Ammo to 0(ish) in less than 24 hours, maybe no nitr8tes yet?

[IHateHer]

Pictures are probably bad... My apologies.

Day 12 of a fishless cycle. First time cycling. Been following the almost complete guide. It's a 5g tank that's planted. Some sword bunched up, dwarf grass, and marimo moss stringed to a large piece of drift. I have estes and national geo sand along with seachen fluorite as the substrate. I have an airstone inside.

PH of th tank is definitely 8.2 PH of tap is 7.4. And that's been consistent every time I tested.

NitrItes showed up on day 7. I think(?) Nitr8tes maybe showed up on 10. But it's definitely not even 5, yet. Just doesn't look like 0 either. Day 10, 11, and 12 nitr8te testing has looked like the color shown above. Hasn't increased at all.

The previous three days I have been dosing ammo to 4 ppm each morning and in less than 24 hours it's back down between to 0-.25. Previously it took about 32 hours. NitrItes I believe are off the chart. 2 and 5 look so similar to me... Nitr8tes haven't risen at all. I'm not even sure it's not 0, other than the fact that it's a little darker than the 0 ammo tube testing. And, yes, I shake the crap out of the nitr8tes api testing tube. 40 seconds #1 and 1:10 on #2 with a timer runner.

I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be doing now. Any help? Thanks!

 

[Upstate TBarbs]

NitrItes I believe are off the chart. 2 and 5 look so similar to me.

I have the same problem reading the nitrItes as well.

When testing the nitrItes, do the blue drops immediately start to turn dark purple before you shake the test tube? If so, that's is my understanding of how you can tell if your nitrItes are off the chart.

Also looking to see what others have to say as i am in a similar situation.

 

[IHateHer]

When testing the nitrItes, do the blue drops immediately start to turn dark purple before you shake the test tube? If so, that's is my understanding of how you can tell if your nitrItes are off the chart.

It does.

 

[Fresh2o]

Another way to test if the nitrite level exceeds the testing range is to dilute tank water 50:50 with DI water, retest, and multiply the result by 2. Or dilute the tank water to 1 part tank water and 3 parts DI water and retest. Multiply that result by 4.
The nitrite-to-nitrate conversion always takes much longer than the the ammonia-to-nitrite conversion.
You could try reducing the ammonia to 2 ppm. Less nitrite is produced.

 

[IHateHer]

That's interesting. From what I've been reading about situations somewhat similar to mine (except they at least read nitr8tes) is that maybe I should reduce the ammo to 2 ppm or even let it sit on 0 for a day. I might try that. The reducing to 2 for a few days and see if that changes anything.

RE: the 0 ammo, doesn't that starve the good bacteria? How long could I last doing that?

Either way I'll cut my ammo dosing in half for now. Because I'm pretty sure I'm currently stalled. The lack of nitr8tes is really bothering me, though...

 

[Delapool]

Are you doing any water changes? Sometimes doing one can push things along.

 

[IHateHer]

I have not done any yet. What % pwc would you recommend?

 

[Delapool]

I'd do half as a small tank but really any decent, convenient amount. The idea being this will replenish any used up elements. Unfortunately cycling a tank is a long-winded process.

The bacteria themselves can last weeks (if not months) without a food source and still re-start.

Water conditioner dosed as per bottle instructions and not over (just in case).

 

[Watsonja4]

I second the water change. I remember when I cycled my first tank it seemed to stall on nitrite so I did a big enough water change to get nitrite to a readable level and it cycled within a week after however my cycle still took a month.

 

[IHateHer]

Okay! I just did a ~60% water change.

I tested this morning before that (I had dosed ammo to 4ppm before my original post). Same as before. Ammo down to 0 in less than 24 hours, nitrIte off the chart, and nitr8te originally looked like almost 5... And then I started shaking it and somehow it become more yellow.

Also, when I do water changes, how long do I leave the prime in before I add it to the tank? Because now that I'm thinking about it, all I did was get the water ready, put prime in, stirred it for about 10 seconds, and then I started siphoning the water out of the tank. Then I retied a piece of moss to my drift, so maybe 30 minutes it was sitting with the prime before I added it to the tank. Did I make a mistake there?

Anyway, it's been about 30 minutes since I did a pwc. Tested for nitrIte and it's still 5+. Ammo predictably at 0, since it was about there before the water change.

