my new tank cycling stall?

[pdiehm]

i mean my tank has been cycled until now near two months, and my nitrite keeps above 5ppm two weeks without changing

Even though nitrite isn’t toxic at 5ppm in saltwater, you aren’t cycled yet. Almost seemingly overnight the nitrite will just flop to zero.

Bare bottom tanks take forever to cycle but are the easiest to maintain IMO

 

[lapin]

hello, everyone Hi there and Welcome
I am new to saltwater tank, and i am doing cycling for my First tank,
It has been 17days Thats good 2 1/2 weeks
What should i do now?
Just leave it own or add more bacteria?

After reading all the things you have done since Monday; First........ slow down. Wait wait some more. Do something fun and forget the tank for a while.
Since you have a hard time doing nothing with you tank, you can add more bacteria. It can be live rock or stuff in a bottle. The Fritz turbo works quite well and I have also used Biospira and Dr Tims One and Only.
In all my tanks even with adding bacteria in a bottle it has taken 4 to 6 weeks to cycle 1ppm of ammonia to 0 in 2 days. Your nitrite will come down but you need to give it time. Good wine does not age in a few weeks. Imagine having to wait year before you know what your wine will sort of taste like, then having to wait another few years for it come of age.

 

[40B Knasty]

I am still new myself I started my tank back up again and it has been running for a month or two now and I have not change the water yet
I used biospira to start the cycle
And I think my tank is just now fully cycled
Yesterday reading
Ammonia 0
Nitrate 0
And nitrate .25

Do a big water change and get it down to 0ppm. You tank is able to process both ammonia and nitrites. Just consider your live rock & biological filtration to livestock ratio and enjoy your tank.

 

[40B Knasty]

i mean my tank has been cycled until now near two months, and my nitrite keeps above 5ppm two weeks without changing

It happens. My buddies 210g took 6 months to cycle. It is just a waiting process. Took my freshwater tank a month and 3 weeks. Once the ammonia and nitrites were at 0ppm. Did a 50% water change. Got my nitrates down to 0ppm. Added 1 fish. Month later 3 fish more. I literally have not done a water change for it since and it has been about 4 months. It doesn't need trace elements. The biological filtration can handle a 40g tank easy and it is only a 5g tank. Marine Pure is the best!

 

[sawyer010]

hello, everyone
this is my new reading for today, as the chart shows my ammonia is zero, nitrite is still above 5 ppm, and my nitrate is 80ppm. nitrite is converting into nitrate, but seem no change colour in nitrite, which means my nitrate will be 160ppm?

 

[sawyer010]

hello, everyone
this is my new reading for today, as the chart shows my ammonia is zero, nitrite is still above 5 ppm, and my nitrate is 80ppm. nitrite is converting into nitrate, but seem no change colour in nitrite, which means my nitrate will be 160ppm

 

[pdiehm]

don't worry about nitate at this point. you're going to do a series of water changes to get that lower...also, the showing of Nitrite will give you a false nitrate reading. Wait for nitrites to start falling, get to 0.5 ppm, then add 1-2 ppm more ammonia and see where you are at. If ammonia is 0 after 24 hours, and you still have nitrites at 0.5, hit it again with ammonia.

You're close. I just entered the nitrite stage today. 2ppm ammonia, 2 ppm nitrite.

 

[40B Knasty]

Yup, looks like it will all be over with soon. Within the next week(maybe in a few hours) your nitrites will be at 0ppm. When nitrites drop. It is pretty fast. I literally went to bed with a tank spiked. Woke up 6hrs later and ammonia and nitrites were 0ppm.

 

[sawyer010]

hello everyone
my tank is stalled from my view, i really dont know what is my next plan, the nitrite is still above 5ppm and nitrate is 160ppm now.

 

[Elegance Coral]

It's not stalled.
It's doing exactly as it should.
The nitrite will come down.

 

[Elegance Coral]

It's not stalled.
It's doing exactly as it should.
The nitrite will come down.

 

[Elegance Coral]

It's not stalled.
It's doing exactly as it should.
The nitrite will come down.

 

[40B Knasty]

hello everyone
my tank is stalled from my view, i really dont know what is my next plan, the nitrite is still above 5ppm and nitrate is 160ppm now.

Haha man you are pretty impatient about this whole cycling process. I will give you something to think about. Life as we know it here on Earth was not made in a day. You are creating an underwater world literally that can sustain life as we know it. It is not a stall. It's called you still have ammonia being eaten by Nitrosomonas, because you still have nitrites. So those nitrites need be processed by Nitrobacter and Nitrospira. If those 2 bacterias are not safely removing nitrites yet. There is not enough of those 2 colonized in your tank. Again it is not safe. Be patient young Daniel Son. Like I said in the post if you have read any of them. It could be another week(maybe 2 hours).

 

[Ktran350]

Your nitrite levels might be 5+ ppm which could indicate a “stalled” cycle. Do a 10% water change or multiple 10% water change to bring your nitrite levels down to 1 ppm (will be easy to read the color changes. Let that 1 ppm nitrite go to 0. Than dose ammonia back to 1 ppm and wait for it to conver to Nitrate.

