Cycling

[diver4ever]

Hello to all. I have a 30 gallon going on a 3 week fishless cycle. The ammonia will go from 4ppm to .50 within 16 hours. The nitrites have spiked to 5ppm but still no downward movement. Nitrates just barely elevated. Do I just stay patient. The ammonia is definitely getting ate up like a Friday night at Golden Corral. Do I need to do anything else? Thanks in advance!!!!!!!!!

 

[Khazmachi]

Sounds like you're on the right track! Now that Nitrates are showing up you should be on the home stretch. Just keep monitoring those levels until you have 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite

 

[Reygan2]

Hello to all. I have a 30 gallon going on a 3 week fishless cycle. The ammonia will go from 4ppm to .50 within 16 hours. The nitrites have spiked to 5ppm but still no downward movement. Nitrates just barely elevated. Do I just stay patient. The ammonia is definitely getting ate up like a Friday night at Golden Corral. Do I need to do anything else? Thanks in advance!!!!!!!!!

Sounds like things are moving along nicely! This phase can seem to take forever, but it will happen. What is your ph?

 

[diver4ever]

Thanks Khaz and Reygan. My PH is 6.6 I will continue with patience although my legs are getting tired of all this cycling.

 

[Reygan2]

How's the cycle going?

 

[diver4ever]

Still waiting on the nitrites......................

 

[CMOS]

Still waiting on the nitrites......................

D4E,

I just finished a fishless cycle and learned some things about Nitrites - it can stall the cycle if the Nitrites stay too high. It took me 4 whole darn weeks to get through the Nitrite phase due to this stall.

An easy fix to avoid this - do a partial water change to get the Nitrites down to the 1-3 PPM level, wait one day, redose Ammonia to 3-5 PPM, repeat the process.

Once I did the above it was only 4 days before the Nitrites tested ZERO. Of course, after that I redosed the Ammonia a couple times to be sure that both the Ammonia and Nitrites processed as expected. They did = fish!

My tank has been great ever since.

Good luck. I learned the hard way to avoid this stall, but it was a good learning experience.

CMOS

 

[Reygan2]

D4E,

I just finished a fishless cycle and learned some things about Nitrites - it can stall the cycle if the Nitrites stay too high. It took me 4 whole darn weeks to get through the Nitrite phase due to this stall.

An easy fix to avoid this - do a partial water change to get the Nitrites down to the 1-3 PPM level, wait one day, redose Ammonia to 3-5 PPM, repeat the process.

Once I did the above it was only 4 days before the Nitrites tested ZERO. Of course, after that I redosed the Ammonia a couple times to be sure that both the Ammonia and Nitrites processed as expected. They did = fish!

My tank has been great ever since.

Good luck. I learned the hard way to avoid this stall, but it was a good learning experience.

CMOS

Did you happen to check your ph during your cycle? Nitrites typically do not stall a cycle, however a ph crash certainly will. Water changes replace the buffers, therefore raising the ph and allowing the cycle to progress.

 

[CMOS]

Did you happen to check your ph during your cycle? Nitrites typically do not stall a cycle, however a ph crash certainly will. Water changes replace the buffers, therefore raising the ph and allowing the cycle to progress.

Yes. Ph was stable through the entire cycle. I read quite a few threads on several forums where the same thing happened - Nitrite stall due to high numbers.


CMOS

 

[diver4ever]

Thanks Reygan and CMOS. Just tested and the nitrites are 5ppm. I have not added ammonia for 48 hours and it seems to have stalled at 1ppm. I guess a water change cant hurt. PH is still steady at 6.6 Any other thoughts? I am ready to grab a bucket.

 

[Reygan2]

Thanks Reygan and CMOS. Just tested and the nitrites are 5ppm. I have not added ammonia for 48 hours and it seems to have stalled at 1ppm. I guess a water change cant hurt. PH is still steady at 6.6 Any other thoughts? I am ready to grab a bucket.

A wc couldn't hurt IMO. It just might jump start things for ya

 

[CMOS]

You're on the right path. Just need some more patience, and a few WC's.

Keep us posted.

CMOS

 

[diver4ever]

OK. I am hoping this is not some freaky fish tank but I did a 60 percent water change. I waited for 15 minutes to make sure everything was cycled. I then sampled 4 vials of water. Post water change was
6.8PH
1.0 ammonia
over 5ppm nitrites
That blew my mind. I figured the nitrites would have diluted along with the ammonia. The nitrites are more purple than I have ever seen or at least equal to my highest readings I have had. Weird? Should I change water again? Maybe let it cycle for a while? I dosed to 3ppm on ammonia already. Could the API water conditioner (chlorine stuff) be giving a high nitrite if I put too many drops in?

 

[CMOS]

If you are using the API Master test kit then we all know the Nitrite scale is pretty sad, and inaccurate once you get close and above the 4 PPM level.

I suggest you wait a couple hours for the water to fully mix then retest. If you're still up in the 4 PPM+ range on the Nitrites, WC again to get it back down to about 2 PPM.

CMOS

 

[diver4ever]

Thanks CMOS. I know it's not deadly accurate but it is was as dark if not darker. When it rains it pours I guess because I started the second water change of about 80 percent. I shut the filter off but when I started it back up, it's rattling real bad and not pumping. It is a brand new Whisper. I cleaned the magnet and all but no dice. I removed the bio filters and they are floating in the tank with only the bubble strip running. I hope that is enough. I am gonna run down to Petsmart and exchange the filter. I don't want to lose what I already have.

 

[CMOS]

That's the problem with the API Kit - the Nitrite scale is useless once you get up to about the 3 PPM and above range.

CMOS

 

[diver4ever]

This is just blowing my mind. Got back from Petsmart (which the filter started magically working for the assoc) and plugged the filter in and had the same clacking sound with no flow. Cleaned the magnet and played with it some more and it started working. I will return it next time I am out. Anyway, did a 75 percent wc and just retested. Nitrites are still spiked and ammonia dropped a half of a percent to .50 In my apprentice thinking, I would have thought with 2 large water changes I would have been so diluted, even on the nitrites, but yet they are still holding strong. "Stupid Nitrites"

 

[CMOS]

"I feel your pain."

Same thing happened to me the FIRST time I tried to dilute the Nitrites - I had to do basically a 95% WC to get it back down to the 2 PPM level.


CMOS

 

[diver4ever]

After 6 WC I was a able to drop nitrites to 2ppm. Today the nitrites are still at 2ppm but I have a nitrate reading of 40ppm. Is that ok?

 

[CMOS]

After 6 WC I was a able to drop nitrites to 2ppm. Today the nitrites are still at 2ppm but I have a nitrate reading of 40ppm. Is that ok?

Yes. That's fine. Do you know what the Nitrate level is out of the tap (dechlorinated)? It would be good to test that so you know what your base line Nitrates are meaning, is the 40 PPM level being produced from your bacteria colony or is it that level out of the tap. We need to know this.

Remember when you redose Ammonia to ~3 PPM, test both Ammonia and Nitrites the next day. If Nitrites are high, WC back to 2 PPM. Wait one day. Repeat.

CMOS