Nitrites spiking and taking 48 hours to drop

Tank
What is the water volume of the tank? 36 gallons
How long has the tank been running? 26 days
Does it have a filter? Sponge filter
Does it have a heater? No
What is the water temperature? 66
What is the entire stocking of this tank? None

*Parameters - Very Important
Did you cycle your tank before adding fish? In progress
What do you use to test the water? API master kit
What are your parameters? We need to know the exact numbers, not just “fine” or “safe”.
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 5
Nitrate: 40
pH: 7.8- 8 (not sure why because my tap water sits around 7.2)

I have a 36 gallon heavily planted tank with a couple pieces of spider wood and an inch or so of sand. I began cycling my tank on June 21st. I added ammonia up to 2ppm and added ammonia once per day as needed to keep it at 2ppm. I had trace amounts of nitrAtes by June 28th (day 7) but no sign of nitrites (seemed odd but maybe has something to do with the plants?). On July 1st (day 10) nitrites finally read 0.25ppm. Again. I continued dosing ammonia daily to keep the 2ppm. By July 4th (day 14) nitrites were off the charts and unreadable, NitrAtes were 10-20ppm. I did about a 50% water change to bring the levels down where I could read them. After water change, nitrites were 2-5ppm (hard to tell) and nitrAtes were down to 5ppm. I did some research and decided to wait to add ammonia until the nitrites came down some on their own. Two days later I began adding ammonia again to 2ppm. By July 9th (day 19) ammonia was being cycled in 24 hours but nitrites were spiking (5+ppm) about 24 hours after adding ammonia. I did another 50% water change on July 13 (day 23) because nitrites were unreadable.

Today is July 17 (day 26) and I am still having the same pattern. I add ammonia up to 2ppm. Ammonia is being cycled within a few hours. 24 hours later and nitrites are 5ppm. I wait to add more ammonia until the nitrites start to come down as to not stall the cycle from high nitrites. It’s taking the nitrites about 48 hours to get to 0. I’m at a loss as to what I’m doing wrong and why it’s taking so long. Sorry for the long post but wanted to give as much info as possible. Any advice would be really appreciated!
I should also note, the tank temp is so low because it is going to be for an axolotl. I am using Fritz Zyme Fishless fuel ammonia. I added top fin bacteria at start up but didn’t seem to have worked so a few days later I went and bought the Tetra brand of bacteria and that seemed to work very well.

 

Welcome to fishlore

Sorry I can't help but maybe the fishlore cycle guru could?

jdhef
mattgirl
Dunk2

 

In the meantime....increase water temperature, for a while, if possible, set your filter/air pump to max flow, for a while, if possible.

 

Did you know there are two separate kinds of bacteria required in a cycled tank ?
Ok there are lots of strains of bacteria but the fall into two groups. The tank seems to have lots of the kind that consume ammonia and poop nitrites but not so many of the kind that eat nitrates.

The tank is coming along nicely. Quite good for just 26 days. That’s not even 4 weeks.

I would suggest if you are not going to use a heater for cold water species of fish leave the tank as is. If you are going to have tropical fish get the heater in as soon as possible.

From the little I know the bacteria are living creatures and different strains will grow depending on temperature and PH .

Writing of PH don’t worry about the PH being different to the tap water. A tank that is cycling will have a swinging PH ,I am told.

You have some of the nitrates pooping bacteria just wait and their numbers will grow.

Don’t clean the filter or wipe the glass.
Definitely don’t push the vacuum deep into the substrate ( deep vacuum) un the tank has been cycled for a good while ( couple of months?) .

 

I'm not seeing a problem. Nitrites can be frustratingly persistent towards the end of cycling but will eventually disappear. Cycling normally takes around 6 weeks and you're currently at around 4 weeks. If nitrites are being processed within 48 hours that indicates that the cycle is well progessed. Quite surprising really considering the water temperature.

