Fishless Cycle - problem??

[tstenback]

I am in the process of trying my first fishless cycle. I added enough ammonia to get 5ppm. once this level started to fall i added more to bring it back up. The nitrite spike happened and has returned to near zero but the ammonia level is still at over 3ppm. Is this normal?? I don't think it should be. any suggestions would be appreciated.

terry

 

[heresmike]

Hi Terry... Interesting. I can't recall hearing this happen before, which is not to say that it's not normal or not OK. How long has the nitrite been back to 0? Have you tested for nitrates? Are you continuing to add ammonia? Have you done any maintenance/cleaning to the tank or filter? If you are seeing nitrates, things are most likely on track, and I would continue to add ammonia until ammonia and nitrites are both at 0.

 

[tstenback]

The nitrite has just come down to zero 24 hrs ago. Don't have a nitrate test kit but will be picking one up tonight. I am continuing to add a small amount of ammonia but i am not sure if i am just adding to the problem at this point. shouldn't the ammonia that is in the tank now be sufficient to support the bacteria? there has been no maintenance done on the tank since it was setup 3 weeks ago. Just seemed wierd to have the nitrites spike and still have such a large amount of ammonia present.

 

[heresmike]

I agree it is weird. Yes, ammonia @ 3ppm should support any existing bacteria in your filter. I guess if it were me, I would test for nitrates, and if they are present, don't add any ammonia 'til it reaches 0. Then add a small amount of ammonia (to bring to say 1 - 2 ppm), and test a day later. If ammonia and nitrites are 0, and you have nitrates, I'd say you're cycled and a water change to bring down the nitrates is in order. HTH!

 

[thecichlidaddict]

How far into the cycle are you?

 

[tstenback]

Right now it is 30 days into the cycle. I checked the nitrates last night and there are nitrates but very low level and the nitrites are at zero yet the ammonia stays at around 3 ppm.

 

[thecichlidaddict]

Sounds like something went wrong with your cycle or the tests are showing faulty. You added ammonia every day through the cycle? Are you doing water changes? If you are are you dechlorinating with amquel?

 

[heresmike]

If your tests are accurate, I'd agree that something went wrong. Maybe it would be worth a trip to your fish store to have them do a water test for you and verify your results.

The other thing I wanted to mention about testing for nitrates... You should test whatever water you used to initially fill the tank, and compare to your tank water. So, if you used tap water, test that for nitrates and compare the results of that test against the tank water test. Some tap water has nitrates, so just because you are seeing them in your tank, doesn't mean they were produced by the nitrogen cycle.

Good luck!

 

[tstenback]

Last night was the first nitrate test i have done on this tank. I will try again tonight to confirm. If no change I will take the water to my LFS for testing- they said that it would be no problem to run a complete set of tests. The ammonia was not added everyday(skipped a few along the way because the readings were staying so high). I have not done any water changes on this tank, just a couple of top ups as with the heat turned up the evaporation is quite fast compared to normal tank temps. The changes were dechlorinated but not with amquel. Also will compare the nitrate reading on the tap water this evening.

thanks for all the help\advise folks it is appreciated. will keep you informed of the results.

 

[mrV]

Yeah, test it again and be sure, you do it correctly.

When cyling tank with ammonia, it should happen in this way

Copyright!

y-axel is "Concentration" and x-axel is "Time (days)"

So after nitrite spike and nitrites are zero, tank is cycled.

 

[tstenback]

Well, i retested everything last night and the readings were as follows ammonia 3, nitrites 0, nitrates 20, ph 7. the nitrates have increased from less than 10 the previous night. This does show some positive movement but i am am still puzzled by the ammonia reading. I would have thought that this would have gone to 0 long before now. When i add new ammonia the reading goes up and by the next day the reading is back down to around 3 so the bacteria is doing its thing(i think). Also tested the tap water for nitrates twice and both times the reading was 0. I am wondering if perhaps i put too much ammonia in the first day to create the spike and therefore the ammonia level is staying high? Is a water change a possibility at this point in time?? any more recommendations/advise would be appreciated.

 

[tstenback]

readings tonight seem to be coming more into line. Ammonia is down to 2 while nitrite is 0 and nitrates 20+ . still do not understand why the ammonia reading is still this high while everything else seems to have cycled properly. However it seems to be coming down even though i am still adding ammonia. If anyone can shed some light on the ammonia level please do. Thanks to all who responded. This is my first use of this forum and i must say i am impressed. I have 25+ years of aquarium experience (all fresh water) and there is always something that you need help with, such as this, my first fishless cycle.

once again thank you all and i look forward now to hopefully helping others with some of their questions.