Yet another fishless cycling question

[CanadianSherry]

Hi guys,

I started a fish-less cycle on my 5.5 gallon on March 8. As of right now, it still hasn't completed cycling. My ammonia is 0 and nitrites are off the charts (and have been that way for 2-3 weeks now). They are so high that I am unable to get a nitrate reading. I've done water changes until I have gotten the nitrite levels under control but by the next morning they were sky high again.

I followed the directions on this website for doing a fish-less cycle and, initially, was dosing my tank with 4ppm ammonia every day. However, someone told me that this amount was too much for a small tank and for one fish (I plan to house a single betta only) and recommended that I only dose 1ppm daily, which I have been doing. My ammonia gets eaten up in less than 2 hours now. Is this amount of ammonia too low? Are the bacteria starving? Have I stalled my cycle?

Waiting for this tank to cycle is exhausting...I'm almost ready to give up and commit to frequent water changes.

Tank: 5.5 gallon
Temp: 85 degrees
Filter - Yes, bio-bag, no carbon
Air Stone - Yes
pH - 7.5
I have not treated with a water conditioner during the cycle - I have a drilled well and there is no chlorine in my water. Of course, when I add the fish, I will use Prime.

 

[chykityta]

Interesting... Have you tested your tap water? There could bee a dings in your tap water.

Also, I have heard that the Nitrites take double the amount of time that the Ammonia took to be converted. So if it took a month, then expect for the Nitrites part to take another two months. This is not a rule of thumb but quite spread around threads.

I gave up at around 8 weeks and committed to the water changes so you will not be alone there. We are here to help!


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[CanadianSherry]

Yeah, tested my tap water. No nitrite/nitrate at all.

Interesting... Have you tested your tap water? There could bee a dings in your tap water.

Also, I have heard that the Nitrites take double the amount of time that the Ammonia took to be converted. So if it took a month, then expect for the Nitrites part to take another two months. This is not a rule of thumb but quite spread around threads.

I gave up at around 8 weeks and committed to the water changes so you will not be alone there. We are here to help!


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[chykityta]

What about ammonia? What is your PH? Is the water aerated and warm?


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[CanadianSherry]

No ammonia present in my tap water. And, as I wrote above, the 1ppm ammonia that I add to the tank is being nitrified within 2 hours.

pH is currently 7.5
Temp is 85
Aerated by filter flow and an air stone
No carbon in the filter, just a bio-bag.

What about ammonia? What is your PH? Is the water aerated and warm?


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[chykityta]

The only thing that runs through my mind is that the bacteria may be starving somehow? Are you doing water changes? How big are they?


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[chykityta]

If nothing else, then I hope someone else can give you other hints. I just gave my two cents on my thought process in case it were my tank.

 

[Barliman]

I recently did a fishless cycle on my 20-long and, like you, added ammonia almost every day and had the same results with nitrites -- off the chart. Someone else here told me that nitrite is consumed more slowly so can take longer to come down.

What he recommended was not adding any more and letting the nitrite come down to zero. (It may take a while if yours is truly high.) Once it reaches zero, add ammonia to come up to between 2-4 PPM, and then let it sit until ammonia and nitrite are both 0 again. Once they both clear within 24 hours, you're ready.

Just takes patience.

 

[CanadianSherry]

That's an interesting approach but wouldn't cutting off the supply of ammonia kill all of the bacteria that I have been trying to establish for the past month and a half?

And yes...it is

I recently did a fishless cycle on my 20-long and, like you, added ammonia almost every day and had the same results with nitrites -- off the chart. Someone else here told me that nitrite is consumed more slowly so can take longer to come down.

What he recommended was not adding any more and letting the nitrite come down to zero. (It may take a while if yours is truly high.) Once it reaches zero, add ammonia to come up to between 2-4 PPM, and then let it sit until ammonia and nitrite are both 0 again. Once they both clear within 24 hours, you're ready.

Just takes patience.

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[CanadianSherry]

I am wondering the same thing as I initially started out dosing to 4ppm daily and then went down to 1ppm daily (as per instructed by someone else on a forum). In any case, THANK YOU for the help and suggestions. Much appreciate

The only thing that runs through my mind is that the bacteria may be starving somehow? Are you doing water changes? How big are they?


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[Barliman]

The bacteria can survive a long time without being fed. I'd say give it a week to see how the nitrites come down. Others may have different suggestions, of course.