Starting A New Tank

When I did a fishless cycle last year it took 4 weeks to see a srop in ammonia 

Unfortunately your cycle is still not complete until both ammonia and nitrIte both drop to zero within 24 hours of adding a full dose of ammonia.

But on the upside the cycle seems to be moving along nicely, ammonia eaters always develop quicker than the nitrite eaters due to the nitrogen cycle process.

Not long now! Nearly fishy time! 

Stop adding ammonia. Adding it daily will push the nitrite up so high it'll inhibit the nitrite eaters and stall the cycle.

If you read the method written up on here, you only add ammonia sparingly until nitrite drops below 1.0. You are at the stage where you test every 2 days and if you get zero ammonia after the first second-day test, then zero again 2 days later, add enough ammonia to give 1ppm. You carry on like this, testing every 2 days and only adding 1 ppm ammonia every 4th day until nitrite drops below 1.0 ppm.

If you've been adding ammonia every day your nitrite could be sky high. 15 ppm is where it inhibits the nitrite eaters.
I would do a dilution test. It won't be terribly accurate because that needs pure water and very accurate measuring equipment, but it will give you an indication. Mix 1 part tank water with 9 parts tap water ( a 1 in 10 dilution) and test that for nitrite. If the reading is below 5, multiply it by 10 to see what your nitrite level really is. If it works out at over 15 ppm, do a big water change to get the tank nitrite down to somewhere on the scale, add 3 ppm ammonia and go from there, adding just 1 ppm ammonia every 4th day till the nitrite reading drops. If the dilution test is  also off the sclae (ie over 5) that means your tank nitrite is over 50 ppm!
If by any chance the dilution test gives a reading at 1 or below (ie undiluted 10 or below) you won't need to do a water change, but still add 1 ppm ammonia every 4th day until the nitrite reading from the tank is below 1.0.



I also notice that your pH is low. This will also slow down the rate at which the bacteria multiply - they like it in the high 7s. How do you feel about removing the wood until the cycle has finished?

Yes, if the 1 in 10 diluted water gives a reading below 5 on the scale, you can mulitply it by 10 to see what undiluted tank water would be if the scale went high enough. If the diluted water is still over 5, you'll know that undiluted tank water is over 50 ppm and you'll need to do a big water change to reduce that amount down to something sensible - that is, well below 15 ppm.

Basically, if the diluted tank water shows more than 1.5, the undiluted tank nitrite is over 15 - above stall point. You need to do a water change to get undiluted tank water way under 15, preferably under 5.
If after a water change undiluted tank nitrite is still above 5, do another water change until it is somewhere on the scale. Then add 3 ppm ammonia and go from there,testing every 2 days and adding 1 ppm ammonia every 4th day till you get under 1 ppm nitrite

I encountered a stalled nitrite cycle when cycling my spare tank, a big water change (over 50%) sorted it out and the nitrite readings dropped in the following week. Best of luck 

Not quite 

Test on Thursday then again on Saturday. If on both those days, ammonia is zero and nitrite above 1.0, add a 1 ppm dose on Saturday. Then test again on Monday and Wednesday, and if nitrite is still over 1 ppm, add another 1 ppm dose ammonia on Wednesday.
However, if on any day you have zero ammonia and nitrite below 1.0 add 3 ppm ammonia and test next day. Then go from #12 in the method on here.

Until nitrite drops below 1.0, only add ammonia every 4th day. Once it drops below that number, you can move on even if it's only 2 days since the last addition of 1 ppm ammonia.

Sue,

I have just done a "curiosity check" and found the ammonia level at zero and the nitrite level at zero? Should I still wait until tomorrow to test and add ammonia as required?

Sue,

Okay, I shall not do anything, other than testing. If tomorrow both the readings are zero I will add 3ppm of ammonia and test again 24hrs later.
If the tank proves to be "cycled" can I continue with a "maintenance dose 1ppm" of ammonia until I get chance to do a complete water change and go to the LFS to purchase some fish?

Sue,

Okay, thanks for the confirmation of my previous post. I will post the outcome of the tests / results.

Looking forward to getting some fish in the tank

This is getting very exciting.
Fingers crossed for double zeros and a visit to the fish store.