Where's My Cycle At ?

[simb07]

Hi,
I'm in my first "fishless cycle" 17days in & all seemed to be going as expected (after reading numerous posts)
Here's my current situation/dilema !!

1/ Ammonia (4ppm) is being consumed within approx 12hrs (re-dosing every 24hrs)
2/ NitrItes are off the charts

However yesterday my Ph crashed, all attempts to see NitrAte's have so far failed.... i did get a reading of 80ppm on day 12 but only on the one day & now no matter how hard i hit/shake bottle2 N03 Api Master test kit !! it reads the same as my tap water (10ppm)..... I borrowed some test "strips" & these show theres very high levels of NitrAtes ? which would leave a big smile on my face if confirmed

Q. does the Ph crash suggest the presence of NitAte's ? could it be possible the high NitrIte levels are scewing the results ?

I did my first 90% waterchange this morning & my PH is back up to 8. NitrItes still at >5ppm

Q. anyone think my N-bacs are actually starting to form & any suggestions welcomed.

Simb07

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, you've probably got plenty of N-Bacs started. You just need more and then they'll eat through the nitrite(NO2) backlog and you can start seeing if they can eat through it in 12 hours!

~~waterdrop~~

 

[simb07]

****UPDATE FROM YESTERDAY******
Have I got NitrAtes or not ??

This was bugging me so much (test strips showed huge amounts !!) i decided to do an improvised test..... basically I started by taking only 1ml of tank water & adding 4ml of "tap" water to give the 5ml needed for the API test....

1st attempt ( same as before )
2nd attempt ( using only 0.5ml of tank + 4.5ml tap ) same as before
3rd attempt ( i used only 5 drops of tank water and added the rest from the tap - approx 4.9ml ) & hey presto a reading of 40ppm was returned. I must have huge quantities of Nitrates..... not sure about the maths to work this out tho

I redid test 3 a couple of times with a steady reading of 40ppm. ( tap comes out at 10ppm )

I reckon either a very high NitrIte level or ridiculous amounts of NitrAte render their tests useless.

But atleast now i have the satisfaction of knowing my N-bacs are actually processing the NitrIte

Maybe worth noting for other cyclers using API test kits.
It's just given me the lift I needed to see the light at the end of the tunnel !!! ...... I HOPE

simb07

 

[HappyGeorge]

Hi simb07

If its any consolation I'm in the same boat 4-5ppm of Ammonia dissappearing in 12 hours and Nitrites remaining high, with very little Nitrate showing. Been cycling for 3 weeks and my tank has been at this point for 10 days or so now, in all it's taken about 500ml of Ammonia. Every time I do that Nitrite test I'm praying for a reduced reading, I did one large water change but made very little difference. It is starting to drive me cranky now, getting itchy feet. I am considering the following.

1) Sprinkling Holy water into the tank (but not sure if blessed water contains chlorine and needs treating).

or

2) Sacrificing a goat and dropping its head in (thus eliminating the need for any further Ammonia adds).

or

3) Sticking motivational posters to the outside of the tank to get those lazy N-bacs off their butts.

 

[waterdrop]

It would indeed be interesting to see a motivational poster for an N-Bac.

 

[fatheadminnow]

Patience is the name of the game during cycling.

Hang in there, it will come around!

-FHM

 

[HappyGeorge]

It's there!!!!!

Tested a couple of hours ago and got a 0.1 nitrite reading, tested again just to make sure and got the same reading.

So 24hr testing for nitrites and see how quick these babies can process the 4ppm to Nitrate. Few more days and then a few days stabilising and we should fish ready.

Think I will post a single post with a quick guide to the timeline I experienced for other newbies reference. I know people do fishless cycle diaries on here but thought maybe one quick reference of where I was at and when may help people like me.

 

[OldMan47]

The pH crash might indicate the nitrates that you seem to see when you test a very dilute sample but it has a more important impact. If the pH has gone very low, it will stall your cycle. It is time to do a huge water change to get the pH back up where it belongs. After the water change, the pH should come back up and you might even be able to measure the nitrates directly if that matters to you.