Fishless cycle Nitrites????

[lougotzz]

We started to do a fishless cycle on our new tank. We are 6 days into the cycling and we are up to .50 nitrites when should we expect the spike? and then what?Thanks Lou

 

[modernhamlet]

Assuming you continue to add ammonia daily, nitrites should spike in the next few days. Once it does, cut the dose of ammonia you add in half and wait. Nitrites take awhile to come down.

Everything looks good so far though. Good luck!

 

[heresmike]

.5 seems a little low to me after 6 days. Mine usually gets up to 5.0+ w/i a few days. What ammo level are you shooting for when you add your ammonia daily? I shoot for 4.0 - 5.0 ammo. Once the ammo goes back to zero after 24 hours, I cut the amount of ammonia I add in half. Like mod.ham. said, nitrites take a while to come down, but when they do, they drop like a rock!!

 

[lougotzz]

I needed 2 caps full to bring them the ammo to 5ppm I add 2 caps a night waiting for my spike. like I said I am at .50 Nitrite. we started totally new. so can this be the reason it is a little slow?

 

[heresmike]

Sounds like you're doing it right with the ammonia! Adding something from a mature tank will speed up the process... like some live plants, filter media, gravel, or other decor. I usually plunk in a couple live plants. Maybe this will help your cycle speed up a bit. Patience is the key though. If you keep adding your ammo like you are, eventually those nitrates will shoot up there!

 

[lougotzz]

well today I am up to 1ppm of nitrite. so I am expescting a spike in a day or so lets see. i got 2 plants in there. i also bought an ornament so the bacteria can grow on that. I figured when I do a gravel syphon I wont get rid of my bacteria. I hope io will be cycled in a week or so.

 

[lougotzz]

I got my spike. I cut my ammo in half. How long before ammo and nitrite is 0???Do I keep adding half ammo till 0? Ammo is very high now off the charts.

 

[heresmike]

I assume you mean you got the nitrite spike... right?

Ammo is very high now off the charts.

Do you mean ammo or nitrite? If your nitrite is spiking, you should be seeing ammonia return to zero w/i 24 hours of adding it.

 

[lougotzz]

yes I got a nitrite spike and the ammo is off the charts. I will check and report back.

 

[Sky042]

I hear ya on the off the scale nitrite test. I tried 2 nitrite tests the first is a API one thats supposed to turn violet after 5 mins. well the second I put the drops in it turned violet and after 5 mins it went clear!(Perhaps outside visible light spectrum dunno) then tried a dip strip that goes up to 10 PPM and that turned about 6 times darker than the max darkness.
Nitrate is about 200 right now.

 

[lougotzz]

ammo is 10 or more ppm nitrites are 4-5ppm. Do I keep adding ammo at half doses?

 

[heresmike]

Hi lougotzz!

If I were in your spot, I wouldn't add anymore ammo 'til it starts to drop a bit. 10 ppm is plenty for the nitrifying bacteria to form and feed on. Keep testing daily. Once ammo drops, it should drop rapidly.... then I'd say to add more ammo.

As far as how much ammo to add when it drops (full dose vs. half dose) there are differing opinions. I've always used the half dose method. But some say this is cheating the cycle and won't produce enough good bacteria to handle the waste output of the fish. I guess it depends on if you're going to fully stock all at once, or gradually stock. If you're going to fully stock right away, I'd say you should add full daily doses of ammo. Otherwise half doses should work. (And by full daily doses, I usually say this is enough to bring it up to 4 - 5 ppm).

Whatever dose method you choose, you should eventually see the ammo reaching zero w/i 24 hours of adding the dose. Nitrites will remain high for days, then drop suddenly.

 

[Sky042]

Hi lougotzz!

If I were in your spot, I wouldn't add anymore ammo 'til it starts to drop a bit. 10 ppm is plenty for the nitrifying bacteria to form and feed on. Keep testing daily. Once ammo drops, it should drop rapidly.... then I'd say to add more ammo.

As far as how much ammo to add when it drops (full dose vs. half dose) there are differing opinions. I've always used the half dose method. But some say this is cheating the cycle and won't produce enough good bacteria to handle the waste output of the fish. I guess it depends on if you're going to fully stock all at once, or gradually stock. If you're going to fully stock right away, I'd say you should add full daily doses of ammo. Otherwise half doses should work. (And by full daily doses, I usually say this is enough to bring it up to 4 - 5 ppm).

Whatever dose method you choose, you should eventually see the ammo reaching zero w/i 24 hours of adding the dose. Nitrites will remain high for days, then drop suddenly.

I would agree. I'm doing the fishless cycle right now. I usually add enough to bring it to 8ppm but won't add any more unless its get below 4ppm.

Also they're not kidding about when it finally drops it'll happen fast. I've been boing for 1.5 weeks with the ammonia staying somewhat high. In the past 16 hours mine went from 8ppm to 0ppm so it's very rapid when it does happen(talking about ammo)

Your nitrites will stay high much longer. you'll likely experience a spike of nitrites thats off the scale of any test and that can take some time to come back down.