Aquarium Cycle Help

[carltondancer]

Ok so Monday July 22 (1 week ago) I set up my betta's new 5 gal. tank.
It was going good until 2 days later I put in a water heater, and about 24 hours later the water gradually became cloudier and cloudier. (Idk if me putting the heater in has anything to do with it or not.)
Today, it is still cloudy. Also, the nitrite is somewhat high. What should I do? I would have thought the water would be cycled already. (I'm very new to this and only have experience with a 1 gal. tank.)
Any help is appreciated!

 

[Ninjouzata]

Have you read this? http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/421488-cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first/
It takes much longer than a week to cycle a tank, sorry
Did you already put fish in it, or have you added ammonia?

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Have a good read of the link Ninjouzata linked you to, the same thread can be found in my signature under 'cycling'.

You will need to add a source of ammonia for the cycle to start. As long as you do a fishless cycle the cycle should only last around 6 weeks.
If you can get ahold of some mature filter media then that will shorten the cycling time down quite a lot.