is it normal?

[Goldfish4EVER]

Is it normal for there to be no Nitrites but still ammonia while cycling your tank? I know that usually nitrites pop up around 1-2 week but I'm have no nitrites at all. I only have ammonia.

 

[Byron]

It will help to know the level of ammonia. If too high, it can kill or debilitate the Nitrospira (second stage) bacteria. Also, do you have live plants?

Edit, I think I actually meant Nitrosomonas...whichever.

 

[PewPewChris]

You need enough good bacteria to consume the ammonia into nitrite. Did you jump-start your cycle with any treatment?

 

[Ichthys]

Are the nitrates rising? Sometimes there’s enough nitrite-eating bacteria that you don’t see nitrites. They go straight through to nitrates as they’re produced.

 

[Archerfish]

Is it normal for there to be no Nitrites but still ammonia while cycling your tank? I know that usually nitrites pop up around 1-2 week but I'm have no nitrites at all. I only have ammonia.

Yes. Give the tank time to cycle. Your post indicates that you still have ammonia readings which should be zero. It takes time, be patient. How are you cycling your tank? Fish, fishless or 'massive seeding'? I use the term massive seeding because it works. Take an extra established filter (from another well-established tank), a substantial amount of substrate from another well-established tank and tons of live plants to jump start your new tank. The key is to not 'rob' one aquarium to satisfy the needs of another tank. The cycling process time will be greatly reduced if not eliminated by this method. You must keep the bioload (number of fish etc.) low for it to work. In the meantime, just be patient.

 

[Goldfish4EVER]

Are the nitrates rising? Sometimes there’s enough nitrite-eating bacteria that you don’t see nitrites. They go straight through to nitrates as they’re produced.

No, I have less than 1 PPM of nitrates.

Yes. Give the tank time to cycle. Your post indicates that you still have ammonia readings which should be zero. It takes time, be patient. How are you cycling your tank? Fish, fishless or 'massive seeding'? I use the term massive seeding because it works. Take an extra established filter (from another well-established tank), a substantial amount of substrate from another well-established tank and tons of live plants to jump start your new tank. The key is to not 'rob' one aquarium to satisfy the needs of another tank. The cycling process time will be greatly reduced if not eliminated by this method. You must keep the bioload (number of fish etc.) low for it to work. In the meantime, just be patient.

I don't have another aquarium at this moment, so I cannot do 'massive seeding'. I'm doing fishless cycling with 1 asian water fern. It's been around 2 weeks now.

 

[Ichthys]

What are the other parameters, temperature, pH, and have the nitrates risen?

 

[Goldfish4EVER]

The temperature is around 78, PH is around 7, and no, the nitrates are still below 1.