Confused With Cycling

[fatguppy]

I have just purchased a new tank (around 90 gallons). I used water from the old cycled tank and the old filters to help cycling process.

My confusion is that the ammonia levels are fine but the nitrIte levels are just above 0. I have done water changes but by the next day the reading is exactly the same, the confusing thing is that the ammonia and nitate levels aren't changing.

What's happening?

 

[Wanda hornsey]

2 things....
1 have you tested the water that your doing the changes with??? (my tap water has 0.5 ppm Amonia in it)
2 are you feeding your amonia bacteria???


also from what I understand there is very very little useful bacteria in the water in the tank, its all in the filters with some in the gravel/sand.

How long have you been cycling and what method are you using?? Add and wait etc.? what exactly are your stats for the TANK amonia Nitrite and nitrate ph and temp
and the water your adding what are the stats for that

 

[fatguppy]

2 things....
1 have you tested the water that your doing the changes with??? (my tap water has 0.5 ppm Amonia in it)
2 are you feeding your amonia bacteria???


also from what I understand there is very very little useful bacteria in the water in the tank, its all in the filters with some in the gravel/sand.

How long have you been cycling and what method are you using?? Add and wait etc.? what exactly are your stats for the TANK amonia Nitrite and nitrate ph and temp
and the water your adding what are the stats for that

The water I am doing the changes with has zero nitrites and ammonia but around 10 nitrates. So sadly, that isn't it.

I have been cycling for around a week and using the add and wait method. I understand the methods for cycling - I have had fish tanks for around 12 months, but its the fact that the nitrites are registering (around 0.25 - so only slightly) but that the ammonia is on zero. Whenever I have cycled before I expect an increase in ammonia and THEN the nitrites to increase, but this is not happening. Can it be that the tank hasn't even begun cycling yet? If that is the case then fine, but I don't understand why after a water change, within 24 hours the nitrites are up again and the ammonia is staying on zero. The water testing kit is fine because it is being used on other tanks with expected results.

I am not adding anything to the tank other than the usual water stuff to remove chlorine.

 

[Wanda hornsey]

from what I understand cycling should go
fill tank heat to mid 80's
Make water 5-6ppm with ammonia
test amonia every 48 hours
when ammonia goes down to 0-1ppm
add more ammonia to bring it back to 3-4 ppm
start testing nitrites and ammonia every 12 hours
keep adding ammonia after every test to bring the level back from 0-.5ppm make it up to 3-4ppm
keep testing Nitrites and ammonia
ar this point your nitrites should start to climb to very high
keep testing and keep adding ammonia daily to register 3-4ppm ammonia
somtime (yesterday for me - 8 days into cycling ) the Nitrites will start to zoom back down to 0.
keep adding your ammonia to keep both the Ammonia loving bacteria alive and the Nitrite changing bacteria alive
test for a couple more days then 70-90% water change bring back up to tempreture add ammonia back to 3-4 ppm leave overnight test and if both at 0 add stress coat and a few fish. I will be taking a water sample to the very helpfull and knowledgeable LFS to get it double checked before adding fish

I dont understand this bit of what you said


Whenever I have cycled before I expect an increase in ammonia and THEN the nitrites to increase,


my ammonia has not increased on its own in a fishless cycle. Also I have seen on here it can take up to 3 weeks for some tanks to cycle..... if still not making sence try posting this in Tropical chat a lot more people go in there than here.

good luck

 

[RoyalGrammaPrincessHannah]

Looks to me like the cycling has stopped because after all the ammonia has converted to nitrites, of course it would be zero. Right now, you are looking at the nitirtes being converted into nitrates, then you will see the nitrates for a while.

But this doesn't mean the tank is cycled. You need a continually sufficient amount of ammonia to keep the process going, as Wanda said. Othewise, the process will just stop, so add some fish food to decay or some pure ammonia as soon as you can. And when the nitrates decline, be sure to add your first hardy fish when that happens, otherwise, the tank will begin to uncycle.