First timer cycle guy...

Hello, I am at the end of my third week of cycling a 55g freshwater tank (fishless)...Everything seemed to be fine till the last four days...my readings have been weird (at least to me lol)...for two days my ammonia was 0 nitrite around .25 and nitrates at what appeared to be 160 or so...the next 2 days ammonia rose to about.25 nitrites around .25 and nitrates dropped to 20 ppm...is this normal or has my cycle stalled out...thanks in advance for any help like I said first time ever cycling so not sure what is normal.

 

Hello, I am at the end of my third week of cycling a 55g freshwater tank (fishless)...Everything seemed to be fine till the last four days...my readings have been weird (at least to me lol)...for two days my ammonia was 0 nitrite around .25 and nitrates at what appeared to be 160 or so...the next 2 days ammonia rose to about.25 nitrites around .25 and nitrates dropped to 20 ppm...is this normal or has my cycle stalled out...thanks in advance for any help like I said first time ever cycling so not sure what is normal.

Welcome to Fishlore

No, it really isn't normal for nitrates to drop from 160 down to 20 without doing a water change to get them down. It is kinda strange that they went up to 160 this early in the cycling process though. Have you run the tests on your tap water? What kind of tests are you using?

We will start with. What is your ammonia source? and go from there to figure out what's going on. Actually If you will fill out as much of this template as you can it should get us on the same page and we can go from there. Nitrogen Cycle Template | Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle Forum | 494741

 

Did you do a water change? There is no way your nitrates went from 160 to 20 without a huge water change or several smaller ones. What are you using to test the water?

Is this a fishless cycle? If yes, what is your ammonia source? Have you added anything other than ammonia?

 

Hello, I am at the end of my third week of cycling a 55g freshwater tank (fishless)...Everything seemed to be fine till the last four days...my readings have been weird (at least to me lol)...for two days my ammonia was 0 nitrite around .25 and nitrates at what appeared to be 160 or so...the next 2 days ammonia rose to about.25 nitrites around .25 and nitrates dropped to 20 ppm...is this normal or has my cycle stalled out...thanks in advance for any help like I said first time ever cycling so not sure what is normal.

The only thing I can think of is that your nitrate reading was erroneously inflated by the presence of nitrite.

The way nitrate test kits work is that it actually converts a small portion to nitrite, and then measure that as a proxy to indirectly determine the nitrate concentration. That also means if you already have nitrite, it would cause nitrate to read very high, and as nitrite decreases, the nitrate reading drops too.

However, it really should not cause your reading to go from 160 to 20ppm, especially when you still measured 0.25ppm nitrite both times. To be fair, just because you measured 0.25ppm both times, does not mean it did not change. It could say, decrease from 0.4 to 0.1ppm for example, and may still look 0.25ppm based on the test, because the colors cannot really be differentiated too easily. But it really should not cause such a massive misread.

Hm. Yeah as above, did you do any water changes? Any plants? Are you 100% certain you measured 0.25ppm nitrite both times?

 

Thank you for response...No water changes and no plants...and yes the color for the nitrite was the closest to .25

 

Thank you for response...No water changes and no plants...and yes the color for the nitrite was the closest to .25

Okay. Look, there's always a possibility that this is just human error when it comes to testing, combined with the resolution of the test kits.

The nitrate test kit for example, needs to be shaken very well and instructions has to be followed to a tee, otherwise wildly different results can be obtained.

The ammonia test kit can pick up a little bit of ammonia, and read as 0.25ppm anyways. The source of ammonia though, could be something decomposing or similar. Not necessary enough to bring it up to 0.25ppm for real, but maybe significantly lower but the test kit still read as 0.25ppm anyways.

I would not worry too much about it and just continue with the cycle. To be sure, you can try to re-measure your parameters again to see if you get the same results, or if it really is the case where the different readings are just like caused by differences in testing procedures each time.

 

Thank you
Are you doing a fish in cycle, fishless cycle or was your tank cycled and you had a sudden ammonia or nitrite spike?: fishless

Tank
What is the water volume of the tank?: 55g
What type of water are you using in your tank? (tap, well, RO/DI, other): tap
When did you start cycling the tank?: 6/25/21
What type of filtration are you running on this tank? (sponge, HOB, canister, other): HOB
If canister or HOB list all the media you are running in it. (manufactured cartridges, sponge, etc.): Fluval 200gph
Do you have good water agitation/surface movement?: yes
What is the water temperature?: 78

If fish in cycling
What is the entire stocking of this tank? (Please list all fish and inverts):
How often do you feed them and how much?:
Are they showing signs of distress? (fish hiding, staying at the top, looking pale, torn fins, etc):
Do you have live plants in the tank?: No
If so are they healthy and actively growing?:

