Why isn't my cycled done?

[Fishperson]

Wow! Just read this whole thread!

Yeah, just sounds like your average nitrite stall.

This happened to me, and I had to do back to back 80% water changes to get rid of it.

Also, did you mean that you fill the tank and then dechlorinate?

 

[Dooboedoo12]

No I declorinate as I fill it with the filter off until it's filled and fully declorinated. Than I turn it on

 

[Fishperson]

No I declorinate as I fill it with the filter off until it's filled and fully declorinated. Than I turn it on

So you pour tap water that has not been dechlorinated into the tank?

I don't doubt that this works, I just have never heard of it.

 

[1998golfer]

Wow! Just read this whole thread!

Yeah, just sounds like your average nitrite stall.

This happened to me, and I had to do back to back 80% water changes to get rid of it.

Also, did you mean that you fill the tank and then dechlorinate?

[Off Topic]
What's funny is that during my cycle I never saw nitrites. Not once. Never have seen anything but blue on my nitrite reading. My tank is cycled now, and has fish. I guess this is uncommon / rare, and i have no idea why...
[/Off Topic]

 

[Dooboedoo12]

So you pour tap water that has not been dechlorinated into the tank?



I don't doubt that this works, I just have never heard of it.

I have a hose that goes straight from the sink to my tank. I can't declorinate the water before it enters the tank

 

[1998golfer]

I have a hose that goes straight from the sink to my tank. I can't declorinate the water before it enters the tank

Like a python right? I just have all the filters off, and once the tap water starts filling the tank I dump a cap full of prime into the tank. You have to add the amount enough for your full water volume rather than just what you're adding

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[Dooboedoo12]

Yep I was using novaaqua plus. I bought prime bc I basically used the whole bottle

 

[Mebbid]

Threnjen: If you keep dosing to 4ppm ammonia daily then I don't see how the nitrite consuming bacteria would never be able to catch up. Reasonably you only need the nitrobacter to consume the 4ppm daily of nitrite production and anything beyond that is going to consume any extra nitrite in the water.

 

[threnjen]

Threnjen: If you keep dosing to 4ppm ammonia daily then I don't see how the nitrite consuming bacteria would never be able to catch up. Reasonably you only need the nitrobacter to consume the 4ppm daily of nitrite production and anything beyond that is going to consume any extra nitrite in the water.

Yes you're correct, it would only take like one extra day, maybe 2 to handle the output of 8ppm (what the op was dosing daily, did I read that right?) since they double exponentially. But the Op has been waiting so long with tons of dosing, seems fine to just bring it all back in line with fresh water. Also with all of the ammonia dosing and no addition so far of phosphorous there might have been an unknown stall at this point since it has been ongoing for so long. I'm actually surprised there has not been a pH crash.

 

[Dooboedoo12]

todays results

No ammonia
Full nitrites

 

[threnjen]

You're still fully on track.
I know we were hoping it would be complete (and I'm sure you're disappointed), but even though it's not, what you did was not a waste of time. After so long on the cycle and so much dosing, the trace nutrients in your tap water may have been depleted, and you were quite likely stalled without knowing it.

From here out, just be more reserved in your dosing. As Mebbid correctly pointed out to me, 4ppm a day IS fine if you want to do that. I usually advocate a more relaxed dosing when nitrites are high, of 1/2 dose every few days. With the water change you are going to be fine regardless. But dose NO MORE than once every 24 hours.

You will be done soon, I just know it!

 

[Dooboedoo12]

I'll do a 4 ppm every 2 days is that good? I usually add 13ml of 10% amonia for my 90 gal

 

[threnjen]

I think that sounds fine. Keep my posted. I'm quite interested in your cycle completing

 

[flitabout]

What are your nitrates? I would just bump it back to 2ppm every 24 hours. Rather than every 2 days.

 

[Dooboedoo12]

Well which one? There both very dif. I have not dosed it yet today so I'm going to do that once I have a good answer

 

[ScotJudd]

When I fish less cycled my QT I added Ammo to give 4ppm ammonia. When it started to fall I checked nitrate - off the scale. I did enough of a water WC with preconditioned water to bring the nitrite to a fairly low readable scale and reset ammonia to 2ppm. I repeated this for 5 days and 24 hrs after setting ammonia to 2ppm my ammonia was 0 and nitrite was 0. Just needed a good water change to dilute the nitrate. Now, if the QT is unoccupied for more than a few day I just add some fish food to keep it ticking over. Seems to work for me. Steve.

 

[Fishperson]

Do 2 ppm every time it goes under 1 ppm. But either way there is little difference.

 

[Dooboedoo12]

There are so many dif answers here. My tank can remove 4 ppm every 12 hours. If I added 2 ppm once it went under one i would be back where I started

 

[threnjen]

2ppm every day or 4ppm every 2 days will ultimately be providing the same amount of nitrites to the nitrite-eating bacteria, so it really doesn't matter which of those you do. If you want to only worry about it every 2 days, do 4ppm every 2 days. If you want to fiddle with it every day, do 2ppm every day. It will all be the same.

The large variations of advice on the thread are really just frustrating the op. Everything is going to have the same end result.

 

[Dooboedoo12]

I just don't want to do something wrong. Obviously the forum I was following didn't lead me correctly so I just want to follow your advice and see where it takes me