Cycling - My Nitrites Disappeared? Please Help

[talla2xlc]

Hi I'm new here and I'm hoping someone can help me out because I'm a bit lost. I have a 20 gallon that I have been cycling with fish for about 5 weeks now. Ammonia levels have been steadily between 1.0 and 2.0 ppm the entire time. Last Tuesday I finally got my first NitrIte reading of .25. Still 0 for Nitrates. Now a couple of days ago the ammonia is still at about 1.0-2.0 and the Nitrite has suddenly gone back to 0. Still 0 for Nitrates. Oddly my pH dropped all the way to 6.0 and despite putting in pH increaser, it goes back to extremely acidic the next day. I've been using Prime as we have ammonia present in the tap water. No plants, Aqueon filter, heater set to 75, 2 one-inch comet goldfish and 2 paradise fish. My question is: why did I get a Nitrite reading and now it's back at zero? I'm really confused and I'm hoping someone can tell me if I'm doing something wrong, thanks!

 

[kporteo]

to the forum!

Firstly, any ammonia is bad for you fish, i know you say your tap water has ammonia in it, but how much is in it? You need to get your ammonia to 0ppm as soon as possible.
Secondly, what tests are you testing with, strips or bottles? Strips tend to be pretty pants to be honest, most of us on here use the API master kit.

K

 

[talla2xlc]

to the forum!

Firstly, any ammonia is bad for you fish, i know you say your tap water has ammonia in it, but how much is in it? You need to get your ammonia to 0ppm as soon as possible.
Secondly, what tests are you testing with, strips or bottles? Strips tend to be pretty pants to be honest, most of us on here use the API master kit.

K

Yes I use the API kits. The ammonia in the tap water is between .50 and 1.0 ppm. I didn't know this at first but finally tested the tap when water changes did pretty much nothing to get the ammonia down in the tank. The only thing that has kept my fish alive is the Prime.I'm wondering if I should just get the tank heavily planted but I'm a little worried because I've never had luck with plants in the past and I think I've read that because the plants absorb the ammonia the cycle never kicks in? I'm not quite sure on that so I'm not sure what I should do.

 

[Randi]

I had this happen with one tank. Had low nitrite readings for a couple days, then it dropped to 0. About 4 days later I checked and my nitrites were at 5.0!! It fluctuated a couple more times before the tank was completely cycled. I don't know if this is supposed to happen (I had used bottled bacteria in this tank and then had to do a fish in cycle when I stopped using it) but everything worked out in the end. Just keep doing water changes to keep the levels safe for your fish.

 

[talla2xlc]

I had this happen with one tank. Had low nitrite readings for a couple days, then it dropped to 0. About 4 days later I checked and my nitrites were at 5.0!! It fluctuated a couple more times before the tank was completely cycled. I don't know if this is supposed to happen (I had used bottled bacteria in this tank and then had to do a fish in cycle when I stopped using it) but everything worked out in the end. Just keep doing water changes to keep the levels safe for your fish.

Thank you for your reply! Makes me feel better knowing that I'm not the only one this has happened to. Hopefully like you said it will turn out ok in the end. I just probably need to be patient.