Products used while cycling
If this is a fishless cycle what ammonia source are you using? (fish food, Dr Tim’s ammonia, other): fritz ammonium chloride
If adding liquid ammonia how often do you dose ammonia in your tank and in what quantity? (1ppm, 2ppm etc.):
If using fish food as your ammonia source how much are you adding and how often?:
Are you using a dechlorinater and if so, which one?: top fin
Are you using bottled bacteria and if so, which one?: no
Did you add seeded media from a previously cycled tank?: no
What other products/chemicals are you using? (list them all):

Testing and cycling process
What was your knowledge of the nitrogen cycle before beginning to cycle your tank? (none, beginner, intermediate (please explain), advanced): none
What do you use to test the water? (API liquid, test strips, other): api liquid
Did you test your tap water for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and pH, if so post the results below?: ammonia 0, nitrites 0, Nitrates 2.0, ph 7.6
Have you done any water changes and if so, when?: no
How much water did you change?:
Did you vacuum the substrate?:
Did you clean your filter, filter media, decorations and/or glass?:
If using disposable cartridges have you replaced one recently?:


*Parameters - Very Important
What are your parameters? We need to know the exact numbers, not just “fine” or “safe”.
Tank water:
Ammonia: .10
Nitrite: .25
Nitrate: 20
pH: 7.6

Tap water:
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 2.0
pH: 7.6

Did you do a water change? There is no way your nitrates went from 160 to 20 without a huge water change or several smaller ones. What are you using to test the water?

Is this a fishless cycle? If yes, what is your ammonia source? Have you added anything other than ammonia?

 

Hello this is a copy of my last post with the nitrogen cycle template filled out to the best of my ability only difference being I did another test before I filled out template and ammonia tested 0 this time around nitrites .25 and nitrates 20 same as before

Hello, I am at the end of my third week of cycling a 55g freshwater tank (fishless)...Everything seemed to be fine till the last four days...my readings have been weird (at least to me lol)...for two days my ammonia was 0 nitrite around .25 and nitrates at what appeared to be 160 or so...the next 2 days ammonia rose to about.25 nitrites around .25 and nitrates dropped to 20 ppm...is this normal or has my cycle stalled out...thanks in advance

Are you doing a fish in cycle, fishless cycle or was your tank cycled and you had a sudden ammonia or nitrite spike?: fishless

Tank
What is the water volume of the tank?: 55g
What type of water are you using in your tank? (tap, well, RO/DI, other): tap
When did you start cycling the tank?: 6/25/21
What type of filtration are you running on this tank? (sponge, HOB, canister, other): HOB
If canister or HOB list all the media you are running in it. (manufactured cartridges, sponge, etc.): Fluval 200gph
Do you have good water agitation/surface movement?: yes
What is the water temperature?: 78

If fish in cycling
What is the entire stocking of this tank? (Please list all fish and inverts):
How often do you feed them and how much?:
Are they showing signs of distress? (fish hiding, staying at the top, looking pale, torn fins, etc):
Do you have live plants in the tank?: No
If so are they healthy and actively growing?:

Products used while cycling
If this is a fishless cycle what ammonia source are you using? (fish food, Dr Tim’s ammonia, other): fritz ammonium chloride
If adding liquid ammonia how often do you dose ammonia in your tank and in what quantity? (1ppm, 2ppm etc.):
If using fish food as your ammonia source how much are you adding and how often?:
Are you using a dechlorinater and if so, which one?: top fin
Are you using bottled bacteria and if so, which one?: no
Did you add seeded media from a previously cycled tank?: no
What other products/chemicals are you using? (list them all):

Testing and cycling process
What was your knowledge of the nitrogen cycle before beginning to cycle your tank? (none, beginner, intermediate (please explain), advanced): none
What do you use to test the water? (API liquid, test strips, other): api liquid
Did you test your tap water for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and pH, if so post the results below?: ammonia 0, nitrites 0, Nitrates 2.0, ph 7.6
Have you done any water changes and if so, when?: no
How much water did you change?:
Did you vacuum the substrate?:
Did you clean your filter, filter media, decorations and/or glass?:
If using disposable cartridges have you replaced one recently?:


*Parameters - Very Important
What are your parameters? We need to know the exact numbers, not just “fine” or “safe”.
Tank water:
Ammonia: .10
Nitrite: .25
Nitrate: 20
pH: 7.6

Tap water:
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 2.0
pH: 7.6

 

I have to wonder if the high nitrate reading you saw at one point was just a fluke. Are you adding more ammonia each time it goes back down to or close to zero? If not then I will recommend you do so. You need to keep the bacteria fed. For this size tank I would get the ammonia up to 3ppm each time.

At just 3 weeks you are still fairly early in the cycling process. If it hasn't already done so then I suspect the nitrites will go higher than what you are seeing. Normally they spike much higher than what you are seeing right now but only if you keep the bacteria fed. When the cycle is done the ammonia you add will drop down to zero within 24 hours of adding it, the nitrites will have dropped to zero and the nitrates will be gradually going up.

