cloudy water/ no nitrite for 2 weeks into cycle.

[ClimbAZ527]

I've been cycling my 20g tank for about two weeks now. I have no nitrite readings at all, 2 of my fish died and I replaced them with a few new ones (4 Kenyis total now). My ammonia readings are not high, but the water is really cloudy. Any idea why? Also I can't understand why I don't have any nitrite readings yet.

[OrionGirl]

The bacteria that consume ammonia (resulting in nitrites) can be slow to develop. I wouldn't say this is anything to worry about. You do need to be doing regular water changes to prevent the ammonia levels from getting too high--this will kill the fish.

Cloudy water is pretty typical of new tanks. There are a variety of bacteria that normally live in the tank, and it takes a while for these to balance out. The cloudiness is from one of these other varieties of bacteria, most likely. It should clear up on it's own as the specific food source is used up.

[tomm10]

Have there been fish in the tank for two weeks? It doesn't sound that outrageous that there aren't any nitrites yet. They didn't show up at all in my tank until the second week and even then it was in real small amounts. I picked up some filter material from an established tank from my lfs to put in my tank and it really jumpstarted the cycle for my tank. I would expect you'll see nitrites soon.

What's your ammonia reading?

[ClimbAZ527]

My ammonia readings are somewhere around 1.5 according to my dry tab test. It just concerns me that in a 3 week period, with weekly water changes, that I still have not shown any nitrites at all. My fish are all doing well though. I started out with 3 fish, but then 2 died and I bought a few more kenyis last weekend. I posted another thread related to this subject w/o realizing I had this one up, so thanks all for helping me out. I hope I can get more feedback on this from everyone.