Are my Nitrites too high or do I need to wait it out?

[thekeymaker57]

Maxed out nitrites?

Yes, sorry, another cycling help post…

Ammonia, dosed to 2 ppm, has been vanishing within 24 hours for over a week now. But how high are my Nitrates here? I know any Nitrites means it’s not cycled. But if it’s above 5 ppm, should I do a large water change? If it’s 2 ppm, still change some water or wait it out? And I’ve stopped dosing Ammonia now after reading it can stall the cycle. Keep that paused?

Thanks in advance for any help. I feel like I’m so closed to having a properly cycled tank for the first time.

 

[Aiken Drum]

You have 3 options, and it really doesnt matter which route you go. Your tank will cycle on pretty much the same timescale regardless.

1. Continue redosing ammonia daily whenever it drops until 2ppm ammonia cycles out to zero ammonia and nitrite in 24 hours, and you are cycled. Your nitrite to nitrate microbes will establish and your nitrite will start to drop and eventually drop to zero. Ive read that high nitrite stalls the cycle, but its not something ive personally experienced. Many people, myself included, have cycled aquariums with high nitrite.

2. Water change to get nitrite down to a level your test kit can detect and then redose ammonia. Continue to do water changes whenever nitrite increases beyond the test kits ability and continue to redose ammonia to 2ppm daily until you no longer detect ammonia or nitrite after 24 hours at which point your tank is cycled.

3. Stop dosing ammonia until your nitrite is zero. Only redose ammonia when both ammonia and nitrite are zero and when 2ppm ammonia takes less than 24 hours to cycle out you are cycled.

Personally i would go for option 2 for a few reasons.

- I like to be in control of the process and be able to see on a daily basis if my nitrite is going up or down.
- While i dont believe that high nitrite will stall a cycle, low carbonate hardness (KH) can. The nitrogen cycle uses up KH, and you are dosing ammonia at far higher amounts than a tankful of fish would, and the KH will get depleted quicker than in a stocked aquarium. A water change will replenish your KH.
- Continuing to dose ammonia throughout will prevent your ammonia to nitrite microbes from dying back.

For info every 1ppm of ammonia dosed turns into 2.7ppm of nitrite (and 3.6ppm of nitrate). So if your nitrite to nitrate side of things isnt established it doesnt take much ammonia to send nitrite beyond the level a test can provide an accurate result and it can quickly get very high.

 

[thekeymaker57]

Thanks for your helpful response. It looks like I’m going for option 3, as I went to make a big water change tonight but tested the water before and Ammonia and Nitrites are both 0 now!

Was starting]to think I’d never see the day!

I dosed Ammonia again and will check tomorrow to see if Ammonia and Nitrites are 0 again.

 

[Andy Sager]

Thanks for your helpful response. It looks like I’m going for option 3, as I went to make a big water change tonight but tested the water before and Ammonia and Nitrites are both 0 now!

Was starting]to think I’d never see the day!

I dosed Ammonia again and will check tomorrow to see if Ammonia and Nitrites are 0 again.

Here's the thing with cycling a tank, it will always eventually finish cycling. All it takes is time and patience.

 

[thekeymaker57]

I spoke too soon. 24 hours later there’s a little Ammonia left in (0.25 ppm) and 2 ppm of Nitrites. I’ll just keep going until it can get rid of both within 24 hours?

 

[Andy Sager]

I spoke too soon. 24 hours later there’s a little Ammonia left in (0.25 ppm) and 2 ppm of Nitrites. I’ll just keep going until it can get rid of both within 24 hours?

Correct. That's the sign that you are cycled.