So about 7 or 8 days ago I put 140 drops (instead of the recommended 180 drops cause I heard of overdosing issues) of Dr Tim's Ammonia Chloride in my 55 Gallon to get the Ammonia kickstarted. This was in the evening.
The following morning (roughly 12 hours later) I tested my Ammonia which was about 2.0-3.0ppm ish and then I put in the recommended amount of Brightwell Microbacter XLM which is 15x concentration nitrifying bacteria to get everything kickstarted (bottle says cycled in 7 days). For a 55 Gallon I believe it recommended something like 12 caps, but I put 13-14ish just to make sure there was a sufficient amount.
About 2-3 days later the Ammonia was the exact same so I put another 3 caps of the bacteria.
Today (6th day) I tested my Ammonia and it was still the exact same (still no Nitrites either) so I put another 3 Caps of the bacteria.
I'm wondering why on earth my Ammonia has stayed the exact same and if maybe I got a dead bottle of Brightwell XLM or what? I'm wondering if at this point I should try a different bacteria (I heard Fritz Turbo Start 900 or Bio-Spira might be good options), or would that mess up my system/cycle by having too much bacteria potentially (and I assume maybe different KINDS of bacteria? Not sure how that works exactly to be honest).
I know patience is the name of the game with the hobby, but when it's advertised to be a 7 day cycle, yet my Ammonia hasn't at least BUDGED in 6 days? Seems like something is off, no?
The following morning (roughly 12 hours later) I tested my Ammonia which was about 2.0-3.0ppm ish and then I put in the recommended amount of Brightwell Microbacter XLM which is 15x concentration nitrifying bacteria to get everything kickstarted (bottle says cycled in 7 days). For a 55 Gallon I believe it recommended something like 12 caps, but I put 13-14ish just to make sure there was a sufficient amount.
About 2-3 days later the Ammonia was the exact same so I put another 3 caps of the bacteria.
Today (6th day) I tested my Ammonia and it was still the exact same (still no Nitrites either) so I put another 3 Caps of the bacteria.
I'm wondering why on earth my Ammonia has stayed the exact same and if maybe I got a dead bottle of Brightwell XLM or what? I'm wondering if at this point I should try a different bacteria (I heard Fritz Turbo Start 900 or Bio-Spira might be good options), or would that mess up my system/cycle by having too much bacteria potentially (and I assume maybe different KINDS of bacteria? Not sure how that works exactly to be honest).
I know patience is the name of the game with the hobby, but when it's advertised to be a 7 day cycle, yet my Ammonia hasn't at least BUDGED in 6 days? Seems like something is off, no?