NightPhoenix
New Member
Hi everyone,
I've been anxiously waiting for my new 29 gallon aquarium to get through its fishless cycle but I'm beginning to wonder if it has stalled. I'm using the fish food method (no pure ammonia ANYWHERE within 60 miles of here) and I've used the fish food method once before. The ammonia spike happened very quickly and it went into the nitrite phase in what seemed little over a 10 days. But now it has been showing nitrites for almost 3 weeks. My nitrites are VERY high (off the API chart) but as of yesterday I am showing 5.0 ppm of nitrates. Tested again today and still at 5.0 ppm but the nitrites are still dark purple. Do you think the nitrites are going to go down anytime soon or should I do a water change? Or would that be pointless? I'm still new to the fishless cycle process and I'm sure some of this is just me being anxious but I just wanted to make sure I'm doing the right thing.
BTW, I did dose with a LOT of fish food during the first 2 weeks and can still see some (breaking down) on my drift wood. I only dosed a little yesterday and kind of add every other day. Should I not add anymore food for a few days or continue to add just a tad?
Thanks
I've been anxiously waiting for my new 29 gallon aquarium to get through its fishless cycle but I'm beginning to wonder if it has stalled. I'm using the fish food method (no pure ammonia ANYWHERE within 60 miles of here) and I've used the fish food method once before. The ammonia spike happened very quickly and it went into the nitrite phase in what seemed little over a 10 days. But now it has been showing nitrites for almost 3 weeks. My nitrites are VERY high (off the API chart) but as of yesterday I am showing 5.0 ppm of nitrates. Tested again today and still at 5.0 ppm but the nitrites are still dark purple. Do you think the nitrites are going to go down anytime soon or should I do a water change? Or would that be pointless? I'm still new to the fishless cycle process and I'm sure some of this is just me being anxious but I just wanted to make sure I'm doing the right thing.
BTW, I did dose with a LOT of fish food during the first 2 weeks and can still see some (breaking down) on my drift wood. I only dosed a little yesterday and kind of add every other day. Should I not add anymore food for a few days or continue to add just a tad?
Thanks
