Is my cycle done?

[john.hunter225]

Hey everyone,

Trying to figure out if my cycle is done.
I've be doing a fishless cycle for 2 months 1 week now.
29g w/ Ace janitorial strength ammonia.
Fake plants, decor, gravel.
Air stone running 24/7
Temp set to 86 degrees.

I started to notice my nitrites dropping about 9 days ago.
For the last three days my readings have been

Temp 86
Ph - 7
Ammo - 0
Nitrites - 0 or .25
Nitrates - Off the chart

I can't really tell if the nitrites are 0 or .25.
Its a little darker than 0 but lighter than the .25.

What do you guys think?
Am I good to go now or should I wait longer?

 

[shellieca]

I would do a water change to bring down nitrates, dose the ammo back up & see what happens. I always give it a week to make sure but I could be overly cautious.

 

[juddyfnq]

i just went through this, had same levels as you a week ago, did a 25% water change and a few days later ph was 8.3, ammonia -0, nitrite -0, nitrate 20ppm. i put seachem denitrate in, now i got a few fish in and im off to a good start.

 

[librarygirl]

You're probably very close. Have you noticed the PH dropping at all? Has it always been 7 or has it dropped? Drops in PH are normal during cycling but if they drop too much or too fast it can stun the bacteria. I'd do a full water change, wait an hour and test nitrate again. If it's still off-chart do another water change to try to get them down some. Then redose ammonia and let's see what happens over the next couple of days. Also for your PH you might want to do two things:
1) test PH right out of the tap
2) leave a glass of tap water out for 24 hours (stir it occasionally) and then test PH again; this is your "true" PH and what your tank's PH should be. Sometimes it can change from what it is straight out of the tap once the water gasses out.

 

[john.hunter225]

Grr how frustrating.
I wake up to check the levels to find
Ph 6.4
Ammo 0
Nitrite 1
Nitrate Off charts

I ended up doing a big water change.
Dosed ammonia back up.
I guess I will wait a little longer.

My Ph out of the tap is 6.8-7, I can't really tell which is what.
I did the 24 hour test a while ago and tested again at 48. I have very soft water. My Gh and Kh are 2, not really sure what that is in ppm.

 

[librarygirl]

The PH drop probably set the cycle back some. The water change was a good move. Keep an eye on PH; if it keeps dropping you may need to add some crushed coral or argonite to the filter to help buffer the water and keep the PH at at least 7.