So Close...

[FishCat_16]

So close to being cycled!
 
I zeroed 2.6ppm of ammonia in 24 hours.  Nitrite got down to .25ppm... maybe a hair less, it was just the barest of purples.
 
I'm confident that I'd get to the finish line on my own except I had an extra day out of town pop up.  I'm leaving tomorrow afternoon and I'll be back home Monday night.  Original plan was to leave Friday morning. 

 
At any rate, I'm not sure what the best course of action would be right now.  If I had to guess, in about an hour or so, I'd probably be at zero nitrite.  I don't know if I should give it a full dose now (I won't be able to retest in 24hrs).  Give it a snack before I leave tomorrow to hold the bacteria over until Monday?  Monday I suspect at the very least I'll need to do a 2.6ppm challenge to see where I'm at after the four days. 
 
This extra day could not have come at a worse time!  I can almost see the fish swimming around my tank.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

No worries. Give it the full dose and don't give it a second thought. Upon your return give it another full dose and you'll likely find you are fully cycled.

Good job. You are nearly there.

 

[FishCat_16]

Thanks eagle!  I've read about all I possibly could regarding cycling.  Your posts along with TTA have been most useful!

 

[Gruntle]

Good job. I totally agree with dosing today, redosing and checking when you get back. I was a little bit too eager the first time around and added fish when my cycle was nearly complete (with the pestering of a tribe of children). That was an expensive mistake, but one I'll remember for a long time to come.
 
An extra couple of days will almost certainly complete your cycle.

 

[Munroco]

Exciting times

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Thanks eagle!  I've read about all I possibly could regarding cycling.  Your posts along with TTA have been most useful!

 
Glad I could help.

 

[FishCat_16]

There was definitely some figuring out of things that went on mid cycle since it's partially (lightly, moderately?) planted but this being my first tank ever, not just my first planted tank, I didn't want to just rely on the plants and I had no idea how many bacteria came along on the ones from the LFS tanks. 
 
I had thought I would use Dr. Tim's One and Only but didn't know there were different sized bottles so I had one for a 30 gallon to go into my 56.  I also bought Dr. Tim's ammonia but didn't realize that there were two different scales to measure that and the fish forum cycling instructions didn't use the same one.  I tried to follow Dr. Tim's instructions but got really confused for some reason.  I think between not understanding those and then the different ammonia scales I may have overdosed ammonia in the beginning.  I'm not sure if my nitrite was just spiked for a while but it was off the scale and I had no way to do a dilution test.
 
So, enter the 50% water change (turns out I can't connect my python to the sink faucet, awesome!).   My nitrites immediately after were still the same color as before, and the ammonia came up to .25ppm but I turned the temp up a bit and left it for I think it was two days.  My ammonia came down to zero after one day.  Nitrites down to .75ppm after 2.  I gave it a full dose that I mentioned in my first post for this thread- ammonia zeroed, nitrite was just barely purple, so call it .25ppm.
 
I'm not sure if my nitrite was just the spike lingering and I didn't really need that water change (I know, normally recommended not to do them mid cycle) or if the water change to cut the nitrite was what it needed to get those bacteria back in action.
 
I definitely learned how many different variables there are in setting up a tank.  I thought I understood how to go about it at first clearly I didn't.  But, I eventually regained control over my cycle and made sure to log everything, and I think I'll be in much better shape when I set up another tank (plus I'll have the mature tank to seed from).  Start to finish, as long as everything goes as it should when I get home on Monday and then Tuesday or Wednesday, total days to cycled will be 17-18.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Completely cycled in so short a time is awesome. It normally takes 6 weeks (on average) with no additives. Getting it done in about 2.5 weeks is a really good outcome. The Dr. Tim's added likely played a significant role in shortening the time.

 

[FishCat_16]

Completely cycled in so short a time is awesome. It normally takes 6 weeks (on average) with no additives. Getting it done in about 2.5 weeks is a really good outcome. The Dr. Tim's added likely played a significant role in shortening the time.

 
Definitely!  I think I'm over what he suggests to expect, but then again I didn't follow his directions to the letter... because I honestly didn't understand them.  But, I absolutely think it gave me a huge jumpstart by getting those bacs in there.  Now if I could just figure out how to shake that bloody nitrate bottle hard enough...