Cycling Problem

[Olympia]

No, your cycle actually seems to be doing fine as long as the nitrite and ammonia will go down with time.

What does your tap water test? I just don't get why the alkalinity is/was going down.

[BumbleT]

@Olympia
I just tested my tap and the readings say alkalinity is 80ppm and pH is 7.2

[Olympia]

Hey Bumble,
How's your cycle going? Has it completed yet?
Gotten some thoughts on the alkalinity, if it's still unstable. Do you have any real wood or rock in the tank? And what sort of substrate are you using?

[BumbleT]

@Olympia
So glad to know that you're here to help me make sure things are getting back on track. the cycle unfortunately still isn't complete.
so Nitrate levels are staying low (about 7ppm)
Nitrite levels are still high (about 3.0ppm)
Alkalinity is still unstable but readings look like 70ppm so a little better
and pH is 7.0
I have no drift wood or stones in my tank. substrate is some top fin aquarium gravel. i do have a few plants in there though, could that be messing up my balance?

[goldfishyman]

You could try taking a bottle of your water and putting in 1 teaspoon aquarium salt, 1 teaspoon epson salt. 1 teaspoon baking soda. Cover the bottle and shake well. Add a little at a time to your water and test your alkalinity again each time you dose it. This might help stabilize your water.

In the grand scheme of things your tank should continue to cycle. As long as the PH doesn't drop to 6.2 or lower. Ideally you want a PH of 7.5. Ammonia to nitrite bacteria like a pH of 7.3 and nitrite to nitrate like the PH to be about 8.0. If you go too far off the mark you will stunt the bacteria and see spikes in your readings indicating that one bacteria is slowing down and another is growing faster. Run your heater at to about 89 degrees. Aerate the water with air stone and if you have a hob you can lower water a tiny bit to create splashing. Keep your tank dark so you don't get algae outbreak.

Main thing is don't be impatient. Just let the cycle complete.