I am on my 25th day of a fishy cycle; ammonia has been consistently 0 since roughly day 10; started detecting Nitrites around day 4 which have steadily climbed and been holding at to their current level of 2 for the past week. I have been doing a total of roughly 40% water change per week. As far as my Nitrites, what should I anticipate i.e. will they just continue holding steady for a while longer and then slowly taper down to 0 as the nitrobacter continues to grow? Or should I anticipate possible further increases in nitrites until they peak out and then a quick drop? Or other scenario?
Nitrite Levels in Cycle
- Thread starter post2338
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I would recommend stepping up the water changes to keep the nitrites a bit lower, below 1 at least. That level of nitrites is pretty stressful on the fish.
I can't say for sure if the nitrites will spike more or not, but I'd check it every day to make sure just in case. I know that the nitrites seem to hang around forever sometimes then one day poof they're gone that fast.
I can't say for sure if the nitrites will spike more or not, but I'd check it every day to make sure just in case. I know that the nitrites seem to hang around forever sometimes then one day poof they're gone that fast.
If you happen to be cycling a fishless tank (crawfish make superb tank cyclers), I'd skip the water changes. The may well be slowing down the cycle. If you do have fish, feed *very very* lightly, literally no food should reach the bottom unless you have a bottom dweller, and even then only a flake or two.
You're in the most grueling part of the cycle. Nitrite cycles take a while, and you're closing in on the due date (30-40ish days). It tends to build way way up, as high as 50ppm (which is pretty stout for even hardy fish, but crawfish couldn't care less), and then drop to 0 in a day or two.
If you have 0 plants and 0 scaleless fish (like some catfish), add one teaspoon per each two gallons of water of uniodized salt. Salt tends to neutralize the nasty effects of nitrite (but not ammonia) to a point, making it easier on the fish. Mix the salt in a cup of tankwater, and add s-l-o-w-l-y over a couple of minutes. Once cycled, use water changes to bring the salt levels to unimportant levels (a couple of 30-40% changes over a couple weeks will do it)
You're in the most grueling part of the cycle. Nitrite cycles take a while, and you're closing in on the due date (30-40ish days). It tends to build way way up, as high as 50ppm (which is pretty stout for even hardy fish, but crawfish couldn't care less), and then drop to 0 in a day or two.
If you have 0 plants and 0 scaleless fish (like some catfish), add one teaspoon per each two gallons of water of uniodized salt. Salt tends to neutralize the nasty effects of nitrite (but not ammonia) to a point, making it easier on the fish. Mix the salt in a cup of tankwater, and add s-l-o-w-l-y over a couple of minutes. Once cycled, use water changes to bring the salt levels to unimportant levels (a couple of 30-40% changes over a couple weeks will do it)