Ammonia nitrate no nitrite?

[Etown73]

Hi there. It’s been a while since I had some freshwater tanks going. I’ve done fishless cycling before but was lucky enough to have bacteria from an established tank. This time I can’t find any and used Marineland Bio Spira to try to expedite cycling. I’ve been testing everyday. I am now seeing ammonia dropping and nitrates rising but no nitrites . Does anyone think that maybe the bacteria that convert the nitrite to nitrate may be way ahead of the game and that’s why I’m not seeing any while I am seeing the nitrate? It’s a 10g tank. No fish or plants. At about day 10 of cycle. pH 8. Nitrate of tapwater is 5ppm. Last night had:

Ammonia .75
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 25

No water changes yet. Had used Prime for water at start. Added the entire bag of Bio Spira (the larger size). Filter with charcoal in and oxygen bubbler in. Temp between 80-85. Feeding bacteria with ammonia at 10% concentration from Ace hardware. Initially had ammonia at 3-4 ppm. Fed it a couple more times to keep at about 2ppm.
Any thoughts? Where are my nitrites? Thank you for any ideas

 

[dmpfishlover]

The Nitrate level being higher than the Nitrite level is most likely due to the fact that there are Nitrates in your Tap water. The bacteria that consume Ammonia and release Nitrites (ammonifying bacteria or Nitrosomonas ) colonize in an aquarium first, and then the nitrifying bacteria (Nitrobacter) will consume the Nitrites, releasing Nitrates. It would be impossible for nitrifying bacteria to be "ahead" of the game if there was no source of "Nitrites" for them to consume... So, I believe that your tank is still in the process of cycling, as you do not have Nitrites in the water, and that the reason you have Nitrates is that it is coming from your Tap water.

What type of ammonia are you using? Are you sure it is pure ammonia?

Also, I am not familiar with the product Bio Spira, so I am not sure if this is the best source of BB or not? Others might be able to answer this.

 

[Etown73]

Hi Fishlover. Thank you for your ideas. I’m using ammonia hydroxide with no additives. Straight tap water here has a nitrate Level of 5ppm, so I’m wondering how the nitrates have grown to 25ppm if there’s no nitrites to be broken down to nitrates. Bio Spira is like the predecessor to Dr Tim’s One and Only bacteria. Tim used to work for Marineland and created the Bio Spira while working for them. Then he started his own company and has One and Only. When Tetra brand bought Marineland they started to call the Bio Spira Safestart Plus. For whatever reason they’ve brought back the Bio Spira label. Thank you again for your response.

 

[dmpfishlover]

Hi Fishlover. Thank you for your ideas. I’m using ammonia hydroxide with no additives. Straight tap water here has a nitrate Level of 5ppm, so I’m wondering how the nitrates have grown to 25ppm if there’s no nitrites to be broken down to nitrates. Bio Spira is like the predecessor to Dr Tim’s One and Only bacteria. Tim used to work for Marineland and created the Bio Spira while working for them. Then he started his own company and has One and Only. When Tetra brand bought Marineland they started to call the Bio Spira Safestart Plus. For whatever reason they’ve brought back the Bio Spira label. Thank you again for your response.

I suspect (and it is a theory, I could be wrong), that as water has evaporated from your tank it has caused the concentration of nitrates in your water to increase... You indicated that you have not perfromed any water changes, and I am guessing you also have not added any water since you started the cycle, am I correct? Concentrations are based on the amount of a substance in relation to the amount of water in which it is dissolved... So, if water is removed through evaporation, but not the Nitrates it is possible for the concentration to go up. So the amount (volume) of nitrates has stayed the same, but its concentration went up. Amount and Concentration are two different things... Again, I could be wrong, but that is my theory.

 

[Etown73]

You could be totally right about the concentration. I’m glad that at least the ammonia is starting to drop. I can’t remember, as the ammonia drops should I be seeing nitrite right away or is there a gap in time?

 

[dmpfishlover]

You could be totally right about the concentration. I’m glad that at least the ammonia is starting to drop. I can’t remember, as the ammonia drops should I be seeing nitrite right away or is there a gap in time?

There can be a "gap"...Ammonia may remain low as it takes Nitrites a little while to build up.