Tank Cycling Madness!

[courtneyc]

Hi everyone,
I'm brand new to this website and actually the world of fishkeeping!
That being said, I'm having some trouble, at least I think I am, with cycling my tank. I began adding pure ammonia to my tank on December 19th. Since then, I have seen fluctuations with my ammonia levels, and nitrite levels. I am also getting a nitrate reading but that is staying pretty consistent at 20 ppm. Usually I will dose the ammonia up to 2-3ppm, and this morning when I tested (I test everyday) these were my readings:
Ammonia: 1ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 20ppm
Yesterday my nitrite levels were around .5ppm so I took this as a good sign that my tank was in fact cycling.
Upon getting these readings I added more of my Dr Tim's Ammonium Chloride from the bottle, aiming for a dosage of about 3ppm.
So I'm asking all of you, is this good? What do I do now? Should I wait until the ammonia drops back down again? Why am I getting 0 nitrites but no increase in nitrates? And finally, how much longer until this misery ends?!

Thanks for reading, everyone!

 

[Ingy]

For starters a normal fish-less cycle should take around 6 weeks done traditionally. Dr Tims additives can confuse the cycle. Personally I use pure ammonia for my cycle and seed the bacteria with anything (sponge filter or used floss) from another tank. Then I wait with no lights on, periodically adding ammonia (to about 4ppm) when it drops to almost 0. Once its all said and done, my nitrates are normally well over 100ppm.

You may not be seeing any rise in nitrite as the Dr Tims additive may introduce the nitrite eating bacteria at the same rate as the ammonia eating bacteria.
Do you have any plants (or algae) that is consuming the nitrates?

 

[courtneyc]

I do have two Java ferns in my tank. I also have a package of Fritz Powder Ammonium Chloride that I could use instead. Should I be using that instead of the Dr. Tim's? Should I take out the java ferns?

I also do have a filter media from an established tank in my own filter, and established tank gravel, and some established tank decorations

 

[Ingy]

Having plants during the cycle means having lights too. Unfortunately the cycle is a ridiculously fertilizer rich environment. Ammonia, nitrite and nitrate are all fertilizers. And at the levels you'll see during the cycle means you get algae.
I prefer to not have plants during the cycle and keeping the lights off.
I'd put the plants in a bowl or bucket full of tank water by the window. They should be fine there during the cycle

 

[courtneyc]

Alright I'll be sure to remove my plants and keep the lights off! And for my ammonia source, should I switch from the Dr. Tim's to the Fritz powder?

 

[Reygan2]

FWIW my tank was fully planted during my entire cycle. The plants did great except for anacharis, which was apparently sensitive to the ammonia dosing. I ran lights for the duration as well, at 8 hours per day. It's been several weeks since my cycle completed and I've yet to see algae. Not trying to be oppositional at all, just saying that it is certainly doable.

 

[courtneyc]

Awesome thank you for replying! I'm going to try pulling my plants out and leaving the lights off for a while. If that doesn't seem to be doing it I will add them back in. I also just purchased Dr. Tim's One and Only. Would any repliers be willing to look it up and give an honest opinion on it?

 

[Fresh2o]

I'm skeptical about most bacteria in a bottle solutions, however, I've heard positive reviews about this product.

 

[courtneyc]

That's good! And I'm skeptical too, but what can it really hurt! I'm just getting impatient and want to try something to get it going.