1st time Cycle stuck?

[dalto]

I've just completed my fishless cycle in 9 days total..even though my nitrites were off the charts between days 7&9 it began to show signs of change before completely bottoming the morning of day 9...I stand by the process passed on to me by not interfering in the cycle(pwc's)&continue dosing ammo until nitrites drop out..To me it's about consistency&patience..good look&hope your cycle completes sooner than later..

If your entire cycle took 9 days than that is why you are not having the same issues. Did you use seeded media or a bacterial supplement?

When your cycle takes 30-60 days different thing happen that can cause problems. I am not saying they always happen, but they do happen. Primarily the issues are too much ammonia or nitrite stalling the cycle or pH crashing from building massive bio-filters.

 

[tiger terror]

Yes of course I used seeded media&believe the op stated that they were using disolvable bio-balls..correct me if I'm wrong but isn't it seeded as well?

Getcha feet wet fish tank people!

 

[dalto]

Yes of course I used seeded media&believe the op stated that they were using disolvable bio-balls..correct me if I'm wrong but isn't it seeded as well?

At least in this case, I would say it is certainly not as effective as seeded media. At least within the fishless cycles that I have done, I don't see those massive nitrite spikes when using seeded media like I do when using bacterial supplement products.

 

[Ruffers99]

Hey guys, so i just ran the tests again today, looks like the ammo got eaten which is cool. still done see anything too dramatic on the nitrates front though and over the top nitrites.

Should i just let it be for a day or two?

 

[dalto]

Should i just let it be for a day or two?

Yes. Just leave it alone and see if nitrites stop decreasing.

 

[Ruffers99]

Yes. Just leave it alone and see if nitrites stop decreasing.

Ok cool. Thanks Dalto [emoji4]

 

[fish wrangler]

When I went through my cycle the nitrite spike lasted a couple days, and the last couple days I had high nitrites and nitrates. It looks like you are not that far from finishing the cycle

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[Ruffers99]

When I went through my cycle the nitrite spike lasted a couple days, and the last couple days I had high nitrites and nitrates. It looks like you are not that far from finishing the cycle

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Yeah I hear you .. I hope so. I am just cautious about not dosing the ammo for too long, but as Dalto said it should be ok for a couple of days.. I will test tomorrow and the following day and see where we are (will post back).

 

[Ruffers99]

ok guys, just wanted to post an update.

Sunday I did a 80% wc to try and get the nitrites down, which it did (to around .25). Ammo 0 and nitrates around 10.

I then dosed the ammo up to about 2ppm. tested Monday evening and ammo was 0 nitrites were 5+ prob and nitrates looked like they were around 20. tested again last night and everything looks the same.

How long do you think it will take for the nitrites to start falling?

 

[dalto]

The nitrites can take as little as a couple of days to as much as 3 weeks to come down.

It would appear as if your bacteria supplement has helped you with the ammonia but isn't helping with the nitrites.

The weird thing is that 2ppm of ammonia turned into 5ppm of nitrites overnight.

 

[fish wrangler]

IME the nitrites should fall very soon. With my cycle the ammonia was gojng away very early, but I was still getting sky high nitrite readings. After a couple days the nitrites started going down

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[Ruffers99]

The nitrites can take as little as a couple of days to as much as 3 weeks to come down.

It would appear as if your bacteria supplement has helped you with the ammonia but isn't helping with the nitrites.

The weird thing is that 2ppm of ammonia turned into 5ppm of nitrites overnight.

ok, I hope its not too long for it to come down .. what about the dosing the ammo, i wasnt going to leave it longer than a couple of days before i dosed it again.. but is it ok to keep dosing while the trites are up that high?

 

[Ruffers99]

IME the nitrites should fall very soon. With my cycle the ammonia was gojng away very early, but I was still getting sky high nitrite readings. After a couple days the nitrites started going down

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yeah i hope it does ..

 

[Ruffers99]

Hey Dalto/guys so tested again last night and no movement. ammo at 0, trites at 5+ (dark purple) and trates at about 20 (judging by my eyeballs).
I have a couple of questions though while im waiting for the trites to drop..

• How long do I wait before I dose the ammo again?
  
• If I need to dose in the next day or two just to keep those BB alive, do i just dose up to 2ppm or will i need to do a wc first to bring the trites down a bit?

Thanks guys.. man this is driving me all sorts of crazies , especially as my ammo turnover is running as expected.

 

[dalto]

It won't hurt to wait a couple of days more.

It takes a long time for the bacteria to die. It just goes dormant.

 

[Ruffers99]

It won't hurt to wait a couple of days more.

It takes a long time for the bacteria to die. It just goes dormant.

ok coo. thanks Dalto. So I will test up to the w/e and see how it goes.

 

[Ruffers99]

Hey Dalto/guys so i waited and i just ran another set of tests and it looks like the nitrites are still stuck at 5 and probably higher. ammo still at 0 and nitrates around 20.

Still leave as is or try a wc?

Also do i have to redose the ammo?

thanks guys, I thought I read that if the nitrites are too high it could stall also?

 

[dalto]

thanks guys, I thought I read that if the nitrites are too high it could stall also?

That is true.

Your nitrites are a still a little strange. I would recommend a little test if you are up for it.

Lets dose ammonia again just so we can guarantee that we are keeping that part of the cycle. Once the ammonia is gone do a water change to get the nitrites down to a readable level. Then wait a couple of days and measure again. It should not increase in those 2 days.

The purpose of this experiment is to ensure that there is nothing else that is contributing to your nitrite growth. Your nitrites just seem too high to me. Having to do a water change to remove a nitrite spike is not that uncommon when using a bacteria supplement. But you have had to do way more water changes than I have ever seen.

 

[Mebbid]

Just do a 100% water change. It will reset all the levels and you will be able to track your nitrites again

 

[fish wrangler]

To read the nitrites now you could also dilute the water. .5 ml of tank water and 4.5 ml of distilled or tap water (provided tap has no nitrites). Multiply readings by 10 to get actual amounts

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