost PH. KH just evaporates overnight. So my pH with co2 on is like 5.7.

 

I can't get a PH of 7. My substrate is tropical soil contains peat. And no matter how much KH I add to boost PH. KH just evaporates overnight. So my pH with co2 on is like 5.7.

Are you planning to keep your pH around that level long term? Nothing wrong with it if that is the plan (i.e. if it is suitable for whatever live stock you plan to keep). It would explain why though Fritz is not helping too much, apparently Fritz nitrifiers completely stall at a pH of 6 or below.

But that’s okay. The idea is to cultivate nitrifiers adapted to the parameters you expect for your tank. By keeping the same pH you have during the cycle as you would expect after it, you’ll cultivate the right types of nitrifiers adapted to (or at least can grow to high enough numbers in) said pH.

 

I did 2 50% water changes 3 weeks ago when I started the tank but since the cycle has started I did not.


I'll try to estimate my nitrite and keep u updated. And I'm not gonna add ammonia till few days.


I use RO water no nitrite from that I tested.


I can't get a PH of 7. My substrate is tropical soil contains peat. And no matter how much KH I add to boost PH. KH just evaporates overnight. So my pH with co2 on is like 5.7.

Oh that explains a lot. What are you using to replenish the minerals? I’d recommend Seachem Alkaline buffer for KH and either Seachem Replenish or SeaChem Equilibrium for GH. I also like Seachem Fresh Trace. To hold your KH and PH steady you should aim for 4-6KH using the API GH/KH test kit. Depending on what type of fish you are going to keep you can add replenish to the GH level you require.

There are some very soft water fish that do not need mineral relacement in RO but many do. Even with very soft water fish usually leaf litter or Indian almond leaves of some sort helps buffer the water.

Is there a reason you chose to use RO? Out of curiosity.

 

Are you planning to keep your pH around that level long term? Nothing wrong with it if that is the plan (i.e. if it is suitable for whatever live stock you plan to keep). It would explain why though Fritz is not helping too much, apparently Fritz nitrifiers completely stall at a pH of 6 or below.

But that’s okay. The idea is to cultivate nitrifiers adapted to the parameters you expect for your tank. By keeping the same pH you have during the cycle as you would expect after it, you’ll cultivate the right types of nitrifiers adapted to (or at least can grow to high enough numbers in) said pH.

According to new studies cycle won't stall at 6

Oh that explains a lot. What are you using to replenish the minerals? I’d recommend Seachem Alkaline buffer for KH and either Seachem Replenish or SeaChem Equilibrium for GH. I also like Seachem Fresh Trace. To hold your KH and PH steady you should aim for 4-6KH using the API GH/KH test kit. Depending on what type of fish you are going to keep you can add replenish to the GH level you require.

There are some very soft water fish that do not need mineral relacement in RO but many do. Even with very soft water fish usually leaf litter or Indian almond leaves of some sort helps buffer the water.

Is there a reason you chose to use RO? Out of curiosity.

I can't hold KH no matter how much I add I tried and I lost va the substrate add 4 kh today and I lost it by tmw.

Oh that explains a lot. What are you using to replenish the minerals? I’d recommend Seachem Alkaline buffer for KH and either Seachem Replenish or SeaChem Equilibrium for GH. I also like Seachem Fresh Trace. To hold your KH and PH steady you should aim for 4-6KH using the API GH/KH test kit. Depending on what type of fish you are going to keep you can add replenish to the GH level you require.

There are some very soft water fish that do not need mineral relacement in RO but many do. Even with very soft water fish usually leaf litter or Indian almond leaves of some sort helps buffer the water.

Is there a reason you chose to use RO? Out of curiosity.

Because I want to add my own minerals and I don't want tap water fluctuation. Beside my PH from water is over 40

 

According to new studies cycle won't stall at 6

I am not saying the cycle stall at a pH of 6 or below, and in fact I am saying yes do cycle at whatever pH one wants it to be long term, even if it is below 6 because yes, the cycle will still happen.

What I AM saying is that the nitrifiers in Fritz, according to the company, cannot exhibit nitrification at a pH below 6. And that can be the case, because different types of nitrifiers are adapted to different pH. There are even those that can only grow strictly within a pH range of like 4 and 5.5 for example, no higher or lower. So what's the point? That the Fritz nitrifiers will probably not do well, but that's fine, keep the pH low anyways to ensure the right type grows, whatever they may be. Because yes, the cycle will happen nonetheless - if not with one type of nitrifier then with another.

 

I am not saying the cycle stall at a pH of 6 or below, and in fact I am saying yes do cycle at whatever pH one wants it to be long term, even if it is below 6 because yes, the cycle will still happen.

