2 week old fishless cycle...when will nitrites show up ??

[jm1212]

most cycling products dont work. bio-spira will, but even then it only works part of the time because it needs to be refridgerated almost constantly

every tank is different, but the cycling process as a whole shouldn be completed in less than 8 weeks.

 

[southpaw]

Ok...I may have alittle info on what might be happening. I emailed Tetra to inquire about me using their AquaSafe with BioExtract to start my fishless cycle. Here is what they emailed me back.......



" Hi and thanks for the inquiry! It is possible that the Aquasafe with
BioExtract will have an affect on you Nitrite spike. The logic behind
me saying that is the BioExtract is the beneficial bacteria
(nitrosospira, nitrosomonas and nitrospira) that will "consume" the
Nitrites (specifuically the nitrosospira and nitrospira, nitrosomonas
mainly consuming ammonia). You can get similar results from using
Bio-spira for the same reasons. I have had tanks cycle in about 5 days
with no readable ammonia or Nitrite spikes because they basically passed
so fast I never could read them! The ammonia, of course, should convert
to Nitrites and they likely are, but the BioExtract bacteria are
converting them again to Nitrates. What kind of Nitrate readings are
you getting if any?

Thank you!

Tetra Care "




I just did a Nitrate test and it showed 0ppm.....so I am still not sure about using it. I have replied back with the Nitrate results and am now waiting to see what kind of info they can give me now. I will keep the post updated as to what they tell me as maybe it might help someone else that is using the AquaSafe when starting a fishless cycle.

 

[southpaw]

Well I just finished my daily testing for ammonia and nitrites...I only tested for nitrates earlier to answer the email from Tetra....

Well now I am showing .25ppm nitrites and ammonia looks to be around the 3ppm level (slightly lighter than 4 on color chart)

Hopefully I am well on my way now and just jumped the gun by a few days by starting this thread....

My next question will fall back on me leaving town for 4 days again.... Will the nitites consume all my ammonia in the 4 days and stall my cycle?? I can test in the morning and dose a few more drops of ammonia if need be but that would still leave 3.5 days for nitrites to spike and ammonia levels to drop....I would hate to kill my cycle now just because I am away from home a few days.

I guess I could feed the tank alittle food too if it might help it get thru the days I am gone but would the food have time to produce any ammonia that would be benificial to the cycle in just a few days??

 

[Aphotic Phoenix]

I'd throw in a frozen shrimp a few days in advance to give it a chance to start decaying...

I forget what size tank you have...if it's small I'd only use half a shrimp...if it's larger use a whole one...and put it in a clean unused nylon stocking before throwing it in there so it's easier to remove.

 

[southpaw]

Tank is a 55 gallon.....leaving around noon tomorrow so not much advance time to work with

 

[Phil22]

Doing what you're doing (without shrimp), took my 55g 8 weeks to cycle. Actually, I felt it was cycled in about 6, but waited another 2 to be sure.

 

[charlie_stubbs]

i also have a 55gallon and it cycled in 6 weeks
nitrites weren't readable until week 3, then went off the charts and stayed that way for another 2 weeks, then suddenly dropped overnight to 0ppm.

 

[jm1212]

it sounds like your cycle is about at the halfway mark. you'll probably have nitrites and ammoina for a little bit, and then it should start to go down

 

[southpaw]

Just got back from my trip.....

Checked ammonia and nitrites. Ammonia was basically at 0ppm and nitrites were almost off the chart. I dosed it with some more ammonia and will get it back to around 2-3ppm and all should be good now.

 

[silentskream]

awesome! sounds like you're almost ready to get some fishies!