Yes, that's why the nitrite test sits there at its max 5+ for weeks, the nitrite level is actually way up there since every 5ppm of ammonia could be converted to 13.5ppm of nitrite.
biggy, if you want to play with some things to keep you busy, here's what you could do: For your 60L you could add 2 teaspoons of pure kitchen baking soda (make sure its not baking powder) and if you have any aquarium plant fertilizer that has iron in it you could add a does of that in whatever amount they recommend for 60L (this is regardless of whether you have plants, its just to get a little iron in there.)
Can't say it would really speed up anything but this might raise your pH in the direction of the 8-8.4 that the bacteria like and give them some bicarb and iron, both of which they use a little of.
The way you add ammonia is as follows: You establish a regular "window" of time when you are going to do your ammonia "adds" if they are needed (typically this might be before work in the morning or sometime in the evening when you are regularly home and for which time, the corresponding window 12 hours later is also available for testing.) You do your "add" (to 5ppm, or perhaps 3ppm if during the nitrite spike phase.) At 12 and 24 hours later you log your standard tests (ammonia, nitrite(NO2), pH and optionally KH.) After you've done your "add" you never add more until an ammonia test reaches zero ppm, and even then you only do your "add" in your established window, say, morning (ie. not at your "12 hours later time or any other random time) Within your window, it doesn't matter -when- you do the add, just that you log it to the nearest 15min or so, so that you can test later around 12 hours and then 24 hours later and know better the speed with which your colonies are dropping ammonia and nitrite.
So let's do an example: Fishless cycling is just starting. At 8am Tuesdsay you add ammonia to 5ppm (you can test an hour later to check if in doubt about the ppm, by then it will be mixed in.) That night at 8pm you log your tests. The next day at 8am and 8pm you log tests. Day after day you log tests but ammonia has not dropped to zero ppm so you don't add any more ammonia. Let's say 2 weeks and a day later, on a Wednesday at 8pm your test says 0ppm ammonia. You log it but don't add anything. The next morning at 8am you add ammonia to hit 5ppm. Make sense?
The most common question we get is, "Won't my bacteria starve if I don't feed them ammonia when I get to zero?" The answer is no they won't starve at all, they wouldn't even start to die back 2% until a couple days later probably.
The next question is, "Do I have to do it exactly at 8am?" The answer is no, the only thing important is to note the correct time and date at the beginning of each log line in your notebook. When things start dropping within a day, you'll begin getting a picture of the hours its taking each colony. The only really important timings will come at the very end when you want to "qualify" the bacteria are able to do it in under 12 hours for a week.
I realize the above stuff I've written is tedious but it seems to be an area of confusion sometimes.
~~waterdrop~~
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