What I AM saying is that the nitrifiers in Fritz, according to the company, cannot exhibit nitrification at a pH below 6. And that can be the case, because different types of nitrifiers are adapted to different pH. There are even those that can only grow strictly within a pH range of like 4 and 5.5 for example, no higher or lower. So what's the point? That the Fritz nitrifiers will probably not do well, but that's fine, keep the pH low anyways to ensure the right type grows, whatever they may be. Because yes, the cycle will happen nonetheless - if not with one type of nitrifier then with another.

My apologies for not understanding you. So what should I do? Add different kind of bacteria? That's how I started the cycle I added 2 bottles of fritZ turbo start 700. Anything else I need to do? Or my cycle won't happen

 

According to new studies cycle won't stall at 6

I can't hold KH no matter how much I add I tried and I lost va the substrate add 4 kh today and I lost it by tmw.

Because I want to add my own minerals and I don't want tap water fluctuation. Beside my PH from water is over 40

What do you mean your PH is over 40? What is your tap PH?
It’s more important to have a high PH then a fluctuating PH. Most of my tanks have been between 7.8-8.2 and very healthy.

What product are you using for your KH?

Your cycle will happen at that PH but much more slowly And a different variety of nitrifyers will grow to handle the ammonia.

 

What do you mean your PH is over 40? What is your tap PH?
It’s more important to have a high PH then a fluctuating PH. Most of my tanks have been between 7.8-8.2

What product are you using for your KH?

I use seachem alkaline buffer, and I use nilocg gh booster and KH booster. I tried both products but it really does not work. There's thousands of threads with same issue as me. My tropical soil contains peat. No matter how much I add KH my substrate going to suck it. I gave up. I was adding it everyday. And with co2 I drop below 5. I'm sure there's a lot of fish I can add with my PH (hopefully). My GH have been good it's at 8. Stable.

 

My apologies for not understanding you. So what should I do? Add different kind of bacteria? That's how I started the cycle I added 2 bottles of fritZ turbo start 700. Anything else I need to do? Or my cycle won't happen

Presuming your ammonia decreased while at this pH, at least you have managed to cultivate ammonia oxidizers that can perform well enough in such conditions.

It is hard to say where you are at with your nitrite oxidizers though. I would normally suggest doing a 100% water change and starting from a base level of 0,0,0 just to make tracking progress easier. But normally it is not a 70 gallon tank where water changes can be a major pain.

Personally? I'd let it cycle for another week, doing serial dilutions to hopefully be able to see some change. If nitrite decreases, no matter how slowly, at least that indicates the presence of nitrite oxidizers already, so it's just a matter of giving them time to grow. But if there is no change, I'd be more concerned then.

If you do decide to do a water change though, I'd recommend doing as near to 100% as possible. I feel like doing anything like at least 50% is already a lot of effort, so might as well go all the way and do 100% lol. Then what you'd do is leave it a day to see how the parameters may naturally change without your ammonia input (say if ammonia is created due to die-offs or whatever). If everything is still zero after a day, then dose 1ppm ammonia and follow what's in my signature.

 

I use seachem alkaline buffer, and I use nilocg gh booster and KH booster. I tried both products but it really does not work. There's thousands of threads with same issue as me. My tropical soil contains peat. No matter how much I add KH my substrate going to suck it. I gave up. I was adding it everyday. And with co2 I drop below 5. I'm sure there's a lot of fish I can add with my PH (hopefully). My GH have been good it's at 8. Stable.

Yeah I can see with the peat that would happen. Unless you have really high light plants you don’t need to add C02. Low to medium plants do well with regular fertilizer.

For now, aim for a stable KH with the buffer and worry less about the PH other than it being stable. Like Azedenkae said there are a different group of nitrifyers that grow below 6.0ph and above 6.0. They are very sensitive to both temperature and PH so different groups out compete each other in different scenarios. What you want is to grow whatever those are by keeping your PH stable.

 

Yeah I can see with the peat that would happen. Unless you have really high light plants you don’t need to add C02. Low to medium plants do well with regular fertilizer.

For now, aim for a stable KH with the buffer and worry less about the PH other than it being stable. Like Azedenkae said there are a different group of nitrifyers that grow below 6.0ph and above 6.0. They are very sensitive to both temperature and PH so different groups out compete each other in different scenarios. What you want is to grow whatever those are by keeping your PH stable.

A stable KH for me is 0. Because for 1 week I been adding KH and it goes right back to 0. So it's what it's a stable 0 is better fluctuating 3-4 KH

Presuming your ammonia decreased while at this pH, at least you have managed to cultivate ammonia oxidizers that can perform well enough in such conditions.

It is hard to say where you are at with your nitrite oxidizers though. I would normally suggest doing a 100% water change and starting from a base level of 0,0,0 just to make tracking progress easier. But normally it is not a 70 gallon tank where water changes can be a major pain.

