Fishless cycle support

[Bail789]

Hey all just wondering if I'm doing something wrong or if I'm being impatient lol
Im new at this. I started my fishes cycle almost 8 weeks ago. My testing reading today was ph 6.0
Ammonia 0, nitrite 2.0-5.0, and nitrate at 5.0. Am I heading in the right direction? Any tips are greatly appreciated!

 

[Essjay]

The first thing to check with you - is 6.0 the lowest your pH tester can read? And what is the pH of your tap water, both a freshly run sample and some water that has been allowed to stand overnight?
In soft water areas, carbonate hardness (KH) is usually also low. Since both nitrite and nitrate are acidic, they use up the KH so there's nothing left to stabilise pH so it drops. At low pH the bacteria stop multiplying. If your pH has dropped, there are things you can do; if your tap water has low pH, there are other things you can do.

How have you been doing the cycle? In other words, which method have you been using, the one on here, or one from another website?
How much ammonia have you added in total?
Sorry for all the questions, I'm trying to get a feel for things To know where you are in the cycle we need to know what you've done so far.

 

[Bail789]

Hi so 6.0 is the lowest the testing kit can read.
I just tested the tap water and it's also 6.0. I've been adding ammonia drops and fish food to the tank everyday for about 4 weeks now.

 

[Essjay]

The best way to cycle a tank is the method on here where you add enough ammonia to get 3 ppm, then wait until certain targets have been reached before adding any more ammonia.

Leave some tap water to stand overnight and test the pH again just to make sure it doesn't go up on standing (it can do that).

At your pH, the bacteria will take a long time to grow, I'm afraid. The simplest thing to do would be to add some baking soda (not baking powder!) which will increase both KH and pH. This is only during cycling - once the cycle is complete you will need to do a big water change to remove all the baking soda.
Use 1 tablespoon per 15 gallons tank water; dissolve it in a bit of tank water outside the tank then pour it into the tank. Wait half an hour for it to mix in thoroughly then test the pH. Ideally it needs to be over 7 for cycling; you can add more baking soda if the first dose doesn't get the pH high enough.
Once the pH is where you need it, add enough ammonia to get 3 ppm and start following this method

Cycling Your New Fresh Water Tank: Read This First!

Cycling Your First Fresh Water Tank What is Cycling and Why is it Important? Fish waste, and especially fish breathing, plus uneaten food and other organic matter breaking down in a tank all produce Ammonia. This can quickly become toxic to fish if it is allowed to build up to any measurable...

www.fishforums.net

Since you already have nitrite, I would start from this part

After the second ammonia addition (Dose #2), while waiting for nitrite to rise, peak and drop, the bacteria will need a maintenance feeding (Dose #3). Give the bacteria a “snack” by adding 1/3 of the full dose when you get two consecutive every other day ammonia test readings of 0 ppm,. This “snack” (Dose #3) should be needed somewhere between days 21 and 27 of the cycle. Only a single snack dose is needed.

 

[Bail789]

Hi again, so it's been a Couple days now since adding the baking soda and the ph is at 7.0 the nitrate is 10-20 ppm and nitrite is at 2.0 ppm. Wondering if I'm on the right path now?

 

[Essjay]

The cycle is indeed on the right path, It's now just a question of being patient.

Keep an eye on the pH and if it starts to fall, add more baking soda.

 

[Bail789]

So the ph dropped again and I added baking soda. My question is how do I get the ph stable when there is fish in the tank?

 

[Essjay]

With your water you need to keep fish that like soft water. These fish are happy in low pH, so once the cycle has finished and you've done a big water change to remove the baking soda, the water will find its own pH level. It doesn't matter if this is low as soft water fish like low pH. And at low pH the bacteria can multiply enough to replace any that die off from natural causes and maintain their numbers, it's just that they multiply so slowly that it takes forever to increase their numbers.
We have members who have very soft tap water and members who use 100% reverse osmosis (pure) water with no GH or KH. They just keep fish suited to their water and do nothing for the pH. They find it falls to a certain level, then stays there.