Jakeiscool

my tank has been cycling for about 10 days. i used pure ammonia to start and have had 8 ppg of ammonia the whole time. when should i start seeing nitrites.

Tony G.

hello
it takes some time to cycle a tank. Mine took 3-4 weeks.To lower the ammonia i would do somw ater changes, and then just give it more time to cycle. Remember, patience is key

Lucy

I agree, give it some time. It can take a few weeks for the bacteria to develop.
However, be very careful that you're not OD'ing your tank on ammonia.
Too much won't allow the bacteria to develop. Remember, we use ammonia to clean and disinfect.

harpua2002

Someone correct me if I'm wrong here, but I was under the impression that ammonia levels over 5 PPM could stall the cycle. If this is the case, a 50% water change will bring you down to 4 ppm and may help.

Lucy

From what I understand, you're correct.
That's why I mention too much ammonia can be bad for the cycle.
Thank you for putting it better than I did
I think with the add daily method the ammonia does get high because you're adding it everyday before there's bacteria to process it.

harpua2002

I'm not understanding the point of adding ammonia every day. Is this something a lot of people do when fishless cycling? It would seem counterproductive to me because it will just build up ammonia to the point where it inhibits growth of bacteria needed to process it, before said bacteria is available. I thought you were supposed to wait to start dosing ammonia daily until the ammonia test kit showed a drop in the levels, then continue to dose up to 4 ppm as necessary until the nitrite spike is over and both ammonia and nitrite hold steady at 0 after the bacteria converts a 4 ppm dose to nitrate in 24 hours time (for several days, of course, to be safe).

Lucy

The logic behind that is you build up a stronger bed of bacteria that can process a greater amount of ammonia, say if you were going to have oscars, goldies, plecos etc.

However, several members have stalled using this method. I prefer the add and wait even if it's said less bacteria develops. (when I had to cycle with ammonia)

aquarist48

Use 100% pure ammonia.
Using a dropper, add 5 drops of ammonia per 10 gallons of aquarium water. If you don't get an ammonia reading with your test kit, add some more drops until you start to see an ammonia reading. Keep track of how many drops you've used so you can repeat this process daily. Continue to dose the tank with ammonia until you start to get nitrite readings with your test kit. Once you can detect nitrites you should only add 3 drops of ammonia per 10 gallons of aquarium water, or if you added more drops originally to get an ammonia reading cut the amount of drops used in half. Continue this process daily until you get nitrate readings with your test kit. Do a 30% water change and your tank is ready.
The above is information I copied from this website. Maybe it will help clarify things a bit. Too, raise the temperature to 85 degrees or so. It will help to speed up the cycle.
Congrats on going fishless!

I agree 8ppm is too high. As suggested I'd do a 50% water change to get it down to 4ppm.