Is My Tank Cycled?

[Guppytime]

Hello all,please give me some advice and help me figure out what's happening in my tank as I'm stumped.

I recently got a 90 litre tank,set it up and added some anacharis plants to it. I knew nothing about cycling a tank,I went to my LFS who told me it was ok for me to start off with 6 neon tetras and add a few fish every fortnight,that was on 10th April. 3 of my tetras died within 4 days so I went online for answers and found this forum. I now know about cycling and fishless cycling and feel angry that my LFS didn't even mention cycling!

The 3 remaining tetras were fine and now I was stuck cycling with fish.I waited until 17th April and added 4 danios as the bio load from 3 tetras was very small. I also got myself an API master test kit and committed to doing frequent water changes. My first readings were Ammonia 0,Nitrite 0,Nitrate 0 and PH 7.6

On 24th April I saw my first ammonia(0.25),on 26th and 27th April it rose to 0.5.

I continued with my water changes and on 27th April it dropped back to 0.25.

Since 27th April I have never seen the ammonia rise above 0.25 and I have never seen Nitrites. I have 5 nitrates but that's from my tap water.

I had to go away for a week on 23rd May and I was worried the nitrites would appear while I was away. I didn't feed for that week to keep ammonia down. When I got home I tested the water and got the same results,ammonia 0.25,nitrites 0,nitrates 5 PH 7.6

I can't believe I haven't seen nitrites by now? Is it something to do with the plants taking them,is my test kit faulty,or is it possible for nitrites to take over 7 weeks to appear? I know I haven't seeded the tank and have been doing a lot of water changes but can it really take 7 weeks for nitrites to show?

Any thoughts/help would be appreciated as I have no idea what's going on.Thanks!

 

[mattyeatsmatts]

If the ammonia is only rising to around .50 then it is likely this is the reason for no nitrites yet. When we do a fishless cycle and add nearly 5ppm Ammonia, that is converted into Nirites because it was a high amount at the start, the Nitrites are easily visible.

With you however the Ammonia probably doesn't have a chance to be converted into Nitrites because you are removing from the tank prior.

 

[sadguppy]

I would be more concerned that you are still seeing ammonia, are you sure you're reading it right? Very odd.

 

[Guppytime]

I would be more concerned that you are still seeing ammonia, are you sure you're reading it right? Very odd.

Yes i'm afraid so.I know i'm reading it right becaue I saw yellow (0) on the chart at the beginning and now it's always light green(0.25). Perhaps i'll go and test my tap water now as a control. I'm seriously thinking of buying another test kit as I can't think what else to do apart from cut back on water changes to see if my readings change?

 

[Tonyb111111]

I had a very similar situation to yourself in that I had about 0.25 ammonia for the first couple of weeks, which then went to zero and I still to this day have never seen any level nitrite in my water, and it has now been 5 months. It was explained to me that this could have been what is known as a silent cycle, evident in well planted tanks where the plants are using the nitrogen compounds to grow. Have a read up on the silent cycle and see if it fits your situation. The only confusing issue for me is why you are still getting ammonia levels after 6 weeks. How often are you cleaning your filter, what are you cleaning it with, and how much do you feed. Also contributing will be how often you clean the substrate, but with such a small bioload, this shouldn't be contributing too much.

 

[Guppytime]

I had a very similar situation to yourself in that I had about 0.25 ammonia for the first couple of weeks, which then went to zero and I still to this day have never seen any level nitrite in my water, and it has now been 5 months. It was explained to me that this could have been what is known as a silent cycle, evident in well planted tanks where the plants are using the nitrogen compounds to grow. Have a read up on the silent cycle and see if it fits your situation. The only confusing issue for me is why you are still getting ammonia levels after 6 weeks. How often are you cleaning your filter, what are you cleaning it with, and how much do you feed. Also contributing will be how often you clean the substrate, but with such a small bioload, this shouldn't be contributing too much.

Hi Tony,

I'm not cleaning the filter out at all now,I did give it a light swill in tank water about 2 weeks ago.I feed 1 pinch of flake food daily,usually eaten within 20 seconds by the fish. I have black gravel and I usually hoover the waste from it when I do my water changes.

 

[HM Dragon Devil]

I had a very similar situation to yourself in that I had about 0.25 ammonia for the first couple of weeks, which then went to zero and I still to this day have never seen any level nitrite in my water, and it has now been 5 months. It was explained to me that this could have been what is known as a silent cycle, evident in well planted tanks where the plants are using the nitrogen compounds to grow. Have a read up on the silent cycle and see if it fits your situation. The only confusing issue for me is why you are still getting ammonia levels after 6 weeks. How often are you cleaning your filter, what are you cleaning it with, and how much do you feed. Also contributing will be how often you clean the substrate, but with such a small bioload, this shouldn't be contributing too much.

Hi Tony,

I'm not cleaning the filter out at all now,I did give it a light swill in tank water about 2 weeks ago.I feed 1 pinch of flake food daily,usually eaten within 20 seconds by the fish. I have black gravel and I usually hoover the waste from it when I do my water changes.

Hi. I'm now on week 6 of my fish-in cycle (1 2" Betta Splendens) and not seen any nitrites whatsoever! I did start my cycle with Tetra Safe Start though so maybe that had something to do with it, or maybe not, but anyhow from what i've read and my own personal experiance it's not uncommon not to see nitrites in a fish-in cycle. Your main concern right now is ammonia, and you should aim to keep it below 0.25ppm at all times.

