Getting Started

[jdragunas]

if it's possible, try to replace all of the water in your tank with RO water before adding anymore fish or anything. You can do like a 90% water change, as long as all of the parameters of the before & after water are the same, meaning everything, including ph, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, calcium, and alkalinity.

 

[pfitz44]

were can i get RO water???

 

[jdragunas]

read post # 100 on page 2... i wrote all about it.

 

[pfitz44]

Awsome.. i didnt see that post... ill look at thattonight

 

[pfitz44]

So i took some readings last night.... Amm was up top 2.0!! (Again... grrr.....) Titrates were only .25 still trates were 0 calcium was about 400.... i did abut a 15% water change to try to lower the ammonia... do you think thats what might be causing the cycle to last for so long??? its been a month today... i just want to get something in it!!!! please help.....
~Fitzy

 

[jdragunas]

try to get your ammonia down at around 0.5... that should help speed it along... my cycle took 2 whole months, so yours isn't that bad. This is the longest part of the cycle. The dentrifying bacteria that converts nitrites-nitrates grows really quick, so once that gets going, you'll be golden. The bacteria that converts ammonia-nitrites is slow.

 

[pfitz44]

Is there anything i can do to speed up the cycle??

 

[jdragunas]

yeah, lower your ammonia. The dentrifying bacteria that turns nitrites-nitrates don't grow very quickly with high amounts of ammonia, so that could be causing it to be so slow.