Should I just leave it at 0 for now? How long before I should dose ammo again? I'm assuming only to 2ppm this next time.

 

[IHateHer]

nitrItes still off the chart this morning. So I did another 50%. Not sure what to do anymore.


--


Tested just now. Approximately 3 hours later since the second water change. nitrItes are now .50 ppm. Nitr8tes are 0. What now? Should I add to 2 ppm ammo?

 

[Watsonja4]

Yes keep adding ammonia if your nitrite is dropping now your getting close, it's strange that you have 0 nitrates though but I guess the pwc and plants could have processed it. Remember patience is key for this hobby.

 

[IHateHer]

Waiting isn't an issue for me. It's my cycling going off course a little that's confusing the heck out of me. lol. It's really the lack of nitr8tes.

Is it still a complete cycle if one day I wake up and my ammo and nitItes are gone, and I still haven't seen any nitr8tes?

Just show me some nitr8tes, please.... btw, thanks for all the continued help everyone.

 

[Watsonja4]

Yes the cycle is complete when you can add ammonia and It goes to zero without nitrite ever rising above 0.

 

[IHateHer]

Awesome. Tested again just now. Not quite 24 hours, but this is more a convenient time so I'm resetting it to now...

-ph remains a consistent 8.2

-ammo to 0 (from 2 ppm) in less than 24 hours

-I honestly can't tell what nitrIte is. Why does 2 and 5 look identical? But it didn't turn purple until after shaking it and waiting a few minutes. So at least it's no longer off the chart.

-And visible nitr8tes! A clear 5 ppm to me.

Cycle no longer stalled. I'm happy.

 

[Delapool]

Grand news on cycle! What do you think got it going again out of interest?

 

[IHateHer]

Based on what I've read, I think the nItrites getting too high stalled the cycle? And then I kept feeding ammo because that's what the guide says to do. So by doing a water change (needed to do 2, actually), I reduced the nitrItes to a reasonable level. Then I think dosing less than the recommended 4 ppm ammo now is making sure the nitrItes don't get too high and stall me again, while still feeding the good bacteria.

Complete guessing, of course. Y'all know more than I do. First time cycling and following everyone's guidance is what got be back on track.

Only thing I'm not sure why the nitr8tes didn't show until now.

Thanks again, everyone! Hopefully it is indeed downhill from here. I'll come back and update even if there's no more problems. Reading through old threads on various sites was very beneficial. In case someone comes across this one...

 

[Upstate TBarbs]

Based on what I've read, I think the nItrites getting too high stalled the cycle? And then I kept feeding ammo because that's what the guide says to do. So by doing a water change (needed to do 2, actually), I reduced the nitrItes to a reasonable level. Then I think dosing less than the recommended 4 ppm ammo now is making sure the nitrItes don't get too high and stall me again, while still feeding the good bacteria.

I'm going to agree with that assessment, as I am in a similar situation.

My NitrItes were off the chart, most likely because I was feeding 4 PPM ammonia to the bacteria colony daily. After I eliminated the ammo feedings and did several water changes, I got the NitrItes down somewhere between 2 - 5 PPM, and Nitr8s about 5 PPM. 4 days later, my NitrItes are now down to 1 - 2 PPM, and Nitr8s are between 10 - 20 PPM.

Today, I fed 1 PPM Ammonia to the tank. Once nitrItes are at zero, I will redo 4 PPM Ammo and in 24 hours I hope Ammo and NitrItes will be at zero. Hopefully my tank will be cycled by the middle of this week and I can add fish.

 

[IHateHer]

That's basically what I also what plan to do. Particularly the dose a little and then redose 4 as sort of a final exam. Glad to know it's working. I bet you will be ready sometime this week.

--

For my own records...

8.2 ph
0 ammo (from 2 ppm)
.5 nitrItes
5 nitr8tes

 

[IHateHer]

Alright, quick question.

I tested this morning this is what I got ~24 hours since my last test:
8.2 ph
0 ammo (from 3 ppm)
0 nitrItes
~10.0 nitr8tes

I was under the impression that my nitr8tes would eventually get really high. I never crossed 10.0 ppm to my knowledge. Or if it did, it never matched the colors above 10. Maybe. 10 and 20 look awfully similiar. Is that something I should worry about?

But otherwise I guess try the 4 ppm ammo and see if I can get ammo and nitrItes to 0 again and then maybe I'm cycled?