Nitrite and Nitrates WAY up

[JoeE]

So I've had ammonia in my tank for about two weeks, dosed up to about 3 ppm max, and on Sunday both my nitrites and nitrates started rocketing sky high. I would expect the nitrites to start dropping before the nitrates went up, but they're at about 5 ppm or more and the nitrates are still going further and further up. Have I blown my cycle?

[Lady Hobbs]

No, it's fine. Hope there isn't fish in the tank tho. That amount of nitrates tells me a whole lot of ammonia was in the tank.

[JoeE]

No, it's fine. Hope there isn't fish in the tank tho. That amount of nitrates tells me a whole lot of ammonia was in the tank.

Absolutely not, no fish until I'm done cycling.

I didn't dose the ammonia too high, I feel. I have lots of plants in there, one of which is sort of dying, could that be contributing?

[Lady Hobbs]

No, the plants will be fine. How much did you dose and did you cut it back to half once you began to see nitrates? I've never seen nitrites so dark.

[MuckyFish]

It's a very good sign, when I cycled I found I got much higher nitrite and nitrate readings in relation to the ammonia I had.

It is important to keep the nitrite from getting too high and I would change water if it stays at or above 5ppm nitrite for long. Consider that nitrite as a salt is used as a preservative.

[JoeE]

No, the plants will be fine. How much did you dose and did you cut it back to half once you began to see nitrates? I've never seen nitrites so dark.

I think I haven't added a drop of ammonia since I started seeing nitrates, but my memory is a bit hazy...it's possible that I added 5ml of 1% ammonia solution.

I definitely haven't added any since the nitrates started to shoot up rapidly yesterday. I should add that the nitrites aren't quite as dark in reality as they are in the picture, my crappy cellphone cam probably makes them look a bit darker.

[D Ryan]

So I've had ammonia in my tank for about two weeks, dosed up to about 3 ppm max, and on Sunday both my nitrites and nitrates started rocketing sky high. I would expect the nitrites to start dropping before the nitrates went up, but they're at about 5 ppm or more and the nitrates are still going further and further up. Have I blown my cycle?

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...9/IMAG0491.jpg

Looking at your picture it appears the test tube in the middle is NITRATES! Is that correct?

What size tank do you have (gals)? And how much ammonia have you been adding?

I have never seen readings quite like yours in 2 weeks!

Was this picture taken at 5 minutes of the test?

[JoeE]

Yes, that's nitrates. The tank is 26g.

It's actually been about three weeks, but I did a huge water change due to overdosing the ammonia the first fill (over 66%), so essentially I was restarting. I did add a piece of treated driftwood from an LFS tank, which may have brought in some bacteria.

The pictures were taken about 30 minutes or so after testing. I only dosed the ammonia up to about 3ppm, maybe 4ppm tops since the first major water change.

[D Ryan]

Yes, that's nitrates. The tank is 26g.

It's actually been about three weeks, but I did a huge water change due to overdosing the ammonia the first fill (over 66%), so essentially I was restarting. I did add a piece of treated driftwood from an LFS tank, which may have brought in some bacteria.

The pictures were taken about 30 minutes or so after testing. I only dosed the ammonia up to about 3ppm, maybe 4ppm tops since the first major water change.

Was the picture taken before or after the water change?

When you re-test take that picture at about 5 minutes, it makes a difference!

I think you have broken at least 1 of the Hobbs cycling without fish rules, You messed around with the tank!

Does your ammonia ever drop to zero?

[JoeE]

Water change happened two weeks ago, so after. I have only done a small water change since, about 15 percent.

The ammonia got very low once, less than 1ppm, so I dosed up to about 3ppm.