Cycling questions, what's gone wrong

[Buglet]

I am currently cycling my 2 gallon hex to get it ready for a betta.

Last Saturday, I purchased new gravel, a couple of live plants, and some aquarium-safe river rocks as decos. On Sunday, I rinsed everything out with HOT water and set it all up.

The tank has a UGF.

I added dechlorinated water, and also added some filter squeezings from my already established tank.

25 drops of ammonia later, I was at approximately 5ppm. The next day, ammonia had dropped to 2ppm, and there may have been a *trace* of nitrite, but I went ahead and added the 25 drops again.

On Tuesday there were definitely nitrites, so I cut the ammonia to 12 drops, which I have added each day, including today.

Since then, my ammonia has been steady at 8ppm, and although nitrites have continued to rise (today they were 5.0), there has been no decrease in ammonia levels.

Is this normal, or should I be seeing a decrease in the ammonia levels each day (that is what I had expected)?

Thanks!!

 

[Daveo]

th amonia turns into nitrite then into nitrates so It should be done really soon when there is no amonia and no nitrite then that means you can put that betta of yours in there( there might be a little nitrate). 8)


Daveo

 

[Buglet]

Thanks Daveo,

I do understand how the cycle works. I was hoping to find out if my cycle is somehow stuck, as I have not seen a concurrent drop in ammonia as my nitrites have risen.

 

[LadyMinion]

Cycling can vary for every tank. Sometimes one stage will be particularly long, sometimes the whole thing is really quick. I wouldn't worry, the ammonia levels will drop eventually.

Do also make sure you're not using any products like ammo-lock, these can cause false ammonia readings in your test kit.

 

[luxum]

It's within the range of normal, yes. Just keep adding the half dose and be patient.