Day 32 Fishless Cycle - Ammonia/ Nitrite issues

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slyfox12

Registered Member
Sep 11, 2005
2
0
0
Hi...

About a month ago I started a fishless cycle using Chris Cow's cycling method as my basis (http://malawicichlids.com/mw01017.htm), and all seemed to be going well until recently.

Tank Specs
20 Gallon w/ Penguin 150 and plenty of aeration (water temp @ 82-84 F/ 28-29 C)

Day 1 ~ Started the cycling process by adding enough ammonia to reach 5-7 PPM

Day 2 - Day 15 ~ Ammonia remained stable around 5 PPM, Nitrite and Nitrate both at 0

Day 16 - Day 18 ~ Ammonia begins to drop (down to 2 PPM), Nitirite 2 PPM, Nitrate 1-3 PPM

Day 19 ~ Ammonia drops to 0, Nitrite 3-4 PPM, Nitrate 5 PPM

Day 19 - Day 26 ~ Added ammonia daily to reach 1.5-2 PPM, Nitrite remained stable around 2-4 PPM, Nitrate remained at 5-7 PPM

Day 27 ~ Ammonia registers at 1 PPM (only 1 PPM drop in approx. 24 hours), Nitrite is off the chart at around 8-9 PPM (had to dilute the solution to get the results), Nitrate still 5-7 PPM -- no ammonia added

Day 28 - Day 29 ~ No change in ammonia, nitrite or nitrate (ammonia still at 1 PPM) -- no ammonia added

Day 30 ~ Ammonia at 0.5 PPM, no change in nitrite/ nitrate -- added enough ammonia to bring it back up to 1.5 PPM

Day 31 - Day 32 ~ Ammonia drop to 1 PPM and remains stable, Nitrite still off the chart around 8-10 PPM, Nitrate 5-7 PPM -- no ammonia added

It seems ammonia consumption has slowed down quite drastically since the nitrite spike, and I'm wondering if this is normal (I have a feeling it isn't).
And now the questions...
1) Should I just leave everything as is and continue to monitor?
2) Should I continue to add ammonia whenever it drops to 0 or so?
3) Would a 10-20% water change help?

Any answers or comments would be greatly appreciated....

Thanks
 

mishi8

Go fly a kite!
Jan 13, 2005
768
0
16
Alberta
It's possible your cycle has stalled. What are is your KH? Has it dropped at all?

When I did my fishless cycle, Nitrites and Nitrates went way off the charts, my KH dropped, and the process seemed to stall. I did a large volume water change (maybe two?...going from memory) to bring the numbers way down, and then topped up the ammonia to 4ppm again.
 

slyfox12

Registered Member
Sep 11, 2005
2
0
0
I never did check my KH levels actually, I don't even have a KH or GH test kit for that matter, so I'm not sure if it dropped. I do know that PH has dropped though, from the initial 7.2 to around 6.6 over the last 30 days. I have been considering a water change, so I might just try that. Thanks for the answer by the way.
 

mishi8

Go fly a kite!
Jan 13, 2005
768
0
16
Alberta
A water change should also help bring your KH & PH back up, and will likely help move your cycle along. Do post an update to let us know how your cycling goes. :)
 
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