Skipped Nitrites?

**fishn00b** · 01-20-2013, 06:50 PM

I am about 1 week into a fishless cycle, but have used some BB from filter on established tank to help speed things up. I dosed with ammonia to 3ppm about 5 days ago. I then proceeded to plant the tank, add rocks driftwood etc. SO yesterday I tested ammonia and it was about 0.5, no nitrites and no nitrates.

Today I am reading zero ammonia, 0 nitrite and 5ppm nitrates.

My question is where do I go from here, redose with ammonia? Why didn't I ever see the nitrites?

**jeffs99dime** · 01-20-2013, 06:55 PM

Are you using a filter from an established tank on the current tank or are you using biomedia from an established tank in your current filter. What size tank are you talking about btw.

**fishn00b** · 01-20-2013, 07:12 PM

Originally Posted by jeffs99dime

Are you using a filter from an established tank on the current tank or are you using biomedia from an established tank in your current filter. What size tank are you talking about btw.

I took the removable pieces from my old filter (aqueon quite flow has these blue things in there that supposedly have BB grow on them) and put them in the new tank (36g) the old tank is only 10g and still stocked so I can't transfer the whole filter over, unless I bring the livestock too.

**jeffs99dime** · 01-20-2013, 07:21 PM

Dose ammonia back up to 3ppm . Test again in 24 hours. Post your readings again. What filter is on the new tank also? Did you place the old BB parts in your new filter? Or did you place them in the tank?

**fishn00b** · 01-20-2013, 08:07 PM

Originally Posted by jeffs99dime

Dose ammonia back up to 3ppm . Test again in 24 hours. Post your readings again. What filter is on the new tank also? Did you place the old BB parts in your new filter? Or did you place them in the tank?

I shook them off in the tank near new filters intake, I could try to get them inside of it too. Thought rinsing them off in there would help transfer some, all sorts of icky slime came off. New filter is a bigger version of aqueon quiet flow. the 55g one.

**fishn00b** · 01-20-2013, 08:37 PM

I couldn't figure out how to edit previous post but I just dosed it back up to 3ppm and will post levels in 24 hours.

**bethyMT** · 01-20-2013, 09:44 PM

It might take a couple doses of ammonia until you get your trites, or you may not see them at all. Things get wonky when you use established media.

If you don't see them after a couple more doses, check your trates. If you have lots of trates, you're cycled. But then dose again, just to be sure. Caution is a very good thing.

**fishn00b** · 01-20-2013, 09:51 PM

Originally Posted by bethyMT

It might take a couple doses of ammonia until you get your trites, or you may not see them at all. Things get wonky when you use established media.

If you don't see them after a couple more doses, check your trates. If you have lots of trates, you're cycled. But then dose again, just to be sure. Caution is a very good thing.

Where do trates need to be to officially call it cycled? For example my established 10g routinely reads 0/0/0 but it has been this way for a long time. It it possible that plants consume the trates? It's heavily planted.

**bethyMT** · 01-20-2013, 09:57 PM

Well, they should be quite a bit higher than they are on your established tanks, since the ammonia you are dosing is probably a bit higher than your fish could produce.

I am sure the plants will suck up some of the trates. Perhaps the thing is to is see if the trates are rising (the act of going up, not the exact number) from day to day. If they are staying at zero/not changing at all, I'm not sure what you could do to determine if you're cycled. My guess is that, without any trates (or no increase), you wouldn't be cycled yet.

**fishn00b** · 01-21-2013, 08:45 PM

After dosing up to 3ppm yesterday, it's been roughly 24 hours and the results are astonishingly different.

Ammonia 0.5ppm
Nitrites ~1.5ppm
Trates - ~40ppm

Although I am not really great at reading these kits, I attached image of results. What does this mean for the progression of my cycle? I now must wait for trites to drop right? and no more ammonia for now?