 

I bring ammonia up to 4ppm everyday and I got a huge spike of nitrite after 6 days up to 5.0 ppm...2 days later it gradually dropped and nitrates kicked in...on day 11 nitrates hit 120 mark ...after that nitrates gradually decreases to 30ppm on day 16...on day 17 nitrates spiked to 160 for 2 days than back down to around 30 mark...it just seemed odd...I thank you for conversing with me I want to do this right so help is very appreciated

 

It sounds like ammonia and nitrites are acting normally. The nitrates are strange though. The up and down without water changes are really strange but at this point I wouldn't be overly concerned about it. The most important numbers are the ammonia and nitrites. we want to see them both drop to zero.

 

Thanks for the info. I would proceed as Azedenka suggested. You are not risking the health of any fish, so you have time to sort this out.

You might try having your LFS test your water just to confirm your own testing.

 

I got to thinking about the nitrate test. The longer it sets in the test tube the darker it gets. The color you see at the 5 minute mark is the correct reading. Unlike all the other tests this one will keep getting darker. The reds are difficult to read and there is a long way between the 80 and the 160. Your level could have been anywhere between 40 and 160. It is still strange that it dropped from red to orange without a water change though.

 

Thank you for your replies and suggestions everyone on here is very helpful...I will continue my process as normal than and see where it takes me...

 

Hello everyone, Heres my question. Once your Ammonia and Nitrates reach 0 and you put initial dose of ammonium in to test and in 24 hours that comes back 0 as well but your not planning on adding fish til weekend do you keep adding half the initial dose of ammonium or full amount until your ready? Thanks

 

Hello everyone, Heres my question. Once your Ammonia and Nitrates reach 0 and you put initial dose of ammonium in to test and in 24 hours that comes back 0 as well but your not planning on adding fish til weekend do you keep adding half the initial dose of ammonium or full amount until your ready? Thanks

The tank can go a few days without adding ammonia. Personally I would go ahead and add the amount you have been adding but add it every other day up until the day before getting fish. That would be the day I would do my water change to get the nitrates down and minerals up.

 

Hello everyone, Heres my question. Once your Ammonia and Nitrates reach 0 and you put initial dose of ammonium in to test and in 24 hours that comes back 0 as well but your not planning on adding fish til weekend do you keep adding half the initial dose of ammonium or full amount until your ready? Thanks

Yeah agreed with mattgirl, the tank can defo go a few days without any additional ammonia. At this point adding ammonia will just unnecessarily produce more nitrates than need be.

If you want to be absolutely certain, you can yeah dose half dose each day or full dose every other day or something, and then yeah, do a big water change before you add fish just to get rid of the nitrates, which you'd probably want to do regardless.

 

The tank can go a few days without adding ammonia. Personally I would go ahead and add the amount you have been adding but add it every other day up until the day before getting fish. That would be the day I would do my water change to get the nitrates down and minerals up.

Thank you

 

How big of a water change should you do after cycle?

 

How big of a water change should you do after cycle?

Whatever is needed to bring nitrate down to levels you are comfortable progressing with. If you have little or no nitrate (such as with plants and algae growing), then no water change is needed.

 

How big of a water change should you do after cycle?

Fishless or fish-in cycle? How long has it been since you changed water?

While water changes are obviously important to reduce nitrates, there are other reasons for doing them (replenishing minerals).

 

Fishless or fish-in cycle? How long has it been since you changed water?

While water changes are obviously important to reduce nitrates, there are other reasons for doing them (replenishing minerals).

Fishless cycle and never done a water change as of yet...

Whatever is needed to bring nitrate down to levels you are comfortable progressing with. If you have little or no nitrate (such as with plants and algae growing), then no water change is needed.

Thank you

 

Fishless cycle and never done a water change as of yet...

Thank you

I’d do around a 50% change.

 

What are your Nitrates at?

 

What are your Nitrates at?

Dark red close to 160 I would say using api liquid test kit

 

I agree with Dunk2 There is more to water changes than just lowering nitrates. Fresh water also replaces depleted minerals and removes a build up of things we don't normally test for but can build up in the tank. If a 50% water change doesn't get your nitrates down to 20 or less then do another one. You want your fish to start their life out with fresh clean water.

 

Dark red close to 160 I would say using api liquid test kit

Presuming you have no nitrite, then yeah probably a 90% water change to get around 160 down to 20ish. Though if you are gonna do a 90% water change, might as well do as big a water change as possible to get rid of as much of the nitrate as you can.

 

Presuming you have no nitrite, then yeah probably a 90% water change to get around 160 down to 20ish. Though if you are gonna do a 90% water change, might as well do as big a water change as possible to get rid of as much of the nitrate as you can.

Thank you ...I really do love this forum...everyone is very responsive and helpful...

 

Yay!!! after 28 days I have successfully fishless cycled my first aquarium...

 

Congrats! Hope all goes well for you! What fish will you be stocking it with?

 

Yay!!! after 28 days I have successfully fishless cycled my first aquarium...

Congrats! Make sure to add fish slowly.

 

Congrats! Hope all goes well for you! What fish will you be stocking it with?

Community fish this tank...danios, mollies, swordtails and some Cory's I think...