Hi! New and confused

[Fish]

I’m following the very helpful post that was linked in here by black ghost. So I’m topping up ammonia every day now as it hits zero every day. But I had another read of dr tims guide this morning and apparently adding ammonia everyday when it hits zero is the wrong thing to do? He says that 1/4 of the amount should be added every few days until both ammonia and nitrite hit zero, then add the full amount and when they both hit zero in 24hrs the cycle is complete. So now obviously I’m questioning what I’m doing again. Should I keep doing it every day, or stop this and start to do a quarter of the amount every few days?

Today -
Ammonia: 0ppm (full ammonia dosage added yesterday)
Nitrite: 2.0ppm
Nitrate: 30ppm
pH: 7.6
HR pH: 8

[fr499y]

You don’t want to go above 2ppm of ammonia but it doesn’t hurt if you do. If it’s processing 2ppm in 24 hours and the nitrite is still above 0 then carry on as you are.

As soon as it give 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite in 24 hours and give you the same results 3 days ( whilst topping up ammonia each time it hits 0-0 ) in a row then you are good to go. A big water change before you get fish to remove any high nitrates and that’s it.

[Fish]

You don’t want to go above 2ppm of ammonia but it doesn’t hurt if you do. If it’s processing 2ppm in 24 hours and the nitrite is still above 0 then carry on as you are.

As soon as it give 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite in 24 hours and give you the same results 3 days ( whilst topping up ammonia each time it hits 0-0 ) in a row then you are good to go. A big water change before you get fish to remove any high nitrates and that’s it.

I don’t think the ammonia has been going above 2ppm, I’ve tested it an hour after adding ammonia previously and it’s at 2ppm, then is going to 0ppm the next day (this is still adding 1 drop per litre). I’m seeing conflicting advice on other forums and trying to work out what’s best. Some say to let the nitrites fall to almost 0 before adding more ammonia or the constant addition of ammonia means constant nitrites and the nitrates can never keep up to lower the nitrites.

Ever since the ammonia has dropped to 0 every day the nitrites have stayed at exactly the same ppm. So I don’t know whether to continue adding the same amount everyday, or to drop the amount to a quarter as dr Tim’s state every few days, or to wait until the nitrites drop to almost zero.

[Chris_jennings]

HI.
I always carry on dosing daily as not putting in ammonia will starve the ammonia munchers you have already grown.
If I think that the nitrites are a bit hi I do a 50% water change, this works well for me.

[Fish]

HI.
I always carry on dosing daily as not putting in ammonia will starve the ammonia munchers you have already grown.
If I think that the nitrites are a bit hi I do a 50% water change, this works well for me.

Do you test daily too? Kind of getting sick of testing also don’t want to run out of ammonia test and have to pay for more.

[Chris_jennings]

Not any more, I used to on earlier tanks but getting too old for it now, I only test every 3 days, more if some readings are unexpected.

[Fish]

Not any more, I used to on earlier tanks but getting too old for it now, I only test every 3 days, more if some readings are unexpected.

So do you still top up ammonia every day as you know it goes down, or only top up the ammonia every 3 days after you’ve tested?

[Chris_jennings]

Top up the ammonia every day, it is not an exact science + or - 70 % doesn't make a difference, your tank will be
cycled when your nitrites go to zero every day for 3 days in a row. Once cycled your tank will instantly handle
any imaginable bioload that you might want to add.

[Fish]

Thanks, I’ll do that then as sick of testing daily now!

[Fish]

Are my nitrites and nitrates too high and it’s crashed? I forgot to add ammonia yesterday too but not sure if I should wait now and/or do a water change?

I’m also bored of waiting now