Questions about my fishless cycle?

[ppo8820]

I have been doing a fishless cycle in my column tank and I am a bit confused on what to do next. I started with ammonia and it sat at 4ppm for a while, then it dropped to 0 like expected. I keep testing daily and it can process 15 drops (4-5ppm) easily in 12-24 hours. Now my Nitrites are off the charts and my NitrAtes are over 160ppm. Ive been feeding ammonia when it reaches zero, but the Nitrites are not moving at all.

There is live plants, the heat is at 80 degrees, and there is a new large piece of driftwood that has grown as white fuzz all over it. The fuzz is even pearling and releasing air bubbles which is gross, but cool.

What do I do now? Are my high nitrates and nitrites stalling the cycle? Should I do a water change and bring those down to reasonable levels or just wait it out? Thanks.

 

[Mebbid]

It just takes time for the bacteria to catch up with the nitrite production. It's perfectly normal. You could do a 100% water change just so you can track your nitrites.

 

[irdajoh]

The fuzz is fungus and isn't harmful, easily scrubbed off but fish eat it too. A big water change will lower your n2 and n3

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