Nitrogen Cycle Started....Add more ammonia?

My tank started its nitrogen cycle. I started at 3ppm of ammonia and today it is down to .5 ppm with nitrites close to 5 ppm and nitrates at 80 ppm. Should I add some more ammonia now or wait until it is closer to 0 and the nitrites come down some more? I don't want to starve the nitrates.

 

You can add more now, add enough to raise it back to 3. If your nitrates get too high it can inhibit the bacterial growth so a water change every now and then is a good idea.
When your ammonia and nitrites both drop to 0 in 24 hours after adding ammonia then your done, at that point do big water changes to get the nitrates under 10 before adding fish.

 

You aren't gonna starve the nitrates but yes, you do need to add ammonia to continue feeding the ammonia eating bacteria. I would let it get down to closer to .25 before adding more though.

If your nitrites are pegging out the color chart you may want to run a dilution test to see just how high they actually are. Try putting 2.5 mls tank water and 2.5 mls tap water in the test tube and run the test on that mixture. If it is still pegging out the chart I would do a water change to get both them and the nitrates down.

If you don't have nitrites or nitrates in your tap water then we know you have both ammonia and nitrite eating bacteria so your cycle is getting close to done. How long have you been working on this cycle?
.

 

You aren't gonna starve the nitrates but yes, you do need to add ammonia to continue feeding the ammonia eating bacteria. I would let it get down to closer to .25 before adding more though.

If your nitrites are pegging out the color chart you may want to run a dilution test to see just how high they actually are. Try putting 2.5 mls tank water and 2.5 mls tap water in the test tube and run the test on that mixture. If it is still pegging out the chart I would do a water change to get both them and the nitrates down.

If you don't have nitrites or nitrates in your tap water then we know you have both ammonia and nitrite eating bacteria so your cycle is getting close to done. How long have you been working on this cycle?
.

I'm on my 11th day. I don't have any nitrites or nitrates in my tap water.
I did the diluted test on the nitrites per your suggestion and I'm somewhere in between 2 and 5 ppm using the API test.

 

I'm on my 11th day. I don't have any nitrites or nitrates in my tap water.
I did the diluted test on the nitrites per your suggestion and I'm somewhere in between 2 and 5 ppm using the API test.

The dilution test tells us your nitrites aren't too high so a water change doesn't need to be done right now. How long does it take for the ammonia you add to go down to the .5 you are seeing?

Did you add seeded media or some type of bottled bacteria? It is unusual to see thing progressing this quickly of neither were added to jump start the cycling process.

Keep an eye on your pH level. The cycling process often causes it it drop. You don't want to let it drop below 7 or so. If it does and the pH of your tap water is higher a water change should get it back up where it needs to be.

 

So, this is my second attempt at cycling my tank. The first attempt I was 21 days in and nothing was happening. I realized I was using the wrong ammonia, so I rinsed everything really well, replacing the filter cartridge and gravel. I ordered Dr. Timms online and once it arrived, I started over. I used a one-time dose of 1.5 tsp of the ammonia and that is all I added. I've tested everyday and two days ago was the first appearance of the nitrites. I had a low nitrate count, but today both increased and it is the first I noticed the decrease in ammonia. I thought it was pretty quick as well, but I'm not going to question it as long as the numbers look good
I haven't tested the pH in a while but last time I checked it was 8.5. I'll check it again in the morning to make sure it didn't drop too much.

The dilution test tells us your nitrites aren't too high so a water change doesn't need to be done right now. How long does it take for the ammonia you add to go down to the .5 you are seeing?

Did you add seeded media or some type of bottled bacteria? It is unusual to see thing progressing this quickly of neither were added to jump start the cycling process.

Keep an eye on your pH level. The cycling process often causes it it drop. You don't want to let it drop below 7 or so. If it does and the pH of your tap water is higher a water change should get it back up where it needs to be.

So, this is my second attempt at cycling my tank. The first attempt I was 21 days in and nothing was happening. I realized I was using the wrong ammonia, so I rinsed everything really well, replacing the filter cartridge and gravel. I ordered Dr. Timms online and once it arrived, I started over. I used a one-time dose of 1.5 tsp of the ammonia and that is all I added. I've tested everyday and two days ago was the first appearance of the nitrites. I had a low nitrate count, but today both increased and it is the first I noticed the decrease in ammonia. I thought it was pretty quick as well, but I'm not going to question it as long as the numbers look good
I haven't tested the pH in a while but last time I checked it was 8.5. I'll check it again in the morning to make sure it didn't drop too much.

 

These numbers have me scratching my head then. If it has only processed 2.5ppm ammonia seeing both nitrites and nitrates this high are very unusual. I have to wonder if there was actually some bacteria left in the tank after your first attempt.

Although seeing these number is highly unusual with no more ammonia than it has processed in this case we aren't going to look a gift horse in the mouth and will just accept the fact that they are there.

I would go ahead and get the ammonia up to 2ppm and see what happens next. Hopefully now that it is moving forward it will finish up quickly this time.

 

These numbers have me scratching my head then. If it has only processed 2.5ppm ammonia seeing both nitrites and nitrates this high are very unusual. I have to wonder if there was actually some bacteria left in the tank after your first attempt.

Although seeing these number is highly unusual with no more ammonia than it has processed in this case we aren't going to look a gift horse in the mouth and will just accept the fact that they are there.

I would go ahead and get the ammonia up to 2ppm and see what happens next. Hopefully now that it is moving forward it will finish up quickly this time.

I just added 1/2 tsp. I'll check all the numbers again in the morning.

 

I suspect your first attempt must have been working. The growth of bacteria is exponential so to begin with it takes many days without any visible change then once the numbers expand ( about double every 48 hours ) they move quickly.
However you got there you seem to be in a good place now so keep going and you should be done soon. As Mattgirl said keep an eye on the pH , at lower pH high nitrates are more likely to inhibit bacterial growth, very high nitrites can also inhibit some bacterial growth so if they get off the scale a water change may help.