Fishless Cycle Nitrite Color Question

[SirGoodFish]

Hello everyone! I am doing a fishless cycle with pure ammonia on a 20G long and it has been going well so far. Just yesterday I did my Nitrite Test and something interesting happened. When I added the drops the vial lit up BRIGHT PURPLE - but after about five minutes (the suggested wait time) the color had become a sort of grey and then green-blue.

The color to me suggested that there are almost no nitrites in the tank. But because of the instant appearance of bright purple when I added the drops I wondered if, instead, maybe I have a reading that is off the chart or some such.

Truth is I don't have the experience to say if this sort of color spike is normal.

Can anyone answer this question? I suspect that folks who have done a fishless cycle might be able to.

Thanks all!
Sir Good Fish

 

[fluttermoth]

That result means your nitrite is off the scale.

You don't need to do anything, but you might want to change some water to bring it down, purely so you can see it drop of it's own accord (as the bacteria grow, obviously) sooner.

 

[SirGoodFish]

That result means your nitrite is off the scale.

You don't need to do anything, but you might want to change some water to bring it down, purely so you can see it drop of it's own accord (as the bacteria grow, obviously) sooner.

Thank you, fluttermoth. I suspected this - so thank you for confirming it. I'll do that water change as you suggest since getting those levels back down below 4ppm should help the cycle along.

 

[RossC]

Yep basically they're so high that there isn't a colour to represent it, good luck with the rest of your cycle