Still no nitrItes

[AgilityIG]

This is getting a little frustrating :censor: Some history for those that have not read about my woes before: I have had my 20 gallon tank set up since the beginning of March. I started my fishless cycle on March 11th. I could dose my tank to 4ppm of ammonia, but it would never go below 2ppm. I started testing for nitrItes and nitrAtes on March 27th. Occasionally I would see a TINY bit of nitrItes (so I thought) - 0.25ppm at most, but now I wonder if it was just a trick of the eye or wishful thinking. On April 1st (how appropriate!) I started seeing nitrAtes, but still no nitrItes (the API test is a clear blue). During this time, I did get a sample from our tank at work just to check my test and make sure nothing was wrong about my test procedure. That tank tested just as I thought it would. Today I still have no nitrItes, but nitrAtes are between 5-10ppm.

How can I have nitrAtes without nitrItes? Did I somehow miss my nitrIte spike? The ammonia still does not get "eaten up" very quickly in my tank and I have been doing pwcs to control the nitrAtes.

This makes me worry that something is wrong with my tap water. I live in Marion, Iowa (not known for good drinking water) - I just bought my house in July last year and it already had a water softener. From what I understand, this should not be a problem. There is also a filter under my kitchen sink (installed by a previous home owner) - not sure on the kind, but could find out. Should this be an issue? I get my water from the kitchen tap as it is the easiest.

Also, I am thinking of going to work today to get some gravel to use as seed. I did not do the previously as one of the fish had Ich, but that was a few weeks ago and the tank and fish are fine now. Would this be ok?

Sorry for the long post...

 

[William470]

I feel your pain. Started my fishless cycle March 13. About the beginning of April I did not see any nitrites. So I did a large water change and restarted my cycle.

As of now I might be seeing a hint of nitrites. Maybe .125 - .25. I know it is not the light blue color. What I am not seeing is a drop in ammonia.

Now here is the kicker. I tested for nitrates and I got a reading of 15 - 20 ppm. I thought how can this be. So I tested my tap water and that is were I am getting my nitrate reading.

William

 

[AgilityIG]

Hi William - I did that too - back at the beginning of April. I tested the tap and the nitrAtes were 0 ppm.

 

[BigJim]

Agility, I think you missed your nitrite spike and your tank may actually be cycled. How quickly does the ammonia get turned to nitrates?

 

[AgilityIG]

That's what I was thinking too, except my tank takes forever to convert ammonia. I brought home some "seed" from the work tank tonight to add to my tank to see what I get. I probably have about 1/4 cup of gravel in a nylon stocking - is that enough? If not, I could bring more home tomorrow night.

 

[BigJim]

How much time constitutes "forever" in this case? I was happy with the condition of my tank when it would turn 4-8ppm of ammonia to nitrates in 24 hours. If 4ppm of ammonia is disappearing from your tank in 24 hours, I'd say you're good.

That should be enough gravel. I seeded my 20L with a 4"x1"x0.5" strip of sponge from another filter. It doesn't take a lot of real estate to house a significant bacteria colony.

 

[AgilityIG]

LOL - sorry about that. "Forever" is 48 hours to go from 4ppm to 2ppm of ammonia. It sure seemed like forever. I will be interested to see how the readings go now with the seed material. Should that start working right away?

 

[BigJim]

You're right, your cycle isn't very strong yet. Don't expect miracles with your seed material. It should help, but it won't be instantaneous. Basically you're providing a starter colony of bacteria to the tank. They need time to expand and colonize the rest of the tank.

 

[AgilityIG]

Thanks Jim.