Cheers, Dean.

 

[Guppytime]

I had a very similar situation to yourself in that I had about 0.25 ammonia for the first couple of weeks, which then went to zero and I still to this day have never seen any level nitrite in my water, and it has now been 5 months. It was explained to me that this could have been what is known as a silent cycle, evident in well planted tanks where the plants are using the nitrogen compounds to grow. Have a read up on the silent cycle and see if it fits your situation. The only confusing issue for me is why you are still getting ammonia levels after 6 weeks. How often are you cleaning your filter, what are you cleaning it with, and how much do you feed. Also contributing will be how often you clean the substrate, but with such a small bioload, this shouldn't be contributing too much.

Hi Tony,

I'm not cleaning the filter out at all now,I did give it a light swill in tank water about 2 weeks ago.I feed 1 pinch of flake food daily,usually eaten within 20 seconds by the fish. I have black gravel and I usually hoover the waste from it when I do my water changes.

Hi. I'm now on week 6 of my fish-in cycle (1 2" Betta Splendens) and not seen any nitrites whatsoever! I did start my cycle with Tetra Safe Start though so maybe that had something to do with it, or maybe not, but anyhow from what i've read and my own personal experiance it's not uncommon not to see nitrites in a fish-in cycle. Your main concern right now is ammonia, and you should aim to keep it below 0.25ppm at all times.

Cheers, Dean.

Hi Dean,
Thanks for posting,it's good to know my situation isn't unusual! Yes my ammonia is always 0.25,I think the plants may be keeping it down as it doesn't move. I'll just have to be patient and hope for a change. I'm doing about 25 percent water changes every 2 days roughly,is that too much or about right anyone?

 

[Smells a bit fishy]

Your tank isn't cycled. I'm afraid to say I doubt you are at stage 2 (nitrite spike).

I would be doing more water changes and bigger ones personally.

You don't want to see any Ammonia in your tank, I would do a 70-80% water change and test the water every day. If you see green again, do another 70-80% water change.

As some have already said you may not see Nitrites as the amount of Nitrites the A-Bacs produce (bacteria that converts Ammonia into NitrItes) grow slower than N-Bacs ( Bacteria that converts NitrItes to NitrAtes)

But if your tank was cycled you wouldn't see any ammonia but would see a rise in NitrAtes.

I hope that makes sense.

 

[Guppytime]

Your tank isn't cycled. I'm afraid to say I doubt you are at stage 2 (nitrite spike).

I would be doing more water changes and bigger ones personally.

You don't want to see any Ammonia in your tank, I would do a 70-80% water change and test the water every day. If you see green again, do another 70-80% water change.

As some have already said you may not see Nitrites as the amount of Nitrites the A-Bacs produce (bacteria that converts Ammonia into NitrItes) grow slower than N-Bacs ( Bacteria that converts NitrItes to NitrAtes)

But if your tank was cycled you wouldn't see any ammonia but would see a rise in NitrAtes.

I hope that makes sense.

Mmm yes that's what I was afraid off. I guess I'll just have to wait it out and hope for a change. I'll try larger water changes as well,thanks.

 

[Guppytime]

Did my usual test today and had a massive shock,I've actually got a change in my test results,there are nitrites in my tank after all this time! My ammonia has dropped to 0 and I'm showing some nitrites,not quite 0.25 but a darker blue than 0 so I'm guessing 0.1? Hopefully this isn't a fluke or some cruel joke,I will re test tomorrow,fingers crossed!

 

[HM Dragon Devil]

Did my usual test today and had a massive shock,I've actually got a change in my test results,there are nitrites in my tank after all this time! My ammonia has dropped to 0 and I'm showing some nitrites,not quite 0.25 but a darker blue than 0 so I'm guessing 0.1? Hopefully this isn't a fluke or some cruel joke,I will re test tomorrow,fingers crossed!

Hey Guppytime this sounds promising, approximately how long have you been cycling now?

Dean.

 

[Guppytime]

Did my usual test today and had a massive shock,I've actually got a change in my test results,there are nitrites in my tank after all this time! My ammonia has dropped to 0 and I'm showing some nitrites,not quite 0.25 but a darker blue than 0 so I'm guessing 0.1? Hopefully this isn't a fluke or some cruel joke,I will re test tomorrow,fingers crossed!

Hey Guppytime this sounds promising, approximately how long have you been cycling now?

Dean.

Since 17th April! I think it's taken so long as I didn't have any mature media to start with. Haven't done today's test yet,watch this space!

 

[Guppytime]

Did my usual test today and had a massive shock,I've actually got a change in my test results,there are nitrites in my tank after all this time! My ammonia has dropped to 0 and I'm showing some nitrites,not quite 0.25 but a darker blue than 0 so I'm guessing 0.1? Hopefully this isn't a fluke or some cruel joke,I will re test tomorrow,fingers crossed!

Hey Guppytime this sounds promising, approximately how long have you been cycling now?

Dean.

Since 17th April! I think it's taken so long as I didn't have any mature media to start with. Haven't done today's test yet,watch this space!

Ok it's official,I am showing 0.25 nitrites today
How long does this stage usually last before nitrates kick in?
I'm off to do a water change now.