Could also try microbacter7. I’ve used both one and only and microbacter7during my cycle.

http://www.drtimsaquatics.com/resources/fishless-cycling

 

[40B Knasty]

Where did this "stalled" phrase come from? I mean really. Just let the bacteria do its work. You don't need to waste money on something that is going to be gone in less than a week. If you think about it. Why wouldn't you want an echo system that can burn 5ppm+. Then you know what you have is good to go. I don't think the person who started this thread has even mentioned what they have for filtration or lbs of rock to help for filtration.

 

[sawyer010]

Where did this "stalled" phrase come from? I mean really. Just let the bacteria do its work. You don't need to waste money on something that is going to be gone in less than a week. If you think about it. Why wouldn't you want an echo system that can burn 5ppm+. Then you know what you have is good to go. I don't think the person who started this thread has even mentioned what they have for filtration or lbs of rock to help for filtration.

yeah, but my nitrite has been above 5ppm three weeks until now. that is normal?thanks

 

[pdiehm]

High nitrites give false nitrate readings. I wouldn’t change any water, just sit back and let it simmer

 

[pdiehm]

yeah, but my nitrite has been above 5ppm three weeks until now. that is normal?thanks

in some cases yes. I fully expect my cycle to take about a month as I am going barebottom.

the nitrite spike then subsequent drop to 0 is painful, it's slow. After your first drop of nitrite test using an API kit, it starts turning purple...it's an awful feeling. If my solution is already purple after 5 drops, I don't even wait 5 minutes. I just put it down as 5ppm because it's sky high.

One morning (or in my case afternoon), you and I will test, and it'll stay a crystal blue color, and that's after getting a reading of 5ppm the night before.

If I buy my cleanup crew from anyone other than @reefcleaners or @AlgaeBarn, I'll QT my first members of the CUC at this time (during the nitrite spike). I do not plan on QT'ing inverts from those vendors as those are fishless/fallow tanks, no diseases. Will just take a wire brush to the snail shell and knock off anything that looks like a vermetid snail or eggs or whatever.

Once the nitrites go to 0, I'll dump in another 2ppm of ammonia and test in 24 hours. If I'm at 0, I'm good. If not, the waiting game continues. Why 2? Why not 1? Because if I have enough bacteria to process 2 ppm in 24 hours, then I'll have enough bacteria to process what I stock with when it's all said and done. I know there'll be dieoff, and I know as I re-enter the fish to my tank, there'll be an adjustment of bacteria population....not to mention 1 is the loneliest number.

 

[IslandLifeReef]

i mean my tank has been cycled until now near two months, and my nitrite keeps above 5ppm two weeks without changing

@sawyer010, now I am confused. If your tank has been processing ammonia to 0 ppm for two months and your nitrites never came down in two months, you may get different advise. You need to tell us exactly when you started cycling your tank and what you have done during that cycle in order to get the best advise. Right now, I don't think I can give you any good advise, because I really don't know what you have done. Your original post said that your tank had only been cycling for 17 days, now you say it has been over two months since you started the cycle.

 

[sawyer010]

@sawyer010, now I am confused. If your tank has been processing ammonia to 0 ppm for two months and your nitrites never came down in two months, you may get different advise. You need to tell us exactly when you started cycling your tank and what you have done during that cycle in order to get the best advise. Right now, I don't think I can give you any good advise, because I really don't know what you have done. Your original post said that your tank had only been cycling for 17 days, now you say it has been over two months since you started the cycle.

sorry i have not make clear about time line,i have setted up this tank at 09/10/2018.and i used fishless cycling method,i dropped Dr tim's ammonia and bacteria at 09/15/2018. and i had reading next day, it was 8ppm, and i have waited until 09/28/2018, i got readding for ammonia is 8ppm,and no nitrite. so i did about 50% water change, and ammonia was 2ppm, and there was about 1ppm nitrite, and there was 5ppm from firstday of october until now. that is time line. thanks

 

[brandon429]

This thread is now linked to the microbiology of cycling thread as an example of what happens when cycles are based on nitrite, API nitrite specifically, well past submersion times. It's there with ten other examples of cycled tanks that weren't really stalled. I know it's hard when you are being pulled in ten directions, it gets better once you learn the rules of biology that do not follow web forum posts.


Page one, with a bunch of asterisks next to link


All marine aquaria cycle at the same time frame depending on boosts, those with no boosts or imbalanced boosts revert to the unassisted cycle timeframe, which is how bacteria existed before we were there to deem a nine dollar purchase of tank water in a bottle as necessary. Your cycle was complete about thirty days ago. I can get false nitrite with API in a glass of fresh made water adding only one common marine aquarium item. Sooo many confounds, nitrate heights causing false nitrite, no final water change but rather testing wastewater, am glad we have twelve pages on already calling these results before your thread existed.

 

[pdiehm]

sorry i have not make clear about time line,i have setted up this tank at 09/10/2018.and i used fishless cycling method,i dropped Dr tim's ammonia and bacteria at 09/15/2018. and i had reading next day, it was 8ppm, and i have waited until 09/28/2018, i got readding for ammonia is 8ppm,and no nitrite. so i did about 50% water change, and ammonia was 2ppm, and there was about 1ppm nitrite, and there was 5ppm from firstday of october until now. that is time line. thanks

You are fine IMO. you didn't start until 9/15. 30 days today. I would venture to say within 15 days you'll be done.