Another Cycle Question

[flvol77]

So the I am in day 18 of my cycle, Ammonia is dropping like a rock, when I first started up my 55 gallon tank I put 8 ML of Ammonia in, that brought it up a little past 4 ppm.

April 17th was my first water change

Did another one yesterday because I was worried about the PH dropping

Since the water change on the 17th I can hardly keep ammonia in the tank. This AM 730 I tested the tank and it was at almost 0 ppm, I added 8 ML at 8 pm the night before. So I dosed up to 10 ML, it was at 4 ppm, then at 8 pm tonight Ammonia was at 0 ppm so I dosed it back up with 10 ML of Ammonia.

So the question, is this normal? Second questions Nitrites are sky high and Nitrates seem to be bouncing around a little, last two days they have been off the charts even after a water change. How long does it take for those Nitrites to disappear?

I ask for one reason, off course I am going out of town for a week on Saturday AM - Saturday will be day 24 - and I really don't want to lose 24 days of work because I am headed out of town....Got any ideas if my Nitrites don't drop by the time I head out of town on Saturday....am I going to lose all that work if I am gone?

 

[pankelephant]

Your nitrites are supposed to spike. It sounds like things are going really well for the cycle - your BB are working their butts off to process the ammonia, and you've been dosing high which is why the nitrites are so high. Your nitrates are going to be all over the place during the spike because the bacteria that make that conversion aren't fully established yet. Sometimes it's very quick, sometimes not so much.

I would dose on your normal schedule. 0 Ammonia is great. Give the tank an extra dose (not a single high, just one extra) right before you leave town. How long will you be gone? If it's just the weekend I wouldn't sweat it too much.

I'm assuming this is fish-less? If you're going to be gone a few days, you might pick up some frozen bloodworms or brine shrimp. Put some in the tank to let the decomp give you some ammonia while you're gone. Thaw it and leave it out for a day or so before you put it in to jump-start the decay. But if it's just the weekend I wouldn't bother.

 

[flvol77]

The day after i asked this my tank cycled....10 pm tonight was the 24 hour test where it went from Ammonia - Nitrites - Nitrates

Plus we aren't going out of town.

 

[pankelephant]

Well I was a bit late to the party then, lol.