Tank still not cycled

[Hilltopreef90]

It’s been 2-3 weeks and my tank I plan to use as a quarantine tank is still reading high nitrites ‍
there’s no ammonia and when I add ammonia it’s gone within 24 hours, I went ahead and added a few small rocks and I add the recommended amount of microbacter start daily but I’m still reading high nitrates.
Any advice on what else I can do ?

 

[T-J]

No ammonia, no nitrites and detectable nitrates indicates that your tank IS cycled.
How high is high? Generally speaking, fish don't have issues with elevated nitrates, unless they start to go over 40 or so.
Are you ghost feeding the tank, or otherwise giving the bacteria a food source?
Sounds like a water change could help reduce your nitrates.

 

[Uncle99]

Seems cycled to me.
Time to add a fish or two.
Have fun.

 

[Azedenkae]

It’s been 2-3 weeks and my tank I plan to use as a quarantine tank is still reading high nitrites ‍
there’s no ammonia and when I add ammonia it’s gone within 24 hours, I went ahead and added a few small rocks and I add the recommended amount of microbacter start daily but I’m still reading high nitrates.
Any advice on what else I can do ?

To clarify, do you have high nitrite, nitrate, or both?

 

[Hilltopreef90]

I have high nitrite, I’ve not tested for nitrate yet, I’ve been waiting for the nitrite to drop
I’m using seachems test and the color is 20-25 on the color strip (see photo)

 

[T-J]

Oh wait, NITRITE? So your ammonia goes to zero in 24 hours when dosed, you have high nitrites and NO nitrates?
Any chance you can take a water sample to your LFS and have them double check the tests?

 

[ReefEco]

2-3 weeks and still no nitrates could be completely normal - I would just be patient. I've found even the bacteria cycle products like MB Start XLM, One and Only, etc. can have pretty wide timelines, despite their claims. Also, if it is a bare QT tank and you only recently added any media (the small rocks you mention), a longer cycle timeline than normal might be expected.

 

[piranhaman00]

new evidence tells us that when ammonia turns to nitrite you are cycled. The nitritfication of nitrite to nitrate takes a bit longer for micro to form. However nitrite is not toxic to saltwater fish in normal amounts.

Howver I also wait for the entire nitrification process before adding fish myself.

 

[Azedenkae]

new evidence tells us that when ammonia turns to nitrite you are cycled. The nitritfication of nitrite to nitrate takes a bit longer for micro to form. However nitrite is not toxic to saltwater fish in normal amounts.

Howver I also wait for the entire nitrification process before adding fish myself.

This is advisable, i.e. waiting until the entire nitrification process to be robust.

Reality is nitrite can be toxic to marine fish even at lower concentrations, though provided longer term exposure. While this would be very unlikely (it has to be prolonged exposure to 25ppm+ for ocellaris clownfish) as likely nitrite oxidation catches up, it is still entirely possible that it occurs in rarer occassions.

Cycling is a fast enough process anyways that just making sure nitrite oxidation robustly occurs too won't take much longer. It's a risk a person can take, because it's a relatively small risk, but it's also not really necessary.