Personally? I'd let it cycle for another week, doing serial dilutions to hopefully be able to see some change. If nitrite decreases, no matter how slowly, at least that indicates the presence of nitrite oxidizers already, so it's just a matter of giving them time to grow. But if there is no change, I'd be more concerned then.

If you do decide to do a water change though, I'd recommend doing as near to 100% as possible. I feel like doing anything like at least 50% is already a lot of effort, so might as well go all the way and do 100% lol. Then what you'd do is leave it a day to see how the parameters may naturally change without your ammonia input (say if ammonia is created due to die-offs or whatever). If everything is still zero after a day, then dose 1ppm ammonia and follow what's in my signature.

I'm honesty not in hurry I'll wait and see. Hopefully it will go down even if it needs another month. 100% water change with a heavy planted tank is a bit hard for me I prefer to wait.

 

I'm honesty not in hurry I'll wait and see. Hopefully it will go down even if it needs another month. 100% water change with a heavy planted tank is a bit hard for me I prefer to wait.

Haha yeah figured. XD Just give it some time then and see if nitrite actually eventually gets down to zero or otherwise.

Once nitrite reaches zero, then you can also measure nitrate then (the presence of nitrite interferes with the nitrate test) just to have a look, though if it is heavily planted you may not see much nitrate anyways.

 

Haha yeah figured. XD Just give it some time then and see if nitrite actually eventually gets down to zero or otherwise.

Once nitrite reaches zero, then you can also measure nitrate then (the presence of nitrite interferes with the nitrate test) just to have a look, though if it is heavily planted you may not see much nitrate anyways.

Quick update something happened just now haha. Nitrite went down nitrate went up.

 

Quick update something happened just now haha. Nitrite went down nitrate went up.

I'll be honest, nitrite looks even darker to me. XD All these readings are taken at exactly 5 minutes after starting the test right?

But yeah, like I said there is not much point to measuring nitrate with nitrite present though, because your reading will be all over the place. XD

 

I'll be honest, nitrite looks even darker to me. XD All these readings are taken at exactly 5 minutes after starting the test right?

But yeah, like I said there is not much point to measuring nitrate with nitrite present though, because your reading will be all over the place. XD

For some reason it does in the picture but actually nitrite went down. U can tell when u see it irl. Yeah nitrate wen up. I expect by tomorrow the cycle will be done and I'll do a water change. I'm sure that high nitrate number will be down as my plants going to suck it.

I'll be honest, nitrite looks even darker to me. XD All these readings are taken at exactly 5 minutes after starting the test right?

But yeah, like I said there is not much point to measuring nitrate with nitrite present though, because your reading will be all over the place. XD

Better picture.

 

I just wanna update this thread woke up with 0 nitrite. But nitrate was crazy high. I did a 50% water change dropped it to 25PPM but still high. Il do another water change on Monday.

 

I just wanna update this thread woke up with 0 nitrite. But nitrate was crazy high. I did a 50% water change dropped it to 25PPM but still high. Il do another water change on Monday.

Awesome! Guess however it happened, you managed to cultivate ammonia and nitrite oxidizers at that low pH (I am presuming the pH is still low?).

 

Awesome! Guess however it happened, you managed to cultivate ammonia and nitrite oxidizers at that low pH (I am presuming the pH is still low?).

6.3 without co2. With co2 like 5.3

 

6.3 without co2. With co2 like 5.3

Gotcha. Well either way, so long as it is consistent(-ish, tbh does not have to be super perfect), then you should be fine. ^_^

I presume now you're gonna test the cycle? Fingers crossed, hopefully it'll look good.

 

Gotcha. Well either way, so long as it is consistent(-ish, tbh does not have to be super perfect), then you should be fine. ^_^

I presume now you're gonna test the cycle? Fingers crossed, hopefully it'll look good.

Yeah I added ammonia 2ppm 24 hours and we test again. I wanna get that nasty nitrate away .

 

wanna get that nasty nitrate away .

This is very often exactly what happens. We think the nitrites are never going to drop and then one day we test and they are gone. Nitrates on the other hand. For the most part we will always have some of them. We just keep them down to reasonable levels by doing our weekly water changes.

 

This is very often exactly what happens. We think the nitrites are never going to drop and then one day we test and they are gone. Nitrates on the other hand. For the most part we will always have some of them. We just keep them down to reasonable levels by doing our weekly water changes.

I just wanna make an update. After I tested 3 times yesterday and made sure my nitrite was at absolute 0. I did the 50% water change. Added ammonia to test the cycle woke up I had 0 ammonia but I have 20ppm nitrite again. I'm starting to give u but I don't want to. Can somebody tell me what's going on?

 

I just wanna make an update. After I tested 3 times yesterday and made sure my nitrite was at absolute 0. I did the 50% water change. Added ammonia to test the cycle woke up I had 0 ammonia but I have 20ppm nitrite again. I'm starting to give u but I don't want to. Can somebody tell me what's going on?

