JSchupner
11-11-2012, 09:56 PM
Hi guys,
Looking for a little bit of advice on something I thought I understood, but isn't working out the way I understood it would, the nitrogen cycle. I just re-set up my 75 gallon aquarium, which had discus in it about 4 months ago (Had them for a very long time, and the last one seemed to have died of old age). Anyway, when I packed up the filter (I use an Fx5 and 2 sponge filters, I rinsed them out with tank water and put them in storage. Upon taking it all back out, about a week ago, the bio media was still damp, but I rinsed it with de-chlorinated water just to make sure nothing harmful had grown on it. I got the tank set up, using just the Fx5, and a thin layer of sand. I got a small group of Malawi cichlids to help cycle the tank, and prepare it for discus. As of a few days ago, the ammonia spiked to 4.0ppm, as to be expected, and the nitrites were still at 0ppm. Here is the odd thing; The nitrates were at about 15ppm while the nitrites remained at 0ppm. It was my understanding that I would see the ammonia spike, then the nitrite, then the nitrate, as the bacteria grew and broke down the ammonia. The fish are doing great and as of today the numbers read as follows: Ammonia 2.0 ppm, Nitrite 0 ppm, Nitrate 5.0 ppm. Can anyone shed light on why this process doesn't seem to be working the way I thought it would? Like I said, the ammonia seems to be settling out, and the fish are doing great, just not sure why the numbers are not settling the way I presumed it would. While we are at it, how long should I wait after the cycle has settled, and I am able to do water changes without messing with the numbers, to go ahead and order discus. My Ph is at 8, and I plan to get 3'' discus from Hans.
Thanks for the help!
JSchupner
Looking for a little bit of advice on something I thought I understood, but isn't working out the way I understood it would, the nitrogen cycle. I just re-set up my 75 gallon aquarium, which had discus in it about 4 months ago (Had them for a very long time, and the last one seemed to have died of old age). Anyway, when I packed up the filter (I use an Fx5 and 2 sponge filters, I rinsed them out with tank water and put them in storage. Upon taking it all back out, about a week ago, the bio media was still damp, but I rinsed it with de-chlorinated water just to make sure nothing harmful had grown on it. I got the tank set up, using just the Fx5, and a thin layer of sand. I got a small group of Malawi cichlids to help cycle the tank, and prepare it for discus. As of a few days ago, the ammonia spiked to 4.0ppm, as to be expected, and the nitrites were still at 0ppm. Here is the odd thing; The nitrates were at about 15ppm while the nitrites remained at 0ppm. It was my understanding that I would see the ammonia spike, then the nitrite, then the nitrate, as the bacteria grew and broke down the ammonia. The fish are doing great and as of today the numbers read as follows: Ammonia 2.0 ppm, Nitrite 0 ppm, Nitrate 5.0 ppm. Can anyone shed light on why this process doesn't seem to be working the way I thought it would? Like I said, the ammonia seems to be settling out, and the fish are doing great, just not sure why the numbers are not settling the way I presumed it would. While we are at it, how long should I wait after the cycle has settled, and I am able to do water changes without messing with the numbers, to go ahead and order discus. My Ph is at 8, and I plan to get 3'' discus from Hans.
Thanks for the help!
JSchupner