fishless cycling help

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spoonman said:
My point was that if you use pure ammonia, you can make sure that the levels are right without doing water changes. Also, the bb needs nitrite to convert to nitrate. Water changes will also remove nitrite. Just my experience. There are alot of ways to skin a cat (so to speak).

Yea but the ammonia will convert into nitrites again anyways, he obviously isn't lacking nitrites. In fact I would do a water change to get them back into a readable range because they could be much higher than the test will show
 
Okay thanks pay... I'll be doing another 30% water change tomorrow cause i just mixed the saltwater. Hopefully the nitrITES will be readable after water change :)
 
I would not do any water changes. Your tank is cycling perfect. Leave it alone and let it cycle. When your ammonia and nitrites are at 0 then do a 33% PWC for the nitrates.
 
Yea but the ammonia will convert into nitrites again anyways, he obviously isn't lacking nitrites. In fact I would do a water change to get them back into a readable range because they could be much higher than the test will show

Just giving my experience cycling saltwater tanks. Have cycled 2 in the last few months and have been very successful. Like I said, alot of ways to skin a cat.
 
All right so no water change then. :) How long do I have to wait for ammonia and nitrites to 0? I'm planning on testing my water again in 4-5 days to see the results
 
Wait til your nitrites are at zero and then dose ammo again. You want to make sure it can convert to zero on ammo and Trites in 24 hours or less.
 
Ok thanks.. I'll check the water again in maybe a week and hopefully the nitrites will be zero by then.

Just want to confirm that I understand it right, you said when ammonia is 0 and nitrites is 0 that's when I'll dose ammonia, correct?
 
Thanks! Hmmmmm.. Howcome some people would suggest to dose ammonia when it's 0? And other people would advise to do water change when trites is unreadable?
 
I guess this hobby is like everything else in life. Everyone has their own way and their way is best
 
Is my cycle stalled? Things were great till I saw a pattern..

Day 14
Ammonia - 3ppm
Nitrites - >5ppm
Nitrates - 20ppm

Day 17
Ammonia - 0ppm
Nitrite - >5ppm
Nitrate - 40ppm

image-253685785.jpg



Day 21
Ammonia - 0ppm
Nitrite - >5ppm
Nitrate - 20ppm

image-2516570006.jpg

Based on my numbers the nitrite is in a holding pattern and what's kind of weird is that my nitrAtes has gone down from 40ppm to 20ppm. What does these numbers mean? Is my cycle stalled? If so, what do I need to do?
 
It is quite possible your nitrites are not In a holding pattern, the chart goes no higher, that doesn't mean they aren't. They may be 6 or 7 ppm and there is just no color difference.

As for the nitrates, you have to make certain you are really shaking the reagents in order to get an accurate result, could be a testing error, or just a lousy test.
 
Ok I'm going to try and do a test again later tonight when I get home. But if the results would still be the same should I just leave the water as is for another 4-5 days and recheck again as you mentioned "they may be 6 or 7 ppm.."
 
Yep, give it a little more time, the bacteria that consume ammonia reproduce more quickly than the bacteria that consume nitrite.
 
Woohhoo!! After more than a week or two of waiting for my nitrite to come down, its finally readable. Nitrite is now ~1ppm!! I'm so happy :D
 
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