Ammonia Steady; Nitrites Rising

[SanDiegoCa]

Tank has been up for 3 weeks today. Ammonia started out high, but I figured out what I was doing and with daily water changes it has been holding steady at .25 ppm. All along though, my nitrites have been 0 ppm, until today. Today I got a reading of .25 ppm. Does this sound like my tank is about on schedule for "the cycle"? Are my numbers out of whack for 3 weeks? Should I just stick with the daily water changes? BTW, 29 gal. tank. TIA

 

[jsoong]

Our resident cycling guru, Allivymar, will come by and correct me any minute now...
but I'll give you my story.

In my case, my ammonia spiked after about 4 days & is basically undetectable after that. But then, I let my level got higher than .25 (before I knew any better ). Since you are doing water changes & keeping the ammonia low, this will prolong the cycle, but then it is less stress for the fish.

Now that you've seen nitrite, the first part of the cycle is done. However, the second part (nitrite to nitrates) will take longer than the first part. In my case, it took a further 2-3 weeks of daily water changes before the nitrite spike is through (I tried to keep the nitrites below 1.0 during this phase).

So I'll say, keep up with the water changes, and eventually the cycle will be done. ... and wellcome to aq. adv.

 

[Allivymar]

Cycling guru *giggles* I have this image of myself on a tricycle zipping around the forum LOL

Sounds like you are right on track SanDiegoCa; the initial cycle takes a diff amount of time in each tank. As jsoong said, water changes will prolong the amount of time it takes for those bacterial colonies to get up to speed (as you are removing some of their nutrients) but hey, better to have live fish then a cycled tank eh? Keep up those water changes, although you might want to test first and if levels are over .25 then make a change; if its at that or lower you may be able to skip a day. Fish can handle levels that low without too much stress, although obviously you don't want to expose them to levels of nitrogenous waste for too long.

 

[Terry]

Hahahahah, what a great name Allivymar the Cycling Guru.

I love it

 

[SanDiegoCa]

UPDATE- 7:00 pm PST

Just checked my levels, and my ammonia is 0%, but the nitrites are "off the chart". Did a 20% water change. Reading other threads seems to indicate aquarium salt may be a good idea, but I don't have any and won't be able to get any for about another 24 hrs. Are my fish in immediate danger? Should I do another 20% water change right away? TIA

PS-This is a real friendly place to hang out! Thanks to all!

 

[jsoong]

I'd do a bigger water change if the NO2 is off the chart. I had to do 50% chnages when my nitrite spiked to keep it in check.

Some of the people here might disagree, but I believe that you can use salt other than aquarium salt. However, you must NOT use ordinary table salt - it contains iodine, and anticaking agent (which contains cyanide compound - not good for fish!)

100% pure salt - eg. Kosher salt or pickling salt - are supposed to be OK for aquarium. I have been using 100% pure sea salt without apparent problems.

As to if your fish are in immediate danger, it depend on what they are, some fish are more sensitive then others. (NO2 binds to hemoglobin so the fish suffocates).
With sky high nitrites I would do a big water change, and add salt (at 0.05 to 0.1 g%, or 1 to 2 table spoons per 10 gal) if the appropriate type is at hand.