Stuck on nitrite phase for exactly one month now!

[Tiger1]

My nitrites were off the charts after only one week from the start of my fishless cycle, and have been there ever since. Ammonia always disappears within 24 hrs. This is what I've done to try to get past it......14th did 100% WC brought it to 2-5, didn't dose back up. Just left it at 1 ppm from my tap. 15th it was off chart again, did another 100% WC again, got it to 0, didn't dose again except 1 ppm from tap. 16th off chart again, no WC and left ammo at 0. 17th nitrites were down to .25(thought it was working), so I dosed it up to only 2. A couple hrs later it was off chart again. 18th 30% PWC to bring down to 2-5, dosed up to 4(was afraid of starving ammo too long). 19th 100% WC to bring down to 1-2 and dosed ammo to 4. And today so far, 100% WC to bring it down to 1. And ammo is at 1 from my tap. I haven't dosed yet. What should I do from here?!?!? Dose up? Leave it at 1? If I don't dose, how long should I not? Please help me get through this. I feel like I'm soooooo close yet soooooooo far!

 

[Mrc8858]

If your doing fishless cycle then let the nitrites stay because by removing all the nitrites your taking away the food for the bacteria to create nitrAtes to establish themselves you know what I'm saying

 

[Tiger1]

I definitely see what you are saying but I've heard that extremely high nitrites will stall the cycle. And it has had more nitrites longer than it hasn't. I don't know what to do from here!

 

[jlk]

When you say you have really high nitrites, does the test tube turn purple on the bottom before you even shake it? If it does, then they are really high. Did you only start doing pwcs on the 15th? If so, i would be a bit more patient. My last tank stalled on nitrites-it took tons a wc down to the gravel to get them under control & keep them readable. But, once i started the water changes, it took only about 2wk to be fully cycled. I did only dose the amm initially to @2ppm for few days after starting the pwcs to let things catch up & then went back to 4ppm (and more pwcs). Your almost there!!!

 

[Broke EF]

Hmmm, this thread has me thinking. I never knew that it could hang up in this stage. My tank has been testing off the charts on nitries (turns purple right away) for a couple of weeks at least. My nitrates have been hovering about 30ppm (some times its closer looking to 20, some times closer to 40). I dose to 4ppm ammonia daily, and its always at 0 when I test. Do you guys think mine is stalled? I see that the way to fix it would massive water changes if that is the case.

Sean

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Ask librarygirl or Eco. They would know what to do.

 

[Tiger1]

Nitrites have been high since oct 21. Between WCs all drops turn purple as soon as it hits the bottom of the tube. With water changes, the top of the blue drops turn purple before shaking. I've done a few other WC bf with no improvement. 90% on oct 25, 100% on nov 5, 50% on nov 6, and 90% on nov 9. I will keep ammo at 1 tonight and only dose to 2 for a few days. When should I do WC? Only when ALL the drops turn purple bf shaking? Even if drops START to turn purple before shaking, it still looks a dark purple after shaking. is that not off the chart?

 

[Tiger1]

Ask librarygirl or Eco. They would know what to do.

I am hoping that they come to my rescue.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

I am hoping that they come to my rescue.

You could always PM them

 

[jlk]

Honestly, i wish they made a high-range nitrite test to solve the problem of exactly how high they are. What i like to recommend is simple chemistry test. Fill half tube with tank, half with tap & test. Then do 75% tap & 25% tank & test. Then 10% tank & 90% tap & test. Then 5% (a few drops) tank & rest tap & test. Compare them. If you still cant get a readable result, your nitrites are really high. It took me 3 consecutive, down to the gravel wcs to get a nitrite level of 2ppm. I can not guarentee this will work for everyone because everyone has bit different water chemistry happening. Another thing to check is ph-has it been staying stable, dropping or increasing? Ph drops/jumps also will have an effect on the cycle.

 

[Tiger1]

Ph is always 8.2-8.4.(doesn't match any color on the chart, it's a brownish purple.) not quite 8.2 but also not quite 8.4). So I'll do that experiment until I get a reading of 2 and then do a WC of that amount. Seems like I'd still be doing WCs every day or two. Does that sound right?

You could always PM them

I think I'll do that, thanks.

 

[Hholly]

Wow, I'm having the exact same thing happening, same pH as yours too. I feel your pain. Just curious, do you have live plants?

