Cycling Question

[twestacott]

My tank has been sitting for almost 3 weeks at 0 ammonia, 3.0 nitrite and about 80 nitrate without moving. I dose up the tank every night to 5.0 ammonia. The tank is in week 6 of the first cycle. Is it normal for the levels not to move at all over 3 weeks or does the nitrite just drop like a rock at the end of the cycle?

 

[Gingimaru]

when i cycled my tank i did 4ppm of ammonia and tested daily until it dropped to 0ppm ammonia then dosed it back up until i saw nitrites drop to 0ppm and then stay at 0ppm. i personally think your dosing too much too regularly. if you've already got 5ppm of ammonia today, leave it for a few days but test daily until you have 0ppm ammonia. once you have got to a stage where 4-5ppm of ammonia can be cycled in a night and your nitrites are at 0ppm then your good to go pretty much.

 

[jlk]

Have you been monitoring your ph daily as well? Ph changes can affect the progression of a cycle. Because your nitrites have been high for atleast 3 wks, I would do a big water change to bring them down & refresh your buffer levels. Make sure the water is temperature-matched & properly conditioned. Then drop the amm dose down to 4ppm. The fact that you have 80ppm nitrate means the nitrite is being converted but its just not quite up to speed yet.

 

[twestacott]

Ammonia goes back down to 0 overnight. Temperature is consistantly around 86.5 and ph is consistantly at 8.3

 

[Gingimaru]

i found that my nitrites stayed pretty high for a while and then after a couple of weeks it was suddenly down to 0ppm. after that i did about a week of testing to make sure it was working ok and that was it done

 

[LyndaB]

Why is your temperature so high? That's what you'd set it at to treat disease.

 

[twestacott]

I read that it should be turned up for fishless cycle. What should it be set at?

 

[LyndaB]

I've never heard that (doesn't mean it's not true though).

Just found this on the beginner's cycling area "tips and tricks". Interesting, I never saw this. But, then again, I have cycled all but my first tank using seeded filter media.

Turn your heater up! Aim for 85-87F. This increased temperature speeds up the metabolism of the bacteria which reduces the cycle time.

I always kept it between 78-80. I guess I've always gone by the theory that the beneficial bacteria would do best without temp fluctuations. In other words, if my final stock will result in a tank set at 78, I wouldn't want to cycle at 86. Too much of a difference.

Please keep in mind I'm not a scientist, nor do I play one on TV. Now I see there's a reason why.....

 

[jlk]

Ideal temps for bacterial multiplication & growth are in the mid-eighties (@84-85f). I would turn down the temperature a degree or two.

 

[twestacott]

I will try.turning down the temperature when I get hone tonight

 

[Ram8349]

High nitrate can crash the PH and stall the cycle. Nitrate is acidic. I would do partial water change to lower the nitrate before adding the ammonia again.

High temperature helps to cycle faster. No need to turn it down as long as you have air stones in there. Temperature in the high 80s is totally fine.

 

[jlk]

High nitrate will not cause a ph crash nor is it acidic. A water change is not needed to lower the nitrates either until the cycle is complete unless there is another issue that needs to be addressed with a water change. Ph crashes occur when the buffers (carbonates) are used up in the nitrification process- without buffers to keep the ph stable, the ph crashes thus a water change to restore them.

 

[Ram8349]

Thanks for pointing out,

When the nitrate build up too high during my fishless cycle, the PH definitely crashed all the way from 8.0 to around 5 overnight. It could be misleading.

I checked around, it seems there is no indication of nitrate itself is acidic, but the process of creating it has acidic effect on the water buffer. High nitrate does indicate the water buffer is getting less. Consider the total amount of ammonia we add to the fish tank during the entire weeks long cycling process, the nitrate build up is enormous. Water change is needed unless the water source is extremely hard.

 

[twestacott]

Ok so after about a 75-80% water change I managed to get nitrates to slightly above 0 (more of a pale blue than the baby blue on the API chart). I am going to try dosing ammonia to 4 overnight and double check the ph. I will give an update on all the levels towmorrow night.