rhappel
New Member
Hi everyone,
I'm new to the hobby. I've been trying to read up on stalled nitrogen cycles but my situation seems to be different from the trouble that most people have. I set up a 20 gallon tank about 3 weeks ago. My goal is to start with a pair of clown fish and eventually add some corals after the tank is more established in a few months. I started cycling my tank by using Fritz Pro Aquatic Ammonium Chloride and got my ammonia concentration to 4 ppm. I also added fritzyme 9 live nitrifying bacteria at the same time. A few days later, I thought I was on the right track because my nitrite and nitrate levels began to rise. The rest of my parameters have been stable the entire time: my pH is 8.0, my salinity is 1.025, and my temperature 78 degrees Farenheit. After about a week, my ammonia level was starting to decrease from 4 ppm, my nitrite level seemed to be somewhere between 2-5 ppm, and my nitrate level was somewhere between 80-160 ppm. As the last two weeks have passed, my ammonia level and nitrate level have decreased to 0, while my nitrite level seems to be stuck at around 5 ppm. What am I doing wrong? I know my cycle is not complete because my nitrite level is not 0. What am I supposed to do to get my nitrite level to decrease?
I appreciate any advice that anyone has to offer.
Thanks!
I'm new to the hobby. I've been trying to read up on stalled nitrogen cycles but my situation seems to be different from the trouble that most people have. I set up a 20 gallon tank about 3 weeks ago. My goal is to start with a pair of clown fish and eventually add some corals after the tank is more established in a few months. I started cycling my tank by using Fritz Pro Aquatic Ammonium Chloride and got my ammonia concentration to 4 ppm. I also added fritzyme 9 live nitrifying bacteria at the same time. A few days later, I thought I was on the right track because my nitrite and nitrate levels began to rise. The rest of my parameters have been stable the entire time: my pH is 8.0, my salinity is 1.025, and my temperature 78 degrees Farenheit. After about a week, my ammonia level was starting to decrease from 4 ppm, my nitrite level seemed to be somewhere between 2-5 ppm, and my nitrate level was somewhere between 80-160 ppm. As the last two weeks have passed, my ammonia level and nitrate level have decreased to 0, while my nitrite level seems to be stuck at around 5 ppm. What am I doing wrong? I know my cycle is not complete because my nitrite level is not 0. What am I supposed to do to get my nitrite level to decrease?
I appreciate any advice that anyone has to offer.
Thanks!
