Sounds like around the same PH I expect to have after co2. Thanks for the info. Also what's your temperature at? Did you experience a period of high nitrite aswell?
I hope not!!
My temp is usually 74-76° when I'm cycling and yes, I do have a period of high nitrites, usually only lasts a week and is handled easily by daily 50%-60% changes. Sometimes trace amounts of nitrites (just enough to slightly tint the test) of ammonia and nitrites are present for 3 weeks or so, but water changes before they hit .25 do the trick.
Okay thank you, I have no problem waiting, just wanting to make sure that it will happen sometime in the future.
No, don't do that. Let the pH drop. Yes crushed coral would counteract it but you don't need to go there. The 80 ppm Nitrate I'm guessing means you're close to being finished on the cycling. That is unless you have been overdosing Nitrate. Is this fish in cycling or fishless cycling? If you weren't so close, I would suggest throwing the biomedia into a bucket with a heater, an airstone and a teaspoon of NaHCO3. But stay the course.
Okay sounds good, and I'm doing a fishless cycle. I have some DHG, and S.Repens though. Ive added two doses of seachem flourish. One last Thursday and one the Thursday before. And yesterday I did a 40% water change. You think my cycle is almost complete despite the high nitrite?
I did a diluted nitrite test with only 1/4 tank water and got 2.0 ppm of nitrite
In case anyone is interested and to be clear...
You make a good point. The higher pH would grow the bacteria faster. Which is what we're after. Calcium Carbonate is weird stuff because so little of it dissolves. It buffers as it dissolves the way I understand it but the CO3 isn't as persistent as HCO3. It's not necessary to add it but it might speed things up a little.In case anyone is interested and to be clear...
crushed coral or rather the introduction of kh into the system, doesn't counteract the pH drop. It just pushes the pH drop higher due to the higher starting ph.
It does not decrease the pH drop from co2 addition.
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Wow, diluting the sample was a good Idea. Dr. Tim, if he's a real doctor, says 5 ppm Nitrite is toxic to the bacteria. I just cycled some biomedia doing 50% water changes when my Nitrite got high.
I think your cycle is almost complete because of the high Nitrite. Your 80 ppm Nitrate makes me wonder where that came from. Was it bacteria doing their job. I think maybe so.
I didn't know I could quote myself.
I believe my nitrates were so high since I added some Seachem Flourish or since the Fluval Stratum leaches so much ammonia. I called my lfs that specializes in planted tanks and they reccommended a near 90% water change since the Stratum leaches so much ammonia. This brought my perameters to 0.75 Ammonia, 1.5 Nitrite, and 10-20 Nitrate. Should I just let it go and do small water changes from now on? Also should I add the C02 yet? I have everything I need. UNS Reg, Drop chekcer, Diffuser, etc. Would it be smart to cycle with CO2 since I'm already at around 7 PH. My light are on 8 hours a day and Id start CO2 an hour before they turn on and an hour before they turn off.One thing that should be pointed out is that at lower pH levels ammonia, and nitrite, are in a less toxic form.
It seems the "sweet" point is right around 7.0. Go higher than that and the total ammonia present starts to become more and more toxic.
Completely and utterly over simplified of course
There's graphs online that show this relationship.
And I'll add that 80ppm seems a tad high for a new tank? But that could be me.
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