Need help to finish fishless cycle

[Watsonja4]

Ok so I started my cycle 12 days ago on my 45gallon following the complete guide and faq on this forum. I have been dosing ammonia to 3 - 4 ppm every time it fell below 1.0ppm as the guide reads. My nitrites started to show at day 7 and by day 10 had already climbed off the chart. Nitrates started to show on day 9 and today which is day 12 are at 40ppm. So my test results as of day 12 or tonight are
Ammonia 0 - .25ppm
Nitrites off the api color chart high
Nitrates 40 - 50ppm
PH - 8.2
So my question is should I do a 50% water change now to lower nitrites or wait for nitrates to climb off the chart and should I continue dosing ammonia back to 3 - 4ppm. Thanks for your help as always.

 

[Watsonja4]

Nobody wants to touch this one I guess

 

[Leeatl]

Quote...."--Now that you have built up enough bacteria to convert ammonia within 24 hours, you can stop testing for ammonia and begin testing for nitrite. The nitrite drop can take up to 2-3 times as long as the ammonia drop. This length of this phase can lead some to think that the cycle is not progressing. However, it is progressing, so be patient. You will probably get a nitrite reading that is very high, even off the chart. That is normal. In order to ensure that things speed along just as quickly as possible, you can perform partial water changes to keep the byproducts of nitrification down because just like excessive ammonia levels they will inhibit the nitrifying bacteria.5 You can perform these water changes daily. However, I would suggest not changing too much water at one time. Try 30% or so daily. (See why in 'Cautions, tips and tricks' below.)

Here is what your daily routine going forward will look like:

• Test for nitrite, perform water change, and then add ammonia.
• Next day; test for nitrite, perform water change.
• Next day; test for nitrite, perform water change, and then add ammonia.
• Next day; test for nitrite, perform water change.
• Next day; test for nitrite, perform water change, and then add ammonia.

The daily tests of nitrite will let you know the effect of the water changes on the nitrite level. You are looking for a zero reading, of course, but that can take a while. Only test for nitrite once per day, about the same time each day. Again, do not test any longer for ammonia. We can assume it will be zero each day now. Make an effort to keep nitrite down below 5ppm by way of small, partial water changes. The ammonia additions will ultimately raise the nitrite level while the water changes will drop it back down. Do not over analyze the test results. You are just looking to see if the water changes that you are performing are adequately keeping nitrite down. You are ultimately looking for a nitrite reading of zero."

From this link.....Fishless Cycling


Hope that helps...