Ammonia in cycling won't drop?

[duganderson]

I'm cycling a small (2 g) JellyFishArt aquarium. Low flow and no heater. I started the cycle 8 days ago with starter and I've added Seachem Stability daily. The ammonia still has not dropped from 4.0 PPM using API. I am using Dr. Tim's Ammonia for my ammonia. Still have 0.0 Nitrates using API.


Shouldn't the ammonia have dropped by now? I am not continuing to add Ammonia.

Should I just restart the aquarium and cycle?

The only quirk was the following....On day 5 I accidentally bumped the salinity from 1.21 to 1.25 instantly. Long story how I did this?

[bertoni]

Personally, I would drop the ammonia a bit with some water changes. That level might be high enough to inhibit ammonia-consuming microbes. Have you gotten a second opinion on the ammonia kit? The kit likely is fine, but if getting a test at a local fish store is easy, it might be worth it.

[mcgyvr]

I agree... 4ppm is too much and may cause problems (like extended cycle times ;) )..
1 to 2ppm is more than sufficient..

Do a 50% water change to cut ammonia levels in half and check back in 1 week..

And FYI.. your salinity numbers of your "oops" are another "oops"..
Massive difference between 1.21 and 1.021
A swing from 1.021 to 1.025 is unlikely to cause any real problems..

[duganderson]

Thank you. Dropped the ammonia with water change and I'll monitor.