Help completing fishless cycle

[asdfyuiop]

Hi all,

I’ve got a question regarding fishless cycling.

I’m currently following eco23’s (almost) complete guide to fishless cycling which has been a great help throughout the cycling process. I’ve got a specific question regarding my cycle that I can’t solve using the guide.

Currently I’ve been cycling for roughly 3 weeks (heading into my 4th week). My amm>nitrite bacteria are well developed and manage to convert roughly 4ppm of ammonia to nitrite every 12 hours. As a result I’m finding that my nitrite levels are rising quite quickly ( I re-dose ammonia whenever I see it at 0 which is usually morning and afternoon). I am getting readings of nitrate however it seems to stall out at roughly 40-80ppm.

I have made a 90% water changes to lower my nitrItes to readable levels and to give my nitrIte>nitrAte bacteria a chance to develop. After this water change I found that within two days my nitrItes were back at 5ppm+ (off the charts) and my nitrAtes were back at 40-80ppm and this has not changed for the last 3-4 days.

Is this normal? Should I just be waiting for more nitrAtes to appear before completing another water change? Am I overdosing ammonia and in turn creating an overly nitrIte rich environment which is preventing nitrIte>nitrAte conversion?

If you have any theories or advice on my cycling situation it would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Ethan


Notes:

•No quick cycling products used
•No plants/lighting during cycling
•I have added small amounts of fish food (algae wafers) to help with nutrients

 

[blert]

Way over-dosing ammonia. Only dose every 24 hours. Don't bother with water changes unless the pH is crashing (dropping into the low sixes) or nitrite is off the chart for a few days.

 

[librarygirl]

First, as blert said, you're dosing too often. Only dose once in 24 hours even if you test earlier and ammonia is 0. Secondly, it is normal for nitrites to shoot up during the nitrite phase. What you want to watch out for is if PH starts to drop; what's your PH normally? If it drops to below 7 do a water change to get PH back up.

Don't dose anymore for 24 hours and see how things look. I suspect nothing much will change and that's OK for now. Just make sure your PH is at least 7. Then just dose once in 24 hours. If nitrites are still high by the weekend, you can do another water change to get them to a readable level on the chart again. It is normal for nitrites to spike during this phase but sometimes if they remain too high over too long a period it can stall things too but since you just did a water change and have been dosing too often, I'd say a water change can wait for now unless PH plummets.

 

[asdfyuiop]

Thanks for the quick replies!

Would there be any issue with me completing a water change now? The reason I ask is that I'm curious to see how the nitrItes and nitrAtes are effected when there isn't such a large ammonia source creating large nitrIte values.

I think the best way to see this would be starting with a readable nitrIte value. And as my nitrAtes haven't moved in days after relatively fast development I can't see how it can hurt.

Does this sound like a reasonable plan?

Asdfyuiop

 

[blert]

Water changes won't hurt anything, just adds more work for you.

 

[librarygirl]

Thanks for the quick replies!

Would there be any issue with me completing a water change now? The reason I ask is that I'm curious to see how the nitrItes and nitrAtes are effected when there isn't such a large ammonia source creating large nitrIte values.

I think the best way to see this would be starting with a readable nitrIte value. And as my nitrAtes haven't moved in days after relatively fast development I can't see how it can hurt.

Does this sound like a reasonable plan?

Asdfyuiop

Sounds like a good plan to me

 

[asdfyuiop]

Well I've had a win!

Last nights results after water change and ammonia dosing.

Amm = 1-2ppm
NitrIte = 2ppm
NitrAte = 10ppm

Results this morning (12 hours later)

Amm = 0ppm
NitrIte = 0ppm
NitrAte = 40ppm


Looks like I was already cycled. I'm going to start planting, keeping up with ammonia doses. Hopefully I'll be changing water again before the weekend and buying some fish!

Thanks for your advice blert and librarygirl!

Asdfyuiop

 

[librarygirl]

Awesome, congrats! What fish are you planning on?

 

[asdfyuiop]

Thanks.

I'm thinking a pair of gold rams, a school of cherry barbs and cherry shrimp.

I'm not feeling overly confident about the shrimp but the tank is going to be heavily planted with plenty of moss so hopefully they will survive!

 

[lonelobster]

Way over-dosing ammonia. Only dose every 24 hours. Don't bother with water changes unless the pH is crashing (dropping into the low sixes) or nitrite is off the chart for a few days.

Even 24 hours is pushing it... It takes over 4 days to truly "starve" your BB so I would dose ammonia ever other day or 48 hours. 4ppm of ammonia is too much for a single dose as well. The good bacteria actually reproduce faster in trace amounts of ammonia. try dosing 2-3 mg/L of ammonia every 48 hours. You're shooting for quantity of bacteria not strength when you do high doses it does not grow "more".

Think of it this way... Ammonia and Nitrite Oxidizers will continue to reproduce even when ammonia and nitrite are not present for a period x amount of time. bacteria cannot reproduce and feed at the same time.. the longer you can push the period where bacteria is reproducing the more your going to grow and the quicker you will reach the optimum amount for your tank and stock.