Nitrite..

[flukes]

Oh dear, I cleaned out my canister filter, just left the ceramic noodles and rinsed the sponge in aquarium water and threw out the filter wool. Then i did a water change.

After about 2 hours i just did a test and found that there is a reading of nitrite at 0.25ppm, Now i was thinking well the bacteria must be there to convert the ammonia to nitrite and it just hasnt passed the nitrite stage yet. I was told that it shoud be less than 12 hours to get rid of all ammonia and nitrite, so should i wait or try to get some cycle first thing in the morning??

It might just be the time i did the test because, i just happpened to notice that all 3 discus had a good empty before i did the test. But does the waste record as ammonia straight off or does it have to settle in the gravel??

Cheers
Scott

[luvfishies]

Throwing out the wool might have upset the balance of biobugs, if there was a lot of the wool.

Usually you will see ammonia first, but if it was a minor blip, its entirely possible to not see it before you get the nitrite blip.

Save your money, "Cycle" doesn't have the right bacteria, and the majority of them are dead anyways. I've tested it, and it's high in ammonia and nitrATES. Just keep an eye on the nitrites, and do waterchanges as needed until the level drops to 0, which should be within a day, anyways.