 

I had the same problem when I was cycling my tank and I did a lot of research into what was going on.
I discovered after a lot of reading that the bacteria for converting nitrite to nitrate was slower than the bacteria that converts ammonia to nitrite. Or that's how I perceived it anyway.
The stage you are at just now is spot on, just a little more patience and you should be there soon, apart from what ruud said about the bacteria needing heat to multiply quicker you are nearly there. Adjust the heater then remember to lower it before you put your axolotl in
Dont rock the boat too much because starting again can be devastating.

 

Welcome to Fishlore! The cycling process often requires patience. And time.

As mentioned by the folks above, your cycle seems to be progressing in a typical or normal way. No need to be concerned!

Before dosing ammonia again, I’d suggest you allow nitrites time to reach 0 (should only take a couple days according to the original post). Once that happens, dose ammonia to 2 ppm again. Repeat that process until ammonia and nitrites are fully consumed in 24 hours. BIG water change before adding your Axolotl.

Keep us posted and good luck! I think you’re close to completing the cycle!

 

Thank you all so much for your comments and advice!
I did know about the two separate types of bacteria (ammonia eating and nitrite eating) so I was suspecting that the nitrite eating kind are just taking longer, I just didn’t expect them to take THIS long. But from what everyone is saying, I seem to be doing everything correctly. I’ve read other posts that people have had tanks cycle within two or three weeks so I thought maybe i had stalled my cycle but I guess considering the water temperature, I’m at a good pace. I will keep you guys updated and thank you again for your help!

Welcome to Fishlore! The cycling process often requires patience. And time.

As mentioned by the folks above, your cycle seems to be progressing in a typical or normal way. No need to be concerned!

Before dosing ammonia again, I’d suggest you allow nitrites time to reach 0 (should only take a couple days according to the original post). Once that happens, dose ammonia to 2 ppm again. Repeat that process until ammonia and nitrites are fully consumed in 24 hours. BIG water change before adding your Axolotl.

Keep us posted and good luck! I think you’re close to completing the cycle!

I’m glad you mentioned waiting to add ammonia until nitrites reach 0. That’s what I’ve been doing but I’ve read a lot of other people say that you should never stop adding ammonia because it will starve the ammonia eating bacteria. However, I also read that if nitrites are too high they prevent new nitrite eating bacteria from growing and that can stall a cycle. So I appreciate you confirming that for me because I wasn’t sure what the right thing to do was! I guess the fact that I can wait 2 days or so and add ammonia and still have it gone within a couple hours proves that the bacteria doesn’t just immediately die off if you don’t constantly feed it. Thanks for your help

 

Thank you all so much for your comments and advice!
I did know about the two separate types of bacteria (ammonia eating and nitrite eating) so I was suspecting that the nitrite eating kind are just taking longer, I just didn’t expect them to take THIS long. But from what everyone is saying, I seem to be doing everything correctly. I’ve read other posts that people have had tanks cycle within two or three weeks so I thought maybe i had stalled my cycle but I guess considering the water temperature, I’m at a good pace. I will keep you guys updated and thank you again for your help!

I’m glad you mentioned waiting to add ammonia until nitrites reach 0. That’s what I’ve been doing but I’ve read a lot of other people say that you should never stop adding ammonia because it will starve the ammonia eating bacteria. However, I also read that if nitrites are too high they prevent new nitrite eating bacteria from growing and that can stall a cycle. So I appreciate you confirming that for me because I wasn’t sure what the right thing to do was! I guess the fact that I can wait 2 days or so and add ammonia and still have it gone within a couple hours proves that the bacteria doesn’t just immediately die off if you don’t constantly feed it. Thanks for your help

You’re welcome!

There are different ways to accomplish the same objective for most things in this hobby, including the cycling process. Some folks just tend to think the way they’re used to or most comfortable with is the only way or the only “right” way.

Either cycling method you mention in your post will work. . . Given where you’re at in the cycling process, I just think it makes most sense to allow nitrites to hit 0 before redosing ammonia

Again, good luck and keep us posted.

 

I think it will wrap it up quicker if you could raise the temp up to 76F instead of 66F.

pH is OK where it's at and couldn't be in a better position for raising bacteria.
I am curious on what the KH is for the aquarium, if KH is high and where the pH rise might be coming from. With more water change and less nitrites and nitrates in there it should be closer to the tap water pH. but might be a high KH buffing those cycling acids that's bumping up your pH up from the tap water reading.

