Can the cycle skip nitrite?

[SimpleMan]

So I'm not new to keeping aquariums, I've had up to 25 tanks in the past. I never cycled a tank from start though, I got my first tank cycled and just seeded new tanks. SOOOO... I moved and am getting back into aquariums but starting from scratch for the first time. Set up 2 x 10 gal March 22nd with plants n a betta in each. Over time ammonia showed up and I tested every 2 days, it spiked then slowly dwindled. All the sudden yesterday 0 ammonia or very close to but no nitrite at all. I never saw a speck of nitrite. I retested this morning and same results. See photos below, pic of tank in question and one with flash and one not of test results ( yes extra filters in tanks so I can seed new tanks easier as i expand).

 

[drat]

A couple of possibilities that I can think of. It is possible that 1 fish is a small bio load, so not much ammonia is being produced, therefore not much nitrite is produced, and the nitrates, you don't appear to have any, may be being consumed by the plants. More likely you don't have a cycle going yet, but again, 1 fish is not producing enough ammonia to start it. 3rd possibility, your nitrite or nitrate tests are incorrect. Maybe take a water sample to your lfs and have them confirm your results!

 

[SimpleMan]

A couple of possibilities that I can think of. It is possible that 1 fish is a small bio load, so not much ammonia is being produced, therefore not much nitrite is produced, and the nitrates, you don't appear to have any, may be being consumed by the plants. More likely you don't have a cycle going yet, but again, 1 fish is not producing enough ammonia to start it. 3rd possibility, your nitrite or nitrate tests are incorrect. Maybe take a water sample to your lfs and have them confirm your results!

I had ammonia reading for a month (after none for first couple weeks) ranging from .25 to 1.0 ppm . So ammonia was definitely present.
Ps. Unless the test solution is bad in my master test kit my results are accurate. I wash tubes with ro water inbetween tests. I worked at a lfs before. I'm confident in my tests. Pending solution is correct from manufacturer.

 

[drat]

Ps. Unless the test solution is bad in my master test kit my results are accurate. I wash tubes with ro water inbetween tests. I worked at a lfs before. I'm confident in my tests. Pending solution is correct from manufacturer.

Well then, it could be you are just fine and cycled. While it seems to me you should be seeing some nitrate if that is the case, it could be the ratio of plants to waste being produced. If you started on 3/22, that puts you just over 6 weeks and your tank could be cycled. Again, you have a low bio-load in that tank, so it could be possible you missed the nitrite spike.

p.s. The test solutions can be bad. The nitrate solution is particularly finicky. It never hurts to confirm results by a second source. Just a suggestion! Good luck with the tank!

 

[Flyfisha]

Hi all,
It can definitely happen that nitrites don’t show on a test or spike in a new tank. That much is not unusual. Do not be concerned about that.

Not seeing any nitrates is unusual. I don’t think there is enough plant material to consume much nitrate but you are likely doing water changes by the looks of the markings on the tank . That would keep the nitrates low.

 

[SimpleMan]

Hi all,
It can definitely happen that nitrites don’t show on a test or spike in a new tank. That much is not unusual. Do not be concerned about that.

Not seeing any nitrates is unusual. I don’t think there is enough plant material to consume much nitrate but you are likely doing water changes by the looks of the markings on the tank . That would keep the nitrates low.

Thank you for imput. The lack of ammonia just happened yesterday. I was doing 1 or 2 water changes a week due to health of fish in cycle. I'm hoping to see a rise in nitrate over the next week. With no major ammonia detected I don't plan on a water change in next few days.

 

[Botte]

I’ve heard of skipping nitrite when using TSS bacteria to reduce cycle time but not otherwise.

 

[ruud]

In the past the scientific community predicted the existence of microorganisms that are able to covert ammonia directly to nitrates. Because it is simply more energy efficient to do so.

A few years ago the first studies appeared that showed these (comammox) microorganisms exist and actually dominate our tanks.