Why isn't my cycled done?

[Fishperson]

Cool! What fish? And what size tank again ?

 

[silverfin]

New interesting info fishless cycling

Your cycle will not complete because your constant addition of ammonia is simply creating more and more and more nitrite, asking more and more nitrite eating bacteria to grow. So until you stop dosing ammonia, the cycle will never EVER complete.
With as much ammonia as you have now added, I would cease adding ammonia except for 1/2 of a 4ppm dose every 4 days.
The bacteria that eats nitrite grows twice as slow as the bacteria that eats ammonia. So basically by endlessly adding ammonia, the nitrites will just keep accumulating and creating a huge backlog that the nitrite-eating bacteria can never catch up to. At some point, ammonia dosing must CEASE to allow nitrite eating bacteria to catch up.

I do not think your cycle is actually stalled from high nitrites, as scientific research tells us that nitrites do not stall cycles at the small scope of our aquarium work.

Here is what *I* would like you to do, but you don't have to follow my advisement.
Do a 100% water change. Every last bit you can get out.
Dose 4ppm ammonia.
Check in 24 hours. I bet your cycle is actually done and can handle 4ppm just fine.
If it is not done, DO NOT dose more than 1/2 dose every 4 days from here out.
I hypothesize that your cycle is either complete or is VERY close.


This is a note for the experienced people reading this thread - does our fishless cycle sticky not indicate a reduction of ammonia dosing once nitrites are detected, or is this just a detail that people tend to miss? If people are asked to just dose and dose and dose, the nitrites are never going to go down because demand will continually be placed on the system to grow more nitrite-eating bacteria.

Whoa! Where has this info been during my 27 day fishless cycle? Just found it re a search for "nitrates". I will give it a try on reducing the ammonia dosing. This makes perfect sense to me.

 

[Mebbid]

Whoa! Where has this info been during my 27 day fishless cycle? Just found it re a search for "nitrates". I will give it a try on reducing the ammonia dosing. This makes perfect sense to me.

That's an old post that was discussed a while ago. It makes sense until you look at it a bit more. If you dose no more than 4ppm of ammonia daily you are producing a set amount of nitrite per day. The nitrite consumption will eventually outpace the 4ppm of ammonia daily and consume those excess nitrites. There's just a backlog of nitrites so it can take a few days to catch up.

That's a big reason that a water change is suggested after you hit the target level of ammonia consumption.

 

[silverfin]

I appreciate your further enlightenment.

 

[Polkadots]

Yup! Make sure you do reduce the ammonia, otherwise you might get stuck with a long cycle like I did. It took 70 days (70 very, very long days).

 

[threnjen]

Yup! Make sure you do reduce the ammonia, otherwise you might get stuck with a long cycle like I did. It took 70 days (70 very, very long days).

I think yours is the longest fishless cycle I know of so far
Aren't you proud to have this distinction?

(I'm not poking fun I swear - trying to laugh along with you)

 

[Polkadots]

Yay! I'm special!