Nitrites

[zippy]

I have been doing a fishless cycle with my new 90 gal. tank. For the last 2 weeks the Ammonia has been 0, Nitrites 0 and Nitrates 80, 18 hours after adding 1 - 2 tsps. of Ammonia. After a 80 gal WC last week the Ammonia stays at 0, but the Nitrites stay at around 2+ and the Nitrates are slowly going up and are at 80 tonight. Before the WC the Ammonia was 0, Nitrites 5 and Nitrates 80+. Immediately after the WC change the Ammonia was 0, Nitrites 0 and the Nitrates 5. Each evening I added 1 tsp of Ammonia to keep the cycle going. Did the large WC hurt by BB causing the Nitrites now to continue to raise ?
I have fish coming in two weeks and I'm getting a little nervous ..............
Thanks,
Zippy

[MarkGSmith]

I'm not an expert but that sounds right to me. You have beneficial bacteria converting ammonia to Nitrite and then you have another type of bacteria converting Nitrite to Nitrate. Sounds like you're nearly there, just keep at it. Some say that high Nitrates will stall the cycle so you had to do the WC.

[Jenene]

Yeah Zippy, don't worry about the wc effecting your bb. The beneficial bacterial is not in the water column only in your media and on surface in the tank. I would say don't let the Nitrates get so high. Try smaller ammonia doses and keep an eye on those skyrocketing Nitrates. When they start to rise do a small wc. By your previous results your tank is cycled. I think you are just a bit heavy on the ammonia and light on the water changes. You can dose tiny amounts. The bacteria will adjust when the fish get in there. You will be doing good water changes during that time so you will be fine. Not long now and you will have something to watch in there instead of plain water.

[Kyla]

are u testing ph while u cycle the tank also? i heard cycling can lower ph and if its very low that could stall the process
too maybe?

[Jenene]

are u testing ph while u cycle the tank also? i heard cycling can lower ph and if its very low that could stall the process
too maybe?

Kyla do you know about how low it would have to be to stall? That is interesting. He lives in my area and our water is pretty high to begin with at about 7.8 to 8.0.

[Kyla]

no i dont, i just know low ph inhibits bacterial growth. the ph can crash during a cycle if the kh is fairly low because as kh is used up during the cycle process the bufferring capacity of the water can be compromised. it would prob have to be quite low to affect the cycle, but ive seen ph drop below measurent on my api kit in low kh water so its something to keep in mind

[Kyla]

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showth...rop+cycling+kh

that post explains the possible ph drop during cycling. i couldnt find a good post about low ph inhibiting bacterial growth, but i think in general the lower ph in the wild discus habitat inhibits bacterial infections so i just conclude the nitrosomonas and nitrobacter bacteria could be affected as well... kinda like how u dont have to worry so much about botulism when pickling food in low ph (or so ive read)... hopefully someone can clarify if this is correct or of im just jumping to conclusions lol

[Kyla]

check this out, it says "All nitrification is inhibited if the pH drops to 6.0 or less."

http://www.bioconlabs.com/nitribactfacts.html

[Megalodon]

Both low kH and pH will inhibit nitrification. The two usually rise and fall together though.

[Jenene]

That makes a lot of sense. I would be surprised though if his high ph has dropped that low. Really interesting though. Many here that know me understand that I glaze over on this chemistry stuff but I am really learning how it all works together whether I want to or not. It really is important!

Thanks Kyla for all of your research. I know it takes awhile to find links you are looking for. I appreciate your initiative!

[zippy]

Thanks everyone for your comments and help. After a 50 gal WC today the Ammonia was 0, Nitrites .25, Nitrates 10 and PH was 7.9. Now after 10 hrs the PH has rose up to 8.1. PH is normally around 7.9 to 8.0.
Thanks again,
Zippy

[zippy]

On 5/14 after a large WC the Ammonia was 0, Nitrates 2.5, Nitrates 10. 5/15- Ammonia 0, Nitrites .25, Nitrates 10. I added a 1/2 tsp of Ammonia last night, today the Ammonia is 0, Nitrites are 5.0 and Nitrates are 20. I'm currently doing another large WC. I have noticed that my drift wood has some green stringy alge on it. I just removed the drift wood to clean it. I'm not going to put it back into the tank for now.

I'm expecting my fish to be here Tuesday from Kenny. I don't know why the Nitrites are going up so quickly.
Any ideas...............
Zippy