Cycle Update

[190MPH]

As of today:

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 2ppm
Nitrate 5ppm
pH has remained steady

Is there a reason my nitrate hasn't started to rise yet? It has been this way for about 2 weeks and I thought I would see a gradual rise. Or does it just quickly start to spike in one or two days? I have been dosing 2-3ppm ammonia once a day. Is that enough, or should I be adding a little more? Thanks again.

 

[waterdrop]

Yeah, sometimes NO3 seems to behave and be telling you something, sometimes not.

How many hours after the ammonia add were those measurements? That's another crucial bit of info to add. (each fishless cycler assumes this is obvious but to us out here we find that some people are telling us 12 hours after, others 24 hours after and others are even more random...)

If you're still in or beginning to come out of the "nitrite spike" period then 2-3ppm should still be fine. If you are definately past it and nitrite has reached the point of dropping to zero in 24 hours, then its time to begin easing it up to 4ppm adds, and then 5ppm for the final run.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[190MPH]

The measurements are taken about 10 hrs after the ammonia is added. I do the ammonia add at 6-8 am and tests at 4-6 pm every day. Should I do another nitrite test later tonight to see where it is then? The nitrite had been off the chart so I changed 50% last weekend and got it down to 2ppm. What about the nitrate, will it rise gradually or just spike up pretty quick?

 

[waterdrop]

Well, you don't really -have- to do all that much if you don't want to. It takes a while for each of the recognizable stages. For instance, its pretty easy to see you are in the nitrite spike phase and you know that will take at least days, not hours. You could really just test nitrite every other day and not test nitrate at all for a while. You want to steadily test ammonia and pH, just so you know its ok to add ammonia and that you're not in danger of a pH crash. Then, once you see nitrite finally dropping you will get more curious about nitrite. The next recognizable phase is when, instead of spiking, nitrite is dropping to zero in 24 hours. Then the next phase after that is when its -almost- dropping to zero within 12 hours. Then, finally, when both ammonia and nitrite manage to drop to zero in 12 hours or under, you can start your qualifying week and just confirm that it can keep doing that for a week without a blip.

In my experience (by which I mean my own direct and also a lot of participating as a member helping other beginners here) the nitrate(NO3) is pretty irregular, jumping around, certainly because of water changes and plants, but also for no apparent reason seemingly. Sometimes it seems to confirm ones assumptions about the nitrogen cycle, other times it just confuses. Its usefullness in testing seems to be greater as part of regular tank maintenance after you have fish, when it serves as warning call for keeping up with your weekly water changes.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[190MPH]

Thanks WD, that helps. I have been periodically checking pH and it has remained steady. My KH is about 5, GH about 9. Ammonia has been no problem, as 3ppm is gone in about 8 hrs or less. The info about the nitrate readings is interesting and it helps to understand its importance. I guess I'm getting not only a good lesson in water testing, but patience also! I feel like I want to will the cycle done so I can get some inhabitants already!