Fishless cycle and nitrites

[Vagabond]

Hello, I'm new here, and am in the middle of a fishless cycle on a 10 gallon tank. I'm already enjoying my aquarium, (I already want to get a 30+ gal. tank) and I dont even have any fish yet.

Here's my question. I'm doing a fishless cycle, and things are going okay. I'm to the point where I can burn through 3-4ppm of ammonia in 24 hours, and am dosing with ammonia daily now. My nitrites have spiked, but dont seem to be coming down. How long does it usually take for the nitrites to drop off after you are consistently going though ammonia? I've tested for nitrates and they are at 6ppm presently. I'm about 2 1/2 weeks into the cycle. Here are some specs:

pH:7.2
Total Hardness: 120
Buffer: 120
no plants
Aquaclear mini power filter and an airstone.
I'm running the water temp at around 85F for the fishless cycle and will drop the temp once the cycle is finished and I'm ready for fish.

Am I just being impatient with the nitrites?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Vagabond

[superstein61]

7 to 14 days after your Nitrite Spike but circumstances always vary

[JSchmidt]

A lot of us have had the experience of the nitrite spike taking a bit longer to drop than the ammonia spike, if that gives you an idea.

Once nitrite starts dropping, it often does so pretty quickly.

Hang in there!

Jim

[Vagabond]

Thanks for the reasurement that things are going along as they should. I guess I'm just anxious to get past the empty aquarium stage and actually get some fish in there.

I'll continue to be patient

Vagabond

[JSchmidt]

It's hard to sit and watch an empty tank cycling, but it beats watching fish gasping at the surface (from ammonia poisoning) and netting dead fish.

What are you planning to put in the tank? Do you have your eye on some fish at the LFS?

Jim

[wetmanNY]

If you can get some scrapings from an established tank, now that your ammonia is being quickly consumed and your nitrite consumers aren't being repressed by ammonia, you could be ready for "re-seeding."

The detritus that settles on the gravel of a mature tank would be ideal, if you could siphon some up, let it settle out, pour off the water, and dump the gunk into your new tank.

Got a pal with a fishtank?

[Vagabond]

Unfortunatley, I dont have any friends with freshwater aquariums, I do have a friend with some saltwater tanks, but that's a different bowl of soup I think. I think I'm just going to have to be patient.

I started the tank adding "Cycle" to hopefully get something going. I've been adding more once a week. Is this doing any good?

As far as fish go. I know I'm limited because of my tank size, but I'm looking at perhaps a few dwarf Gourami's and maybey some Zebra Danios. I've also looked at a small school of Tiger Barbs. How would Tiger Barbs and Dwarf Gourami's get along? I hear that Tiger Barbs can be "fin nippers".

[JSchmidt]

Ah! You're using Cycle... you didn't tell us about that... My advice is pour the Cycle down the drain. Right now. Go do it. We'll wait.

All done? Good. Now, read on...

First of all, Cycle has a spotty record for helping, at best. Many of us consider it to be junk.

Second, using Cycle will make it hard to track what's going on during your fishless cycle. Cycle contains nitrates, so when your tests show the presence of nitrates, you won't know if it's from the develpment of your biofilter or from the Cycle you added.

Finally, some of us (including me) suspect that Cycle contains microorganisms that consume ammonia, but not the organisms that will eventually populate your tank and serve as a biofilter. If this is correct, adding Cycle will actually slow the development of the beneficial bacteria because the species in Cycle will compete for food.

There is a product called BioSpira (from Marineland) that may actually work. It's a refridgerated product and early reports look promising. Even without it, though, your tank will cycle. Patience is the key...

Jim

[Vagabond]

Okay, no more Cycle.

Would it be beneficial to do a major water change to get some of that stuff out of the system? Or should I just leave things be and keep testing and adding ammonia daily.

Thanks for the advice, It sure helps to have someone out there with knowledge and who has been there before.

Vagabond

[JSchmidt]

It's not essential that you change water, but I'd be tempted to. I'd change a lot of the water, say 90%, then refill (and dechlorinate!). I'd then want to dose to 4-5 ppm ammonia and see what readings I get the next day for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Those readings will tell you quite a bit about the status of your cycle.

Leaving the tank alone and dosing with ammonia as you've done is certainly OK, too. Just depends how much you want to play with things...

Jim

PS You get points for pitching the Cycle!

[Anaxus]

I have a dumb question, but even if the bacteria from cycle might not be the correct bacteria. As long as its converting ammonia to nitrite should it matter?

[Slappy*McFish]

Cycle is pretty much worthless...just another scheme to separate you from your money.

[Vagabond]

I think I will do a major water change in the morning, and yes, they certainly separated me from my money. But hey, its all a learning process.

One question on treating water before using it in the tank. I'm using Aquasafe. Can you simply put the recommended amount in the tap water, stir and pour the water in the tank? Or is it best to let it settle for awhile?

[JSchmidt]

Originally posted by Anaxus
I have a dumb question, but even if the bacteria from cycle might not be the correct bacteria. As long as its converting ammonia to nitrite should it matter?

Not a dumb question at all. If you add regularly (as the Cycle bottle instructs) a bacteria that scavenges ammonia, it will compete for food with the more permanent bacteria we seek to cultivate during the cycle. Not only will this retard development of the biofilter, but you have to keep adding -- and buying -- Cycle to maintain control over ammonia. It's not uncommon for someone using Cycle to see a bump in ammonia after ceasing its use.

HTH,
Jim