Test results odd

micah2012

micah2012

Large Fish
#1
May 11, 2006
267
0
0
Gloucester, Massachusettes
massachusetts.mc-templarknights.com
#1
My Ammonia is at 1.0, my Nitrite is at 0.25, and my Nitrate is at 5.0. The readings have been exactly the same for three days now. Isn't this kinda odd during a cycle? My Nitrite never peaked unless 0.25 is at peak. And if I'm showing Nitrate shouldn't my Ammonia be 0? I haven't increased the bio load at all since I started this cycle.
 

micah2012

micah2012

Large Fish
#3
May 11, 2006
267
0
0
Gloucester, Massachusettes
massachusetts.mc-templarknights.com
#3
It's a 20 Gallon high. 1 Gourami, 3 Cory Cats, and 2 Red Fin Tetras so far. It's a month old and non-planted. I used a variety of products to get the cycle started with no results. I found out about Bio spira and added it to my tank 4 days ago, after doing a ton of water changes to bring down the Ammonia to a very slight level so the Bio Spira had a fighting chance and wasn't killed off by too much ammonia. On the 2nd day I finally had Nitrite of .25 and Nitrate of 5.0., it's working, yay. But my ammonia went back up to 1.0. I just did another test and my ammonia is up to 2.0, Nitrate is 10, and Nitrite is still .25. How is the bacteria making NO2 and NO3 without bringing down the ammonia? I want to do a water change to bring it back down but I don't want to lose any of the Bio Spira that hasn't attached itself to anything yet. Everything I've read on Cycling says that my ammonia should be 0 at this point or at least going down, I'm just really confused. This is my first tank.
 

N

noncentric

Large Fish
#5
Feb 18, 2006
196
0
16
WA state
#5
Did you have any nitrites or nitrates before adding the Bio-Spira.

I suppose it's possible your tank has a relatively large population of the nitrite>nitrate bacteria - and a not-as-large population of the ammonia>nitrite bacteria. So as the fish produce ammonia, it is getting converted to nitrite as a slow rate. That nitrite is getting converted to nitrate at a fast rate, so it's not rising at all and the nitrates are rising.

That's the only thing I can come up with. :)
Since it's been about 4 days, I would think that doing a small water change wouldn't be too detrimental - just don't do a gravel vac or clean the filters...but I'm not 100% sure. Hopefully your population of ammonia>nitrite bacteria will rise soon and the ammonia readings will drop.

Good luck!
 

micah2012

micah2012

Large Fish
#6
May 11, 2006
267
0
0
Gloucester, Massachusettes
massachusetts.mc-templarknights.com
#6
No I only had ammonia before Bio Spira. Than in just one day it showed NO2 and NO3. Hopefully tommorows test results will make more sense. I have another pack of Bio Spira, should I add it? I was wondering if I should remove my filter pad. Any Bio Spira that gets sucked up by the filter will stick to the pad and not make it to my bio wheel, and then when I change my filter I will loose the bacteria right? I have no idea.
 

N

noncentric

Large Fish
#7
Feb 18, 2006
196
0
16
WA state
#7
micah2012 said:
No I only had ammonia before Bio Spira. Than in just one day it showed NO2 and NO3. Hopefully tommorows test results will make more sense. I have another pack of Bio Spira, should I add it? I was wondering if I should remove my filter pad. Any Bio Spira that gets sucked up by the filter will stick to the pad and not make it to my bio wheel, and then when I change my filter I will loose the bacteria right? I have no idea.
Click to expand...
It sounds like the Bio-Spira has helped a bit. I don't think you'd need to re-dose the Bio-Spira, assuming you used a full dose for your tank size the first time. It should only require one dose.

It's okay to leave the filter pad in, as some bacteria will colonize there. In general, it's not advisable to change the filter pad - only to rinse it in tank water (or dechlorinated tap water) when you do water changes. Filter pads don't need to be replaced every 2 weeks or every month as the manufacturers suggest. They just want to sell more quantity, so they suggest buying more frequently. You should be fine just rinsing the filter pads, then replacing only when they start falling apart.

Oftentimes, tanks will be thrown into a "mini-cycle" when filter pads are replaced, since there is usually a lot of beneficial bacteria in them. If your filter system accomodates two filter pads, then only replace one at a time (about 2-4 weeks in between) so that the new pad can populate with bacteria before the other pad is removed.

Hope that helps. :)
 

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