I think I am almost cycled! Still have a few questions though

[PumpkinPie]

So, after testing tonight, my ammonia is down to .5, my nitrites are off the charts, and my nitrates are at somewhere between 20-80 (I cannot for the life of me see the difference between the shades on the API card :o) I just dosed the tank with more ammonia, as I know I need to wait until ammonia and nitrites dip down to zero over night after adding ammonia, but it seems to be getting there.

My questions are: Does it really matter that I can't see the color difference on the API Nitrate card? Can I just make sure I keep them below 20? Is there another test kit with better colors? Am I really colorblind, or is it really, REALLY difficult to see the differences? Maybe I just got a bad card?

My next question is how long can I keep adding ammonia to keep my cycle going once it is converting the ammonia overnight? My car died and I will have to find a ride to my LFS to buy my fish once my tank is ready, but I really don't know when that will be. Can I just keep adding ammonia indefinitely? Will I need to do regular water changes until I get my fish? I know I will have to do a large one right before I add fish, but what about in the mean time?

My last question is why on earth are my Nitrates so high? I thought my tank wouldn't start converting the Nitrites to Nitrates until I saw them Nitrates start to dip.

Thanks in advance!

Oh, and I am re-thinking getting a Betta. I really would like some shrimp and a snail, so I need to figure out what I can put in there.... Any suggestions would be welcome! (It is a 5 gallon)

[Nolapete]

The API nitrate card is completely stupid. You would think they would develop a reagent that changed colors at 10 ppm increments instead of one that looks pretty much the same at 20-80 ppm.

Just concern yourself with ammonia and nitrite. Once those are 0, do a 50-75% water change, then add ammonia one more time. Test the next day. If 0 on ammonia and nitrite, then you're good to go.

Nitrate won't go down in a regular tank that's why you do water changes to dilute it.

[PumpkinPie]

Thanks so much. I already added more ammonia tonight, so I will just keep an eye on it and when it dips to 0, I will add more to make sure it drops back down over night again.

So, how long can I keep adding ammonia? Will I need to do water changes while I am waiting for a ride to my LFS? I will definitely do one on the day I get the fish, but do I need to do them in the mean time?

[Blueiz]

You will need to keep adding the ammonia til both the ammonia and nitrites are 0, sounds like you may have a week or a bit more to go..

[Nolapete]

Once ammonia and nitrite go to 0, do water change then dose ammonia again. From that point just dose ammonia each day until you can get a ride. Do a water change before adding your fish. The bacteria is in your gravel and filter not the water, so don't worry about it going away.

[FishJones]

PumpkinPie, how long did it take for you to get Nitrites? I've been doing the fishless ammonia thing for 5 days and not gotten any yet.

[OldMan47]

5 days is very quick FishJones. I would be very surprised if you saw any nitrites in the next week.

[PumpkinPie]

PumpkinPie, how long did it take for you to get Nitrites? I've been doing the fishless ammonia thing for 5 days and not gotten any yet.I am doing fishless, but I also got a large handful of gravel and bottom muck from a friend's established tank. That was about a week ago. I am pretty sure it would take quite a bit longer with just ammonia.