5 Gallon taking a long time to cycle?

[CoolHand]

Hi Everyone,

Please see the attached PDF of my cycle log. My son would really like to get fish soon and so would I. It seems like this is taking a long time though as we are 5 weeks in and the Nitrite level still has not decreased to 0.

Is the way my tank is progressing normal?

Thanks

CH...

 

[KatieJ]

5 weeks isn't that long as far as cycling goes. It can take months, really. Did you start out with already-seeded media?

 

[librarygirl]

Since Nitrite has been off chart for almost 2 weeks, you could do a large water change. Try to get it down to a readable level on the chart (1 or less would be great). Don't forget to dechlorinate the water and try to match the temp. You should be very close by now, things may have stalled a bit. The pwc should hopefully kickstart things. Don't be surprised or discouraged if nitrite shoots back up the next day, that's normal. My nitrite was 5+ for 2.5 weeks before it came down.

 

[CoolHand]

Thanks guys. Yes I am doing this without any seeded material. I'll try the water change tonight.

CH...

 

[Catfish22903]

Do you have any live plants in the tank? They can help bring down your ammonia/nitrite. They won't do much for nitrate though. I also like to stick a cutting of Pothos (a common potted terrestrial plant) into my filters to remove nitrogenous compounds. Just stick it into a backpack filter or hang it into the water, with the leaves in the air. The plant will put roots into the filter or aquarium, and absorb both nitrite and ammonia.