Dr Tim's cycling nitrite not going down

[bombilate]

Sorry, I’m following two of these and got yours mixed up.

But the initial paragraph stands - from the numbers you post the 40ppm nitrate isn’t really possible because not enough ammonia has been added to cause it so you are getting some interference.

As others have said though - nitrite isn’t the same issue in reef tanks as it is in freshwater. If you have nitrites then your ammonia is being processed which of the critical part.

Yes it started 0 nitrite and went up so it's working but I'm thinking the cycle has stalled as it's not changed for a few days now usually I should be able to add fish by now

 

[Dburr1014]

I don't think you're stalled I think you're working very nicely, I think it's also safe to add a fish. I would probably do a small 20% water change and start reefing.

 

[bombilate]

But surely I shouldn't be seeing 1ppm nitrite it should be 0 especially after 10 days it should be at least dropping I haven't added ammonia for around a week now. Based from others it should be pretty much 0 nitrite now

 

[Dburr1014]

But surely I shouldn't be seeing 1ppm nitrite it should be 0 especially after 10 days it should be at least dropping I haven't added ammonia for around a week now. Based from others it should be pretty much 0 nitrite now

Or, it's testing error. 1ppm is basically a zero.

 

[Uncle99]

But surely I shouldn't be seeing 1ppm nitrite it should be 0 especially after 10 days it should be at least dropping I haven't added ammonia for around a week now. Based from others it should be pretty much 0 nitrite now

You have been cycled for more than a week.
But you can wait if you like.
Won’t hurt at all.

Most testing for these are very inaccurate and we’re not made to be precise.

I have a customer still cycling 14 weeks, but he’s happy to wait for the zero.

 

[bombilate]

You reckon maybe do 20 percent water change and add some cuc

 

[bombilate]

I did 5 percent water change and added some filter floss and a sponge to the rear chamber once nitrite starts dropping il do 25 percent water change. Just want to see if a tiny water change and adding the floss and sponge make a difference

 

[danreef55]

If your nitrate level is low, I would not do a water change. Do you have a skimmer?
Suggest:

1. Get another test kit for nitrate.
2. Introduce a fish
3. stop adding ammonia
4. Breath

 

[bombilate]

Nitrate today was about 80 apparently though could be false due to high nitrite

 

[splunty]

Nitrate today was about 80 apparently though could be false due to high nitrite

Unless you've been letting the tank freebase ammonia, that 80 nitrate reading is due to the presence of nitrites. It's possible (if not probable) that your nitrates are still at or near zero. I would recommend watching the video in my signature.

You shouldn't be adding CUC until there's sufficient algae growth to CU.

Water changes won't do anything meaningful at this point. If anything, they'll be moderately detrimental to completing the cycle.

There's no reason to dose any more ammonia.

I'm with Dan here -- get a different ammonia test (even janky dip sticks or the Seachem alert thing). If those show anything approaching zero, introduce a fish.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I agree. Nitrite elimination can take a long time, and is not worth measuring except to know if nitrate readings are real. I'd just stop measuring it. There's nothing you should do about it, and nitrate cannot be 80 ppm, so there's also no need to stress about water changes now.

 

[bombilate]

I have some seachem stability coming tomorrow hopefully that will start the cycle again and lower nitrite

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I have some seachem stability coming tomorrow hopefully that will start the cycle again and lower nitrite

I doubt that is needed, but it is unlikely to hurt.

 

[Shatodavis]

You need a different test kit. DO NOT add anymore ammonia until you have a better test. search "stalled Cycle" I think this is what has happened to yours. If you have over dosed ammonia it can cause a stall. until you can accurately test the ammonia theres no way to tell for sure. if your ammonia levels are high as I suspect adding more bacteria will not help. JMHO

 

[bombilate]

I agree I think it's stalled but surely adding the bacteria will kickstart it back into action? The ammonia I only dosed twice so deff didn't overdose as was meant to dose 3 times

 

[KrisReef]

You have been cycled for more than a week.
But you can wait if you like.
Won’t hurt at all.

Most testing for these are very inaccurate and we’re not made to be precise.

I have a customer still cycling 14 weeks, but he’s happy to wait for the zero.

I recommend this customer drain the tank and add new saltwater or just quit the hobby, either way will work to get the test kit seal of approval.

 

[splunty]

I have some seachem stability coming tomorrow hopefully that will start the cycle again and lower nitrite

The only way to "stall" a cycle after it starts is to make the environment so toxic or uninhabitable that the bacteria that perform nitrification go dormant or die. Those bacteria are incredibly hardy. It's actually pretty difficult to do, even if you want to.

Your tank had started cycling as evidenced by the nitrate test results. So unless you did something crazy, like dumped ten, twenty, thirty times as much ammonia into the tank AFTER the cycle was underway, you're fine.

The bacteria that process ammonia into nitrite replicate very quickly. That is why you can seed your tank with ammonia and bacteria and see the cycle start in a few days.

The bacteria that process nitrite into nitrate replicate much more slowly. Even under perfect conditions, it will take several weeks before this population "catches up" and lowers your detectable nitrite levels to zero. If you started with dry rock, think a couple of months. But in the saltwater environment, that doesn't matter. All that matters is that you have a healthy population of bacteria that process away the ammonia.

No matter what you do, you need some means of detecting if you have ammonia or not. At this point, your ammonia really SHOULD be zero, and your nitrites should be high (5-10ppm) and your nitrate test result should be off the charts. Nitrite test results should very slowly go down. Once they get below 5, you should see your nitrate test results start to drop.

Just get an ammonia test kit or one of these things:


If your ammonia is zero, introduce a fish. If your ammonia is still off the charts, empty the tank, and start over.

I hope that is helpful. If you are from the freshwater community, or just tried to learn from your LFS, getting started can be very confusing. But all you really care about as far as the cycle goes is knowing that your ammonia is being processed away.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

You need a different test kit. DO NOT add anymore ammonia until you have a better test. search "stalled Cycle" I think this is what has happened to yours. If you have over dosed ammonia it can cause a stall. until you can accurately test the ammonia theres no way to tell for sure. if your ammonia levels are high as I suspect adding more bacteria will not help. JMHO

Why do you suggest that?

 

[bombilate]

Been dosing seachem stability past few days and literally made no difference nitrite hasn't dropped at all

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Been dosing seachem stability past few days and literally made no difference nitrite hasn't dropped at all

What is it now?

if ammonia declines as its supposed to, I'd ignore nitrite.