Nitrite Levels stuck?? fishless cycle

[dngo9]

Hi all, this is my first post since joining this site.

This is my first time having a fish tank. I recently bought a 10 gallon fish tank and luckily before i bought any fishes i researched about fishless cycling.

So I started my fishless cycling on Friday 29 June - Day 1 - added pure ammonia to reach 4ppm.

Day 8 - Friday 6 July - nitrites appeared at 5ppm - i added ammonia to reach 3ppm

Day 11 - Monday - 9 July - i tested my nitrites and when i tested it the water starts to turn purple at the bottom of the test tube straight away and i remember researching that it meant that nitrites are sky high!. i kept adding ammonia to 2-3ppm.

Day 13 - Wednesday 11 July - my p.h levels dropped to 6.0ppm so i decided to do a 50% water change and then it went back to 7.6ppm, nitrites were still high - by now ive been adding ammonia to 2ppm

Day 14 - Thursday 12 July - my p.h levels dropped the next day to 6.4ppm so i decided to do a 90% water change and tested the p.h levels and it was 7.6 and then i decided to add 1/2 tablespoon of baking soda which reached to p.h levels of 8.2.

Day 17 - Sunday 15 July - p.h 8.2, nitrites are still sky high, so i decided to add 1ppm of ammonia.

Day 22 - Friday 20 July - my p.h levels have been 8.2 eversince which is good, i am still adding 1ppm of ammonia. nitrites are yet still sky high.

NitrAtes have remained at 5.0ppm eversince I tested NitrItes on Day 8

I keep my temperature at 81 degrees and i keep my air stone on

I was wondering if i have stalled my cycle?

 

[christine2012]

You probably didn't stall it, nitrite. -->nitrate takes a good while. I was hung on that phase for 5.5 weeks! The end is nigh! Lol

 

[dngo9]

You probably didn't stall it, nitrite. -->nitrate takes a good while. I was hung on that phase for 5.5 weeks! The end is nigh! Lol

Oh haha did ur nitrites drop gradually? Or did all ur nitrites drop overnight?

 

[christine2012]

Oh haha did ur nitrites drop gradually? Or did all ur nitrites drop overnight?

Actually it dropped when I was out of town for a few days. I left on a Friday with trites at 5 came back on the following Tuesday and it was cycled lol, so honestly I couldn't even say. It takes forever though!

Jlk is really good with fishless cycling, I'm sure she'll pop in sometime today

Can I suggest you add a buffer, like crushed coral to your tank? It will keep your Ph from crashing like that, Ph crashes can definitely impact your cycle.

 

[pugmom]

I am just passing through this annoying phase of fishless cycling. lol.

It took me a bit longer for nitrites to appear than you (20 days), and my nitrites didn't drop until 3.5 weeks later. I had similar issues as you with them being sky high. I would have to do a 90% change to get them readable and they would be sky high again with the next ammonia dosage.

Mine are showing drops now, the first day it dropped it didn't disappear to zero, but the second day (today after dosing ammonia yesterday) they are basically gone.

are you adding ammonia every day or skipping a day?

 

[dngo9]

Hi there yeah ive been adding everyday the past 3 days ive been adding up to 1ppm due to nitrites being so high

 

[dngo9]

Can I suggest you add a buffer, like crushed coral to your tank? It will keep your Ph from crashing like that, Ph crashes can definitely impact your cycle.

I used baking soda instead lol, but yeah eversince i added baking soda it stopped my p.h from crashing and has been remaining at 8.2

 

[jlk]

At 3 weeks into your cycle, your doing pretty well! As other members have mentioned, it sometimes can take a couple of weeks before you even see nitrites. And, this is the hardest phase to wait out! Adding a buffer such as crushed seashells, crushed coral or argonite in a mesh bag/piece of pantyhose to your filter will work alot better for stabiling your ph than baking soda. Baking soda does work but its a very short term solution- once it wears off, your ph will crash very quickly.

Is your ammonia zeroing out within 24hrs after dosing right now? Have you tested your nitrates? How do these look when compared to your tap level for nitrates? This will let us know if your nitrite>nitrate bacteria are starting to establish themselves yet. Let us know & we can go from there!

 

[dngo9]

Hi jlk Thanks for the compliment i have been getting really impatient with this process but yeah im still staying strong. My ammonia has been zeroing out within 24 hrs, yeah ive been testing my nitrates and its been remaining at 5ppm eversince day 8.
My tap water level nitrates are 0

 

[jlk]

Thanks! Skip dosing ammonia for the next 2-3 days and keep us posted if theres any change in nitrites or nitrates. If there isnt, then its time for a big water change to drop your nitrites down to a readable number (less than 2, preferably less than 1) & a low dose of ammonia.

Can you also please test your taps actual ph? Set out a container of tap water with an airstone or bubbler. If you dont have an extra, just give the water a good stir every so often to help release dissolved gasses. Test your ph in 24hrs with the regular & high range test and let us know how this looks. Knowing what your actual ph is will help to figure out where your tank should be sitting normally.

 

[dngo9]

Will do i'll keep you posted in a few days or so

 

[dngo9]

Hey there so its been 3 days and here are my results:

Day 26 - Tuesday 24 July - tested tap water - high p.h level = turned out to be a light bronze colour and my closest estimate was 7.4 , p.h range level = somewhere between 7.2 and 7.6,

Fishtank test - nitrites = still off chart, p.h = 8.2, nitrates = 5.0ppm

My nitrites are still off chart and nitrates are still at 5.0ppm, after leaving the nitrites test there for a few minutes it starts to turn clear:S is that normal?

 

[jlk]

Normal? Not exactly. I have only seen this happen a few times where the nitrite test turned clear (or an odd blue, grey, other shade). It indicates that your nitrite levels are so high that the test can not accurately read them. My suggestion is a 100% water change when you have the time to try & drop them down to a readable level. Wait 1/2 hr & retest nitrites. Dont be surprised if they dont drop signifigantly after the wc.

 

[jlk]

Also, if they dont drop signifigantly, do another 100%wc. Just make sure you are temperature matching & properly conditioning the new water. Once they are below 2ppm (preferably much lower or zero), add 1ppm of ammonia and let us know how things look tomorrow!

 

[dngo9]

Can i do more than one pwc a day? Yeah well the nitrite test turned into light shades of grey almost turning clear which was i meant lol

 

[jlk]

As long as you temp match & properly condition, your fine!!! Just dont go take a 2hr break after removing the water.

 

[dngo9]

Ohok thanks alot i'll keep u posted

 

[dngo9]

I just did 2 100% water changes and nitrite went down to 0.5ppm. I also added ammonia to 1ppm . I'll keep u posted tmr

 

[dngo9]

Just another update: i did another test 9 hours after the wc and here are the results:

Nitrite = 5ppm, i added ammonia after the water change to 1ppm and now its 0.25ppm, nitrates are around 10ppm

 

[jlk]

Just wait and test at the 24hr mark. Testing earlier is fun if you are curious but not necessary. Let us know how things look this evening!