Cycling Question

[njkruse28]

I am cycling my freshwater tank. It has been going for about 1 and 1/2 weeks. My ammonia has stayed the same, but nitrites and nitrates are elevating. Is this normal?

 

[Drewski]

It could be a faulty test. When I used the API ammonia test in the past it always seemed like I had ammonia in the tank. Instead of buying a different test I just waited for the nitrite to reach near zero and the nitrate to spike then water change and cycling was complete.

 

[libertybelle]

Sounds normal to me. Ammonia is being added and it’s being processed into nitrite/nitrate.

 

[njkruse28]

I just tested again. I am at 0.25 ammonia, 5 nitrite, and 20 nitrate. Should I had more ammonia?

 

[libertybelle]

Can you explain how you are cycling? Are there fish in the tank? Are you using fish food? Dosing ammonia?

Hopefully there’s no fish in the tank with those numbers!

 

[njkruse28]

I am doing a fishless cycle. I am dosing with pure ammonia.

 

[libertybelle]

So you’re asking if you should be putting more ammonia in?

How much ammonia are you putting in (what ppm does the water get to when you dose) and how long does it take the ammonia to go away.