 

[Broke EF]

I'm sorry, not trying to hijack your thread. I just did my testing and the nitrites were off the charts and noticeably darker than a couple of days ago. The drops are a dark purple in the bottom of the tube before I shake it up. My nitrates were still at 20, just like they have been for weeks. Also I tested my pH the other day and it was the same as it has been since day one. Does this sound like my cycle is stalled as well? I'm actually all for a huge water change since I need to rearrange some things too.

Sean

 

[jlk]

Sean- a water change is probably needed if you havent done any yet. The nitritfying bacteria will use up the buffers in the water and these need to be replenished on occasion to prevent a ph crash/jump.

 

[Tiger1]

Wow, I'm having the exact same thing happening, same pH as yours too. I feel your pain. Just curious, do you have live plants?

I do have a couple handfuls of that snake like plants (sorry don't know the name) and some floating lettuce.

 

[Broke EF]

How large of a water change should I do? Ill do it tomorrow when I get home from work. I was under the assumption that I needed both nitrites and nitrates to be off the chart before doing a water change, so I have only topped off so far. After the water change, should I keep dosing the ammonia up to 4ppm each day?

Thanks,
Sean

 

[Tiger1]

I'm sorry, not trying to hijack your thread. I just did my testing and the nitrites were off the charts and noticeably darker than a couple of days ago. The drops are a dark purple in the bottom of the tube before I shake it up. My nitrates were still at 20, just like they have been for weeks. Also I tested my pH the other day and it was the same as it has been since day one. Does this sound like my cycle is stalled as well? I'm actually all for a huge water change since I need to rearrange some things too.

Sean

My nitates get up there as well. As I look for answers, it appears that this does happen sometimes. It's not an isolated thing. Just want to get past it, as I'm sure you do too.

 

[librarygirl]

My nitrites were off the charts after only one week from the start of my fishless cycle, and have been there ever since. Ammonia always disappears within 24 hrs. This is what I've done to try to get past it......14th did 100% WC brought it to 2-5, didn't dose back up. Just left it at 1 ppm from my tap. 15th it was off chart again, did another 100% WC again, got it to 0, didn't dose again except 1 ppm from tap. 16th off chart again, no WC and left ammo at 0. 17th nitrites were down to .25(thought it was working), so I dosed it up to only 2. A couple hrs later it was off chart again. 18th 30% PWC to bring down to 2-5, dosed up to 4(was afraid of starving ammo too long). 19th 100% WC to bring down to 1-2 and dosed ammo to 4. And today so far, 100% WC to bring it down to 1. And ammo is at 1 from my tap. I haven't dosed yet. What should I do from here?!?!? Dose up? Leave it at 1? If I don't dose, how long should I not? Please help me get through this. I feel like I'm soooooo close yet soooooooo far!

Hm, so you've had high nitrites for 3-4 weeks now? And have been cycling for a month? Have you tested your tap water for nitrite by any chance?

I'd keep dosing ammonia at least to 2-3; you don't want to not dose too long or else the bacteria adjust to the smaller dose. You've also done a sufficient amount of water changes so I'd say you're ok for at least a few days there. What type of ammonia are you using? Did you start the cycle with any seeded media or bacteria starters? The nitrite phase is the longest of the phases and can test patience lol I don't see any reason why they shouldn't come down to 0 eventually. Do you have an air stone in the barrel or any sort of surface movement to promote oxygen exchange?

 

[librarygirl]

I'm sorry, not trying to hijack your thread. I just did my testing and the nitrites were off the charts and noticeably darker than a couple of days ago. The drops are a dark purple in the bottom of the tube before I shake it up. My nitrates were still at 20, just like they have been for weeks. Also I tested my pH the other day and it was the same as it has been since day one. Does this sound like my cycle is stalled as well? I'm actually all for a huge water change since I need to rearrange some things too.

Sean

How long have nitrites been high? You can do a water change, it wouldn't hurt. Do a 100% one though if you're going to do one and try to get nitrites to a readable level on the chart (<2 is good). Don't be discouraged if they shoot back up though. You can also try dosing ammonia to 1 for a few days, but only for a few days, then dose to 4 again. The nitrite phase is the longest of the phases and can take can on average about 3 weeks to come down to 0, so don't be discouraged.

 

[Broke EF]

I didn't even know I had something I needed to get past until I saw this thread I'm glad you made this thread, and I'm sorry for hijacking it, but we will get through this together

Sean