By just adding a very low dose of ammonia you only grew enough bacteria to process that much through to nitrates. That is the reason for the nitrite spike now. You had only grown enough nitrite eating bacteria to clear out a low amount of nitrites. The 2ppm produced more nitrites than it was used to. Just give it time and the nitrite eating bacteria will catch up.
Building up enough bacteria to process 2ppm ammonia should be able to handle the bio-load of your planned stocking. I would go ahead and add 2ppm each time it drops back down to zero but not any more often than every 24 hours. The nitrites should catch up with this higher amount of ammonia fairly fast but don't be concerned if it takes several days.
It is good that you increased the amount of ammonia you were adding. It is better to have this nitrite spike now instead of after you add your fish.mattgirl Thanks so much for your insight...I feel like I'm on the right path going forward.Building up enough bacteria to process 2ppm ammonia should be able to handle the bio-load of your planned stocking. I would go ahead and add 2ppm each time it drops back down to zero but not any more often than every 24 hours. The nitrites should catch up with this higher amount of ammonia fairly fast but don't be concerned if it takes several days.
You could just add ammonia every other day instead of every day but I look at it this way. When the fish are in there they are constantly adding ammonia. They don't skip a day
This is great news
mattgirl Thanks again for advice. I'll do the 50% water change and hold off on cleaning.This is great news
I would hold off on cleaning anything unless absolutely necessary. You cycle is still fairly delicate so we don;t want to disturb it any more than needed. I would change out half the water so your fish will be starting out with lots of fresh water. Keep in mind, the bacteria isn't free floating in the water so changing it out isn't removing any. Just be sure you temp match and add your water conditioner to the fresh water before pouring it in there.
Since this tank is processing 2ppm ammonia you should be able to go ahead and add your planned stocking all at the same time. If you are concerned about the bio-load then go ahead and add 3ppm ammonia to the tank to help grow more bacteria. It will mean waiting a few more days but you will be assured of having enough bacteria to handle the bio-load of all the fish you plan on having in this tank so can add all of them at the same time.
