how long after nitrite spike is cycling complete?

[flyjawn]

i have a 20 gallon heavily planted and with 2 bolivian rams and 3 cories. the tank has been running for 9 days and i've had a very slight spike in ammonia (.4 mg/l for one day) and now a slight spike in nitrites (.05 mg/l). i'm wondering how long this spike will last?

i've been doing water changes every day to help everything along and i will be adding CO2 to the water shortly to give the plants a boost as the 65 watts is quite a lot of light for them.

what i really want to know is how long before the nitrites go back to 0 so i can add some more fish?

thanks!

 

[zenkatydid]

i would not be adding any more fish for at least 2 weeks, personally. you have to let the nitrifying bacteria get a good hold before overloading it again. good to see you're keeping up on the pwc's. so you know, though, a "slight" spike in ammonia or nitrite is very painful for the fish, as it is effectively a pure toxin to them. so, use this time to get to know your fish and make sure they are healthy before getting more.

 

[Zagz]

I would wait at least 3-4 weeks. Test results will tell you for sure how the cycle is progressing.

 

[flyjawn]

yeah i hadn't found these forums before i started my tank and regular online guides tend to downplay the need for fishless cycling.

however, that said so far my fish are looking wonderful and seem very happy and quite friendly.

when should i expect the nitrites to go down since they just went up today?

 

[ksfishguy]

I found that after a nitrite spike that doing large water changes every other day seemed to help. Another option would be to add some "seeded" material from a fully cycled tank, preferably filter material.