20ppm nitrite?! How much ammonia did you put in?

 

20ppm nitrite?! How much ammonia did you put in?

i added around 2ppm and tested in 3 hours and it wasn't 2ppm, so my friend who is into aquatic i dont know if he's going to be my friend after this, told me to add more ammonia so i added another TSP so i probably went over the 2ppm ammonia maybe 3? i didn't test after that. i know it's a rookie mistake. i guess my tank entered another cycle?(that im hoping will end soon)

 

I just wanna make an update. After I tested 3 times yesterday and made sure my nitrite was at absolute 0. I did the 50% water change. Added ammonia to test the cycle woke up I had 0 ammonia but I have 20ppm nitrite again. I'm starting to give u but I don't want to. Can somebody tell me what's going on?

Are you sure you are not confusing nitrates for nitrites? Nitrites in the test tube are either blue or purple. Blue if they are zero. Nitrates are yellow, orange or red. You are going to have some nitrates in a cycled tank. 20ppm is not a bad number for nitrates. 2 or even 3ppm ammonia couldn't have produced 20ppm nitrites.

 

Are you sure you are not confusing nitrates for nitrites? Nitrites in the test tube are either blue or purple. Blue if they are zero. Nitrates are yellow, orange or red. You are going to have some nitrates in a cycled tank. 20ppm is not a bad number for nitrates. 2 or even 3ppm ammonia couldn't have produced 20ppm nitrites.

No im not confusing nitrite for nitrate trust me. Im a test freak i test my water 3 times a day to see every single detail. And yes i have 20ppm nitrite.

 

BTW: your friend didn't have you do anything that would have hurt the cycling process. If you waited 3 hours to test after adding ammonia some of what you added would have already cleared out. When we run our test we add ammonia and wait 24 hours before testing again. If we test any sooner than that we might assume something is wrong when it really isn't.

No im not confusing nitrite for nitrate trust me. Im a test freak i test my water 3 times a day to see every single detail. And yes i have 20ppm nitrite.

How are you determining the 20ppm level? The chart just goes up to 5ppm. I assume you are doing a dilution test. I can't think of another way to determine it is 20ppm.

There really is no need at all to run the test 3 times a day. Doing so just causes unnecessary stress. Give the bacteria a full 24 hours to do its job.

 

BTW: your friend didn't have you do anything that would have hurt the cycling process. If you waited 3 hours to test after adding ammonia some of what you added would have already cleared out. When we run our test we add ammonia and wait 24 hours before testing again. If we test any sooner than that we might assume something is wrong when it really isn't.

How are you determining the 20ppm level? The chart just goes up to 5ppm. I assume you are doing a dilution test. I can't think of another way to determine it is 20ppm.

There really is no need at all to run the test 3 times a day. Doing so just causes unnecessary stress. Give the bacteria a full 24 hours to do its job.

I do apologize for that rookie mistake haha, i forgot to put the point between 2 and 0 its 2.0 not 20ppm. But yeah i tested and i have 20ppm nitrite, and 0 ammonia. I added a little ammonia this morning before i left to work. Anything else i need to do? And why do you this weird behavior?

 

I do apologize for that rookie mistake haha, i forgot to put the point between 2 and 0 its 2.0 not 20ppm. But yeah i tested and i have 20ppm nitrite, and 0 ammonia. I added a little ammonia this morning before i left to work. Anything else i need to do? And why do you this weird behavior?

Gotcha, 2.0ppm is a more reasonable number. I have never helped anyone having to deal with such a low pH so don't know if what you are experiencing is normal or not. It seems there are types of bacteria that will grow in these conditions. From what I have read it just happens slower.

At this point in the cycle I would only be adding 1ppm ammonia. By doing so it will slow down the production of nitrites and nitrates. We know you have both ammonia and nitrite eating bacteria since the ammonia you add zero's out and you have nitrates. Eventually both ammonia and nitrites will zero out. I, of course, can't say how long it is going to take for it to happen.

I know it was frustrating to see nitrites again after they dropped to zero but I did mention it might happen once you added ammonia again. Continue adding ammonia and the next time your nitrites zero out they should never spike again. Save yourself some stress by only testing once every 24 hours. Give the bacteria a full 24 hours to do its job.

 

I do apologize for that rookie mistake haha, i forgot to put the point between 2 and 0 its 2.0 not 20ppm. But yeah i tested and i have 20ppm nitrite, and 0 ammonia. I added a little ammonia this morning before i left to work. Anything else i need to do? And why do you this weird behavior?

Wait, just to be clear, you have 2.0 and not 20 parts per million nitrite, corrct? If you have 20ppm I would be seriously worrying about your filter bacteria dying. I believe nitrifying bacteria die off at 8ppm ammonia, so I can't imagine the lethal dosage for nitrite is much different.