Why isn't my cycled done?

[Dooboedoo12]

It's week 5 and for the last 2 weeks the ammonia goes from 4ppm to 1 in 12 hours. Twice a day I fill the tank with ammonia. I have 2 banana plants and 2 anubas plants.

When I check my api test the nitrites are sky high and the nitrates stay at 5ppm

How is my nitrites not getting any higher ? It's just staying the same dark color?

How is my nitrates staying the same too if my nitrites are not increasing? Where are they going?

I follow the instructions on my api kit exactly. In the pic you will see the dif between if I leave the test for 5 min and if I leave it for 20. My nitrates darken intensely and my nitrites lighten intensely. I don't know if it's me or is my test or I'm just doing it correct? I feel like 5 weeks in my nitrites should be a lot higher than 5 ppm esp since they started showing up 2 weeks ago and have stayed at 5 ppm.


This is the comparison between waiting 5 min and 20


This was my test I did for nitrates barely 5 min ago today

 

[Dooboedoo12]

I bought seachem stability. Will that help?

 

[flitabout]

Stop adding ammo more than once in a 24hr period. Also your nitrites are off the charts so there is no way to tell how high they are. I would do a 50% water change and see if you can get your nitrite into a readable level. you may want to back down to 2ppm for 1 day and see if that helps what is your pH? Try shaking your #2 bottle for a full minute and then the tube for a full minute. Then wait the 5 minutes to read it. I set my kitchen time for 7 minutes and shake that #2 bottle like you life depends on it. Bang it on the counter or a table. Just shake the crap out of it. See if that helps.

 

[aquandrew]

there is a point where too much nitrites will stall the cycle. i agree with water changes until you can read it and dose less ammonia. getting nitrites to 0 is almost always the longest part of the fishless cycle

 

[Dooboedoo12]

I'll try that 50% water change now than. My ph is very high. My chart only goes up to 7.6 and is guess it was an 8.4

 

[flitabout]

It sounds like you didn't get your high range one in your kit that one goes up to 8.8

 

[threnjen]

Your cycle will not complete because your constant addition of ammonia is simply creating more and more and more nitrite, asking more and more nitrite eating bacteria to grow. So until you stop dosing ammonia, the cycle will never EVER complete.
With as much ammonia as you have now added, I would cease adding ammonia except for 1/2 of a 4ppm dose every 4 days.
The bacteria that eats nitrite grows twice as slow as the bacteria that eats ammonia. So basically by endlessly adding ammonia, the nitrites will just keep accumulating and creating a huge backlog that the nitrite-eating bacteria can never catch up to. At some point, ammonia dosing must CEASE to allow nitrite eating bacteria to catch up.

I do not think your cycle is actually stalled from high nitrites, as scientific research tells us that nitrites do not stall cycles at the small scope of our aquarium work.

Here is what *I* would like you to do, but you don't have to follow my advisement.
Do a 100% water change. Every last bit you can get out.
Dose 4ppm ammonia.
Check in 24 hours. I bet your cycle is actually done and can handle 4ppm just fine.
If it is not done, DO NOT dose more than 1/2 dose every 4 days from here out.
I hypothesize that your cycle is either complete or is VERY close.


This is a note for the experienced people reading this thread - does our fishless cycle sticky not indicate a reduction of ammonia dosing once nitrites are detected, or is this just a detail that people tend to miss? If people are asked to just dose and dose and dose, the nitrites are never going to go down because demand will continually be placed on the system to grow more nitrite-eating bacteria.

 

[Dooboedoo12]

If you read the step by step guide http://www.aquariumadvice.com/the-almost-complete-guide-and-faq-to-fishless-cycling/
It says to keep dosing it up to 4 ppm until one night the nitrites completely disappear. It also says not to let it fall below one bc than the bacteria will starve

Also my plants need the ammonia so would they die if the tank is able to reduce all that ammonia in a 12 hour period? It would mean no ammonia in the tank for more than 3 and 1/2 days

I do like the idea of the 100% water change and than testing the water to see if it's complete. I will try that tonight. If it's not than respond about there being no ammonia in the tank for all that time

Will the bacteria starve?
Will my plants starve?

 

[threnjen]

If you read the step by step guide The (almost) Complete Guide and FAQ to Fishless Cycling - Aquarium Advice
It says to keep dosing it up to 4 ppm until one night the nitrites completely disappear. It also says not to let it fall below one bc than the bacteria will starve

Also my plants need the ammonia so would they die if the tank is able to reduce all that ammonia in a 12 hour period? It would mean no ammonia in the tank for more than 3 and 1/2 days

I do like the idea of the 100% water change and than testing the water to see if it's complete. I will try that tonight. If it's not than respond about there being no ammonia in the tank for all that time

Will the bacteria starve?
Will my plants starve?

The bacteria will not starve. This is a myth. I'm not going to bombard you with sources but me and some forum colleagues have been studying this topic and the bacteria that eats ammonia can go dormant for literally MONTHS and will activate again instantly in the presence of new food (ammonia). This isn't just a guess on our part - we have several scientific papers as references.

I am dissatisfied to hear the sticky advises constant dosing. No wonder cycles around here take forever. No wonder so many water changes are advised. This can all be so much simpler.

Your plants will be ok. Plants eat nitrates (as well as ammonia) and you will have plenty of those! Plants are a key element of a good ecosystem to lower nitrates. Tons of food for them!

 

[Dooboedoo12]

Well I'm glad that of all the topics you read mine or I would have been waiting a very long time before my cycle was done. I'm at 50% now and I'm going to bring it down to 100% now

 

[threnjen]

I should mention - I am confused by your nitrate readings and why the test gets dark only after a long time. So, that is confusing.
REGARDLESS, the 100% water change and new dose of 4ppm is NOT going to make anything WORSE. That I can guarantee you.

 

[joltibo]

Sorry for bumping in,
So what you're saying is, once you start seeing nitrites, you should dose only to 2ppm?
I'm currently in the beginning of a cycle

 

[threnjen]

As soon as you see nitrites, your dosing must be reduced or the cycle can never complete without water changes.
Instead of doing water changes, better to just reduce the dosing.
Drop to 1/2 dose (2ppm) at MOST every 2-4 days.

 

[joltibo]

Ok thanks

 

[Dooboedoo12]

Yeah I was confused about the same thing. If I waited over night the nitrates are as dark as can be and the nitrites will read 0 as if my cycle was done

 

[flitabout]

I kind of have the feeling that your cycle is actually done. I had the same issue as you and I cycled with filter media from my other tank. So while it went super fast it also seemed to stall right at the end and just couldn't seem to finish out. My ammo went to 0 and my nitrites where unreadable, my nitrates were there but steady 80. So finally I read Tips and Tricks For Your Fastest Fishless Cycle! - Aquarium Advice just trying to speed it up and I did the 2ppm of ammo and the next morning I had a 0pp ammo and nitrite. I felt so dumb I think I was actually cycled in like 4 days with all of the media I had put in there. But it took me 4 more days to realize it.

 

[Polkadots]

I am in nearly the same situation as you are, right down to the changing-colors-if-you-wait nitrate test and it being week 5.

Can you please post your results with the 100% water change and all that once it's been 24 hours? I would really appreciate it. Thanks!

 

[threnjen]

Polkadots do you have a thread about it? If so, link me

 

[Polkadots]

Yeah, I do... but you already replied to it yesterday!

But here it is anyways: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f15/fishless-cycle-stall-291771.html#post2776026

 

[threnjen]

OH! ha, well, great

Man we have GOT to do something about the fishless cycle sticky demanding a constant maintenance of 4ppm ammonia!