25 Days Into Fishless Cycle Not Much Happening

Hi all, I am currently 25 days into fishless cycle and there does not seem to be any movement in water measurements . Tank is running at 30 deg c. Ph is 8.2. Kh 8. Had to dose kh with bicarbonate as my tap water was very soft ( thanks Sue) to offset potential future crash . Dosed tank to 3 ppm on the 27th march, had a nitrite reading of 0.25 on the 2nd of April and the 5th, with a drop in ammonia as well. Added bicarbonate on the 6th. Nothing happened for days and nitrite disappeared, ammonia stayed at 2 ppm. Added tetra safe start on the 11th and had a nitrite showing of 0.25. Ammonia staying at 2 ppm. Nitrite has since gone and has read Zero since the 12th.

Have been testing ph and kh every few days and they have remained constant at 8.2 ph and 8 deg German. I am banging hell out of the test kit bottles and a vigorous shake before use, am using API test kit.

Am I doing anything wrong or should I just be more patient. I am just confused that nitrItes showed up slightly then buggered off and have had a drop in ammonia.  I did add declorinator at the initial water filling to the dosage of bottle.

Tank is not planted and has pea gravel with a fertilising substrate layer below (JBL) .

I have just done a NitrIte test with 4 parts tap water to 1 part tank water and it read 0, duck egg blue.

Would double dosing tank with dechlorinator harm the cycle as I have read on other sites that high chlorine could be a problem and obviously kill beneficial bacteria. When I have a glass of tap water I can smell chlorine straight away.

Many thanks

Some cycles do take ages because there aren't many bacteria survive the water company's treatment. The fact that your tap water smells of chlorine possibly means your company is extra good at killing bacteria.
You can dose dechlorinator at twice the rate on the bottle, but not much more. But if the chlorine has killed the bacteria in your water supply it won't help.

Tetra safe start is the bottled bacteria that is most likely to work, but if it has been stored incorrectly at any time since manufacture, it may not.

Do you know anyone else who has a fish tank? Even a friend of a friend?

Day 29, ammonia has dropped to 0.50 ppm and nitrites still at zero, what do I do? Is this normal?

Just tested for nitrAtes have a reading of just above 0, it's hard to tell but it's slightly darker than the base tap water test I have put next to it which is definitely bright yellow 0.

In regard to the nitrIte test I am banging them both before testing, using API

Ph is still 8.

Many thanks

Justin

Hi Sue, sorry yeah only using one bottle for nitrite test, but banging them all when testing across the range. Duck egg blue has become my least favourite colour!! I'll dose back up to 3ppm and hopefully on my return from weekend away I may see a drop of purple for nitrite test! Thanks again

It is possible the safe start has actually worked on this occasion - it is one of the two products that has the right species of nitrite eaters.


It is possible that your nitrite tester is faulty. The nitrate one works by converting the nitrate into nitrite and then testing for nitrite. In theory, if you have a lot of nitrite the nitrate tester could be picking that up. Rather than rush out and buy a new nitrite tester, take a sample to a shop and see what they make of it. If they get a reading for nitrite you'll know it is the test kit that's at fault. If they come up with zero too, your tester if OK. If they do get a reading ask them for the number.

In the meantime, whenever your ammonia falls to zero, wait a couple of days then add 1ppm ammonia. Once we know if your nitrite tester can be trusted we can go forward from there.

Thanks for replies, it's all very helpful. Nitrate still over 5 ppm but not over 8. Ammonia 2 ppm. No nitrites, have been testing everyday

In a mature tank, ammonia is caused by the respiration of your livestock and the decomposition of organic matter in the tank. You don't have either of these at this stage so you are adding ammonia artificially.  In turn, nitrItes are caused by the metabolisation of ammonia by bacteria in the filter. You don't have these bacteria, so you have no nitrItes yet. In turn, again, nitrAtes are caused by the metabolisation of nitrItes by different bacteria in the filter. This is the nitrogen cycle we are trying to create in a biological filter.

This is all standard stuff. However, you are asking about the nitrAtes in your water if you don't have the bacteria to create them.  This is normal. NitrAtes are introduced into your tank via tap-water. There are regulations regarding what contaminants tap-water may legally hold. Whilst the acceptable values for ammonia and nitrItes are zero, the acceptable value for nitrAtes is up to 50ppm. There are two reasons for this. Firstly, there is a biological filtration system at your local water-works that will introduce nitrAtes into any recycled water. and secondly there will be fertiliser residue in the ground water used for your supply that is washed out of any arable land in the catchment area for your supply. This residue is nitrAtes!

To handle mature media, treat it as if it were a fish. Fill your plastic bag 1/3 full of water, add the media and tie it off with a large air-gap at the top. Use tank water;do NOT use tap-water. And don't break your neck getting home, you have a certain amount of leeway. You can even have a cuppa if you want. As for a water change, well I can't think of any reason either way to be honest.

Nitrate readings in tap water are variable. It is seasonal; farmer's use more fertiliser in the summer than in the winter, and weather dependent, rain-water washes off the fertiliser, if it hasn't rained, there is less nitrate. It's also dependent upon the proportion of water that has been reclaimed from the water works rather than drawn from fresh supplies. It's probably dependent upon lots of other stuff too. So, no it doesn't really change things.