No Nitrites during cycle??

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Lilly123

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Nov 27, 2018
Messages
94
I have a 55gal tank with 6 small goldies. 2 weeks ago, I had to completely drain my tank as I had an ammonia problem. I filled it back up and added the fish, assuming the cycle had started. I’m now on day 15 and no nitrites have shown up (0ppm) .

My ammonia is 0.5ppm - 1ppm (usually closer to 0.5ppm) after water changes (which I do a 25% everyday) and after every change I add QuickStart and aquarium salt.

Last time I cycled my tank I had nitrites by day 10.

Another thing, may be important, I cleaned out my filter a couple days ago (it was about 2 weeks since I cleaned it before then) and it was covered with browny/orangey sludge, like it hadn’t been cleaned for a while.

Does that have something to do with my problem? Any ideas? Thanks [emoji846]
 
Fish In Tank Cycling

I have a 55gal tank with 6 small goldies. 2 weeks ago, I had to completely drain my tank as I had an ammonia problem. I filled it back up and added the fish, assuming the cycle had started. I’m now on day 15 and no nitrites have shown up (0ppm) .

My ammonia is 0.5ppm - 1ppm (usually closer to 0.5ppm) after water changes (which I do a 25% everyday) and after every change I add QuickStart and aquarium salt.

Last time I cycled my tank I had nitrites by day 10.

Another thing, may be important, I cleaned out my filter a couple days ago (it was about 2 weeks since I cleaned it before then) and it was covered with browny/orangey sludge, like it hadn’t been cleaned for a while.

Does that have something to do with my problem? Any ideas? Thanks [emoji846]

Hello Lilly...

You need to test the tank water daily for traces of ammonia or nitrite. If you have a positive test for either, remove and replace 25 percent of the water. No more. The fish can be fed a little every couple of days. I would add a floating plant like Anacharis, Hornwort or Dwarf water lettuce to help steady the water chemistry. Just test every day and replace the water when needed. When you have several daily tests with no traces of either ammonia or nitrite, the tank is cycled. Then, you remove and replace half the water weekly for the life of the tank. Please keeps us informed.

B
 
Hello Lilly...

You need to test the tank water daily for traces of ammonia or nitrite. If you have a positive test for either, remove and replace 25 percent of the water. No more. The fish can be fed a little every couple of days. I would add a floating plant like Anacharis, Hornwort or Dwarf water lettuce to help steady the water chemistry. Just test every day and replace the water when needed. When you have several daily tests with no traces of either ammonia or nitrite, the tank is cycled. Then, you remove and replace half the water weekly for the life of the tank. Please keeps us informed.

B



Hi!! Yes, I’ve been doing that, just wanted to make sure I was doing the right thing [emoji4] How long do you reckon it’ll take for the nitrites to show up?
 
I’ve seen threads where nitrites are very short length in cycle to point where don’t show up - I think it would be worth it and you can also keep an eye on tank water vs water change volume as the goldfish get bigger would be one thought (but frankly it’s another excuse for me to go to fish shop :) ).
 
I’ve seen threads where nitrites are very short length in cycle to point where don’t show up - I think it would be worth it and you can also keep an eye on tank water vs water change volume as the goldfish get bigger would be one thought (but frankly it’s another excuse for me to go to fish shop :) ).



Ok, thanks [emoji4]
 
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