is my cycle almost over or beginning?

[hackteck]

hello everyone i have a question. first i have 10 goldfish in my tank medium sized to start my cycle i have 1 whisper 60 filter and 1 tetra 60 filter in my 75 gallon tank i started my cycle about 15 days ago yesterday my nitrite rose to close to 5.0 and my nitrate is on around 30-40 range does this mean my cycle is coming to an end or beginning? also i used some bio starter from the local lfs

 

[Ginafish]

Well usually the nitrite spikes right before the cycle ends...but then again, this could just be a general rise in nitrites, and a spike is yet to come. What is the ammonia level? If it's been high, and then has gone down, then this could be the nitrite spike at the end of the cycle.

 

[Jchillin]

15 days (@ 2 weeks) is usually not long enough. If you were testing your water often, you would have seen a NH3 spike, followed by a NO2 spike. The use of the bio-starter was a good idea and you may be very close. The NH3 level is important at this point.

 

[malkore]

I'd say you're at the midway point. The nitrite spike means the ammonia phase is completed. you have to wait until ammonia and nitrite are 0ppm for a week, and nitrates are high..then you're done.

I'd do a water change too. You're stressing the goldfish with nitrites that high.

 

[TomK2]

wow. thats a pretty high nitrite spike. You may need a week or two more, so PWC frequently to help the fish.

 

[hackteck]

i just started actively testing my water may be 6 days ago i know i shoulda started testing it sooner but i just started reading about cyleing and so forth this is all new to me i just checked and my test kit checks the following in order ; nitrate nitrite hardness alkalinity and ph it doesnt test ammonia so now i have to go get another test kit i guess cause this one doesnt include ammonia and also i just tested it today the test i posted was yesterday today my nitrite is 3.0 or so and it looks like my nitrate part is getting higher

 

[FancyGuppyGuy]

As soon as ammonia and nitrite hit 0 your cycled basically.

Nitrite takes longer than ammonia so you will probably have a couple more weeks.

 

[hackteck]

yea i'll keep a close eye on the water conditions for the next few weeks

 

[hackteck]

im into third week of my cycle i read my test strips wrong my nitrite was on the rise not getting lower now its higher then 10.0 because the test area is darker then the darkest 10.0 freshwater comparison chart on my test strips what should i do to lower my nitrite and do you think my cycle is gonna be over any time soon?

 

[TomK2]

what should i do to lower my nitrite and do you think my cycle is gonna be over any time soon?

less feeding or ammonia introduction to decrease the amount of nitrite generated, and PWC's to lower the nitrite thats in there. You need to do lots of PWC's, every day 20 to 50% until the nitrite comes down to spare your fish nitrite poisoning. You probably have a week or two left in the cycle.

 

[hackteck]

well its almost been 40 days and finally my nitrite is coming down it got higher then the test kit could register then like magic over maybe 5-6 days its been coming down lower and lower now its near 1.0 so happy my cycle is almost over i figure i probly have maybe 1 or 2 days before nitrite is completely gone nitrate is up near 20 or 30 i'm also having a couple spots of brown diatoms so their called ive been reading what can i do about those they where on my rocks but i cleaned it off what can i do to prevent it from coming back?

 

[Jchillin]

Congrats Hackteck! You are indeed almost there. The diatoms are a sure sign of this. Reduction of lighting hours will reduce them for the time being (until you can get some diatom munchers).

 

[TomK2]

good news! I also saw the brown algae (diatoms) appear 6 days before my cycle was complete. algae eating fish love the brown stuff, that is one way to get rid of it. It seems to be a transient thing with new tanks, after a while the brown stuff stops growing and the green algae takes over. Congrats on an impending complete cycle.

 

[hackteck]

thanx for all the info guys i have another question i want to get discus fish when my tank is completely cycled to keep in the tank what type of fish do you guys recommend to keep with discus fish or are discus fish not to be kept with any other species of fish ?