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Hi there,

I have had my tank running for about 2-3 weeks now and my current readings are

PH 7.6
Ammonia 0.50
Nitrite 0.25
Nitrate 0

They have been this reading for a few days now and was wondering how long it will take before Ammonia & Nitrite levels are 0.

Please help!

Thanks

Leighton

If you have high ammonia and no nitrate yet means you are still at the beginning of the process. Just be patient and repeat the test after one week, see what changed.
Cant't say how long it's gonna take, it depends on many factors.
To make it faster you can use products such as Sera nitrivec, but still they are not going to cycle yout tank over night.

Ok thanks for your advise!

Hi,
I don't see any mention of fish in the tank.
Are there any or are you cycling the tank with the
fish-less cycling method?

Frank

I guess I should have been a bit more specific and expected
a reply posted.

At first glance, the tank is just starting to cycle and
because there is no nitrate reading, it has a bit longer to
go before it is fully cycled. A fully cycled tank should
read zero for both ammonia and for nitrite.
Now, you don't say how big the tank is, nor do you say
how many fish are in the tank. If you have a 10 gallon
tank and a couple of fish, the tank is probably on
schedule. However if you have a 100 gallon tank and only
a couple of fish, it will take forever for the tank to
cycle. Same way as if you have no fish in the tank.

Ammonia is the food of the nitrogen cycle. It comes
primarily from the fish. They eat the food, and eliminate
waste, and the accumulation of the waste is what gets
the bacteria colonies going that convert the ammonia to
nitrite and the nitrite to nitrate.

To give you a more accurate answer to your question,
we would need more information. How big the tank, how
many and what kind of fish are in it? If none, then how
are you supplying the ammonia necessary to run the cycle?

If you just dumped in the gravel, and poured in the water
and just started the filter and heater, then you are
not cycling the tank. That could also explain the readings
that you posted.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Those are the same questions I would ask fish or fish-less cycling, any plants as this helps, the sera product is a big help as it sets up the correct bacteria required I also use it at every water change. Also it take time and there are many too factors to work out an exact time if only it was that easy.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

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