Nitrite boom high, ammonia zero! What's happening?

wrong days

I don't agree with the stuff about what happens on certain days, as I recall, I got a nitrite peak about half way trhough that went through the roof and seemed to stay that way for a long time. It ended suddenly, over just a few days, maybe 3 or 4. i read somewhere that a cycle takes 38 days to establish, and while I have read reports that often confirm that, also it can be faster or slower. Faster if you add bacteria from another tank, slower if pH or temperature problems occur.
 
StormRavin said:
Just a quick addition
Ammonia changes into nitrite. Thus the reason your ammonia(after peaking) went to 0 and your nitrites went up.
Just a clarification (if I understand it right, still pretty new myself :p: ) the bacteria that eat the ammonia produce nitrites as their waste products. So as that type of bacteria establish a suitable colony they are eating all the ammonia as your fish produce it, and excreting a ton of nitrites. The next step is the establishment of another type of bacteria, these eat nitrites and secrete nitrates. Nitrates are less toxic, requiring a higher level to harm your fish, so you can control them with regular water changes. Holy smokes! I think I may actually understand this now! :dance2: :dance2: :dance2:
 
yep you have it!!!

Also..timelines are at best a guess at cycle time which depends on so many variable that it can vary greatly. One good piece of advice is get some filter media or gravel from an established tank (if you can). This can jump start a cycle or help move a slow one forward. My 30 gallon was three weeks of high nitrites untill I added a little gravel from another tank....two days later the cycle was done. :coffee:
 
good news!!!! finally my nitrite drop to 0.1mg/L!! and nitrate only 5mg/L!! Thanks for your help!!! I changed water everyday and now the nitrite level drop to the max!

When nitrite is completely gone, will it come back again?
 
noted that down... thanks! :)
 
Now that you're cycled, you have built up a biological filter capable of handling the bio-load currently in your tank.

Now, let's say you add a plecostamus to the tank. These are big-time waste producers, and your biological filter isn't quite sturdy enough to handle them immediately. Therefore, your tank will see a small ammonia spike as your bacteria multiply and adjust to this new fish. Due to that ammonia spike, you'll also see a small nitrite spike as those bacteria adjust to the new nitrite levels.

The good news is, even though these are real spikes, odds are good they won't even be detectable, and they certainly won't be deadly. Every time bio-load is altered, either by adding or removing fish, the bacteria in the tank will have to adjust to the new conditions. However, as long as you don't suddenly double or triple your bio-load, you can breathe easy now. You're done!

Cheers.

-sj
 
Yeah, it's quite a relief now.... I got the nitrate under control.
 
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