Cycle stalled, or almost done?

[LizzyBeth]

So I'm doing my first cycle(s) (on two tanks) and as nothing has really happened for quite a while, I'm wondering if I'm stalled out or almost there.

I'm cycling two tanks. A 29g and a 10g. (Started the large one up on April 18 and the small one on April 19.)

I had no seeding materials; so I really started cycling from scratch. I'm doing a fishless cycle, and started by adding ammonia (I'm using the Ace Janitorial Strength ammonia). And I'm using an API master liquid test kit.

Both tanks are at ~83 degrees. I've added declorinator (Tetra AquaSafe) at every step as well.

Original, baseline readings (both tanks, before adding ammonia):
pH 8
ammonia 0.25 ppm (likely due to chloramides)
nitrites 0
nitrates 0

Nitrites showed first on 5/3 for my large tank and 5/9 for my small tank (but the small tank showed nitrates starting on 5/5, and the large had nitrates then too, both at ~10ppm).

I did a water change of about 14g on the large tank and 5g on the small tank on 5/24 when my pH started to drop. (The small tank had gone down to 7.8 pH which was lower than the baseline and the large tank was at about 8 whereas it hadn't been down to 8 before.)

Up until now, nothing has changed that much. Nitrites are off the chart, nitrates have risen very slightly in the last day or so in the small tank (but not the large tank). Ammonia has been dropping faster lately (I've had to add a measured amount every other day to keep dosed at 1ppm or more.)

Readings from today:
large tank:
pH 8
ammonia .25-.5 (I dosed this up after testing)
nitrites 5+ (off the chart)
nirates ~10
small tank:
pH 8
ammonia .5 (also dosed this up)
nitrites 5+ (also off the chart)
nitrates ~40 today (was slightly lower yesterday)

So I'm wondering if at 6 weeks, if I'm getting there (as the tanks are eating ammonia faster than before and nitrates are rising more)? I know this is the longer part of the cycle. I just want some feedback.

 

[jlk]

Hi! Just so I am clear, your nitrites have been off the charts for more than two weeks now, correct? You have been dosing daily to 4ppm? I would have expected a bit more movement by now but every tank & cycle is different. So, I think its time for a bit of an adjustment in strategy.

Start by doing as close to 100% water change in both tanks. Make sure you temperature match & properly condition the new water. Wait 15-20mins & check your ammonia & nitrite levels. You want to drop your nitrites down to a readable level (1ppm or less). To do this, it may take another additional big water change. Then, only dose your ammonia from your tap level (.25ppm) to 2ppm. Lets see how things look in 24hrs & we can go from there! Ill post the ammonia calculator in case you dont have it.

Calculator

 

[BlaseMrNiceguy]

Have you been dosing ammonia up to 4ppm as needed? Most of the time your cycle will only stall out if your ph drops below 6.5 even as low as 6, that's when your BB stop reproducing.

 

[LizzyBeth]

I've been dosing up to ~1ppm (or a little higher) about every other day (that's how much it's taken lately). I guess maybe I'll try to dose to ~2ppm.

I will carry out some water changes. (It'll take a day or two though to raise the temp of fresh/new water.) I was thinking that that'd be good since my nitrites have been way off the chart for a while now (since 5/14), so apparently they've been off the charts for ~3 weeks. The 50% water changes I did when my pH started to drop didn't even get them readable again.

I haven't done my testing/dosing for the day, but here are my numbers from yesterday (also done late at night; hey I'm a night owl, so yeah):

large tank:
pH 8
ammonia ~.5
nitrites 5+ (off the chart)
nirates ~10

small tank:
pH 8
ammonia .5
nitrites 5+ (also off the chart)
nitrates ~40-80 (seemed a darker orange than before, but the difference in scale here is annoying to read)

 

[paytertot]

I would definitely do water changes, as off the charts nitrites can stall the process I believe.

 

[LizzyBeth]

So an update:

I'm warming some water up currently. Because of our water heater we have for our tap water, if I want to use water that doesn't have all kinds of gross stuff dragged up from the bottom of the water heater I have to use cold tap water for fish tank things (so yeah, it takes a bit to temp match it).

So my recent tests show that I may actually be done as far as my smaller tank goes. The other day the small tank's nitrites were off the chart, and now they're 0 (I even tested it twice), and there was no in between.

My current readings are (pictures of them attached):
Large Tank:
pH 8.2
ammonia .25 (.5-1 after dosing)
nitrites 5+ (still off scale)
nitrates 5-10

Small Tank:
pH 8.2
ammonia .25-.5 (2 after dosing)
nitrites 0 (I was so surprised I tested it again later with the ammonia)
nitrates 40-80

So I will still do water changes when the water is temp. matched. And I guess in 12-24 hours I will know if my small tank really is done (ie if it converts the new dose into nitrates and leaves no ammonia or nitrites).

I'll keep you all updated. Any other pointers for the time being?

 

[jlk]

Looks good! If you continue to get steady zeroes daily after dosing in your small tank (for a couple of days), then its cycled! Your big tank is not quite there yet but hopefully soon!

 

[Tropicallie]

Is this salt water or fresh?

 

[LizzyBeth]

Tis freshwater tanks. I feel stupid for not mentioning that.

I believe my small tank is indeed almost cycled, but I think it needs a bit more time to be able to convert more ammonia as it doesn't convert all the ammonia that I add.

Yesterday I did a huge water change on the large tank. 22g of the 29g. Nitrites are now readable (at least for now). I believe it's making progress, since nitrates are higher than they were before (even after the water change).

Yesterday's readings:
Large Tank: (readings several hours after water change)
pH 8-8.2 (closer to the brown of the 8)
ammonia .5 (I dosed up after this by 1mL)
nitrites 2-5 (yay, readable! much different purple)
nitrates 10-20 (these were at 5-10 the day before and this is after a water change-> so progress!)

Small Tank:
pH 8.2
ammonia .5-1 (so no not ready quite yet, since my base ammonia is .25, I also dosed this up by .25mL)
nitrites 0
nitrates 40-80

 

[LizzyBeth]

So a couple weeks later, here's an update and some questions:

Large Tank:
pH 8
ammonia .5 (dosed up to 4 after tests)
nitrites 0
nitrates ~80 (a nice red, instead of red-orange, but not deep dark red, see attached: it's the right vial)

Small Tank:
pH 8
ammonia .5 (also dosed this up)
nitrites 0
nitrates ~80 ( maybe a little lighter than for the large tank, it's the left vial in the attached picture)

So I would have liked to have seen more progress by now. Both my tanks seem to process ~1ppm of ammonia to nitrites to nitrates in a day. For the last couple weeks I have not seen any nitrites.

So I'm wondering if at this point it would be ok to partially stock my tanks. My logic is that since normally at the end of a completely done fishless cycle you can fully stock; and since I'm not processing all 4ppm of ammonia, I could safely stock partially. Would this be ok? If so, how many fish could I put in my 29g to start with (1-2 6 fish schools?)?

Obviously I would need to get my nitrates down before adding fish (through a water change or two). If this would not be ok, how should I go about finishing off my cycle(s)? It seems like I haven't made any more progress. I am planning on doing water changes in the next couple of days.

Also, I added a few more gem decors thinking that if it's an issue of surface area for the bacteria to grow on, that that may help.