Stalled cycle?

[tmace64]

---Well into my 7th week cycling a 44 gal pentagon, wet/dry,, running skimmer,, extra powerhead,, 4 in biosand,, rocks,, and 2 yellowtail damsels. Water looks nice, fish seem very, very healthy. Good steady algae growth.

:confused: I've peaked on everything,,,,, Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate. ALL have dropped,,, except for Nitrites??? With an included peak and drop of Nitrates?? Why have Nitrites grown to such a heavy amount and "remained" there,,, while nitrates rise and fall? Ammonia has steadily dropped more slowly and sits just below 0.25

After very sharp peaks, ALL have been sitting at the following for the past 2 weeks,,,, again,, entering my 7th week.....??

AMM - 0.25
N02 - 2.0
N03 - 10

Am I being impatient? Does everything sound okay? THANKS!!

Another question......

I want to add LR,,, preferably FIJI LR. Since I have the 2 damsels in my tank, will I need to keep any new live rock in a seperate tank for 3 weeks with changed water and tests looking for a peak and drop of ammonia and nitrites???
----I read this on a Dr. Foster&Smith site the other night........??
If I do have to "quarantine" this LR,,,, can I start that process now,,, in hopes of having it ready by the time my cycle ends? AND,, If I do have to do this,,,, I have a 10 gal hospital tank that I was planning on doing this in...... okay?

Thank you for your time and help:)

[OrionGirl]

Sounds pretty normal. The nitrifying bacteria can be poky, but they will get there. 7 weeks really isn't that long a time. I would do a water change to bring the nitrites down--while the fish can tolerate them, they are being injured.

For the rock--depends. If you have it shipped, it will likely experience a die-off and need to be cured. If you purchase cured rock from your LFS, there shouldn't be any real die off, and you can add it directly to your tank. If you need to cure, a 10 gallon tank will work, as will just about any tub that will hold water.

[tmace64]

Thank You

Regarding a water change, i was believing that i should hit zeros on both ammonia and nitrites before the first water change.....

If I change 3 gallons or so,,,,, will i mess up the cycle process?

[kreblak]

No it won't mess you up. It will lower your nitrites though. If you look at a graphic representation of the cycle, ammonia and nitrites both look like giant bell curves. However, the nitrite curve does a strange bouncing taper instead of a steady decrease. I don't know why this is, but you aren't alone. During my cycles, I was getting zero ammonia and 2 ppm nitrites for 2 straight weeks! Then, one day, straight zeros. Bacteria are funny that way.

[tmace64]

thanks so much,,,, oniongirl, kreblak -- ill get right on a partial change of ( 3 gallons ) from a 44 gal tank.......

thanks
tod