We have been trying to fishless cycle a 30 gallon tank for a goldfish. Around week three we got some good donor tank material for starter bacteria. About a week after that we started getting readings that showed the Nitrates were climbing, but we were still getting a zero reading on the Nitrites. That is contrary to everything we read and the graphs we had seen.
Later we started getting Nitrite readings that climbed quickly. Now, at about week 5, it looks like the Nitrates are starting to decline but the Nitrites are still off the charts.
Questions: is there an explanation for the Nitrites and Nitrates being out of order? Is it a problem? And we seem to be stuck on high Nitrites with no movement for the better part of a week, should we take any steps to address that?
Our latest graph is attached (note that we did not test for anything other than ammonia for awhile).
Later we started getting Nitrite readings that climbed quickly. Now, at about week 5, it looks like the Nitrates are starting to decline but the Nitrites are still off the charts.
Questions: is there an explanation for the Nitrites and Nitrates being out of order? Is it a problem? And we seem to be stuck on high Nitrites with no movement for the better part of a week, should we take any steps to address that?
Our latest graph is attached (note that we did not test for anything other than ammonia for awhile).