Why Ammonia going up during cycling - 7 weeks in

[RaymondL]

I've cycled many tanks before using fishless method and dosing Ammonia, etc, so I'm familiar with what needs to happen and be done, but this scenario I'm faced with is the first for me.

I dose for 2ppm, and check the Ammonia levels and reading is at 2ppm....check the day after and it looks like 5ppm! I thought this was in error, so I waited for Ammonia to drop to 1ppm, and dosed again to 2ppm, and test for Ammonia each hour for 2 hours....and behold, after 24 hours the Ammonia concentration read higher than 2ppm.

This is a first for me, and I thought I've seen everything with cycling, but apparently not. I'm missing something here, so if anyone has any idea what's happening, please let me know.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

7 weeks is very long IMO, what is the nitrate level?

 

[RaymondL]

7 weeks is very long IMO, what is the nitrate level?

It's at 40ppm. I might just do a 50% water change on the weekend.....something is not right here. Might purchase another bottle of Bacteria start and try again.

 

[PopBot16]

I usually don't bother checking the ammonia level until 24 hours later. What did you add for an ammonia source? A long time ago I did the Fritz ammonium powder and inadvertently waaaaaaaaaay overdosed it lol!

 

[drolmaeye]

Is it possible there is a mistake about the concentration of the ammonia product and/or your total water volume? In any case, if you dosed a measurable amount of ammonia, observed a subsequent rise and fall in nitrites, and finally have measurable nitrates with zero nitrites, then I imagine the tank is cycled and you can leave the ammonia mystery unsolved.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I don't know the why's, I'm not smart enough, but I have enough experience to know that at 7 weeks and 40 nitrates, the cycle is done. I would let the ammonia drop to zero and do a water change an add a fish.

 

[RaymondL]

I usually don't bother checking the ammonia level until 24 hours later. What did you add for an ammonia source? A long time ago I did the Fritz ammonium powder and inadvertently waaaaaaaaaay overdosed it lol!

Using Dr. Tim's Ammonium Chloride solution