Looks good though. Had the temp been higher from the start and stayed there, it likely would have been done already that's the one thing you could have done better for speed of cycling.

the advice given already is sound, let the nitrites clear out, redose and see if at that point the colony is up to speed in both types.

once it's processing the ammonia to nitrates all the way in 24H, a couple big water changes to bring the nitrates down as low as you can before adding the resident. This should also bring the pH back in line and make it all nice and stable for a good start.

 

P.S. This is NOT directed to the OP. In my opinion, everything in this hobby shouldn’t be and doesn’t need to be quick.

I understand that the “need for speed” is a result of the digital age we live in, but it shouldn’t be applied to everything we do.

We should all slow down and not expect everything to happen instantaneously or quick. . . I think doing that would result in less frustration and a fewer number of “failed” cycles. We might even find that we enjoy and understand things more.

 

P.S. This is NOT directed to the OP. In my opinion, everything in this hobby shouldn’t be and doesn’t need to be quick.

I understand that the “need for speed” is a result of the digital age we live in, but it shouldn’t be applied to everything we do.

We should all slow down and not expect everything to happen instantaneously or quick. . . I think doing that would result in less frustration and a fewer number of “failed” cycles. We might even find that we enjoy and understand things more.

Yeah I knew going into this that I was going to have to be very patient. It’s been very difficult but I’d rather be patient and get it done correctly than try to rush it and have the cycle fail and then have to start all over. I certainly don’t have the patience for THAT!

 

Yeah I knew going into this that I was going to have to be very patient. It’s been very difficult but I’d rather be patient and get it done correctly than try to rush it and have the cycle fail and then have to start all over. I certainly don’t have the patience for THAT!

Well said!

For those of us who have been on this Forum for a while, we often see impatience cause the cycling process to take longer than it should.

 

I think it will wrap it up quicker if you could raise the temp up to 76F instead of 66F.

pH is OK where it's at and couldn't be in a better position for raising bacteria.
I am curious on what the KH is for the aquarium, if KH is high and where the pH rise might be coming from. With more water change and less nitrites and nitrates in there it should be closer to the tap water pH. but might be a high KH buffing those cycling acids that's bumping up your pH up from the tap water reading.

Looks good though. Had the temp been higher from the start and stayed there, it likely would have been done already that's the one thing you could have done better for speed of cycling.

the advice given already is sound, let the nitrites clear out, redose and see if at that point the colony is up to speed in both types.

once it's processing the ammonia to nitrates all the way in 24H, a couple big water changes to bring the nitrates down as low as you can before adding the resident. This should also bring the pH back in line and make it all nice and stable for a good start.

I have the tetra 6 in 1 strips. I use them if I’m having a hard time reading the nitrite color on the API master kit. It has a KH reading and it’s consistently at around 80 ppm

I have the tetra 6 in 1 strips. I use them if I’m having a hard time reading the nitrite color on the API master kit. It has a KH reading and it’s consistently at around 80 ppm

Although this morning it’s looking a little lighter than 80 but not as light as 40
The pH seems to be spiking..? Two days ago it was 7.6. Yesterday it was 7.8-8. Today it’s looking closer to 8.2! Is this normal?
This morning’s numbers (46 hours after adding ammonia to 2ppm). So much for the nitrites being gone within 48 hours ‍♀️ Don’t think they’re going to go down that much in the next two hours…

 

I think everything is going good still. Dont mess with ph during cycle. You are almost there. The nitrite wont come down slowly, you are most likely to wake one morning and it's gone! Just gone! Its always a pleasant and exciting surprise.

 

I think everything is going good still. Dont mess with ph during cycle. You are almost there. The nitrite wont come down slowly, you are most likely to wake one morning and it's gone! Just gone! Its always a pleasant and exciting surprise.

Ugh, I can’t wait for that day! *fingers crossed*

 

How is this coming along? Has there been any change?