Cycling tank, low ammonia, high nitrite

[Brulee]

Hey all, brand new here but have been reading and learning for a few months. Great info here! I've just started to cycle my new 90 gallon tank 5 days ago. Used Dr. Tim's ammonia on day 1 bringing it to 2ppm. Also added biospira on day 1. I didn't add the sock filter or turn on protein skimmer for 48 hrs. All seems good, however my ammonia has gone down to 0 today, but my nitrite is still real high. Should I re dose the ammonia or wait till nitrite comes down? Thanks in advance, I've learned a ton here

 

[Conovan]

nitrite will go away without extra ammonia. there are two different parts to the puzzle.

Nitrifying bacterium | Nitrification, Nitrifiers, Nitrogen Cycle

Nitrifying bacterium, any of a small group of aerobic bacteria (family Nitrobacteraceae) that use inorganic chemicals as an energy source. They are microorganisms that are important in the nitrogen cycle as converters of soil ammonia to nitrates, compounds usable by plants. The nitrification

www.britannica.com

 

[Brulee]

nitrite will go away without extra ammonia. there are two different parts to the puzzle.

Nitrifying bacterium | Nitrification, Nitrifiers, Nitrogen Cycle

Nitrifying bacterium, any of a small group of aerobic bacteria (family Nitrobacteraceae) that use inorganic chemicals as an energy source. They are microorganisms that are important in the nitrogen cycle as converters of soil ammonia to nitrates, compounds usable by plants. The nitrification

www.britannica.com

Gotcha, I've seen some posts saying to add more ammonia once you you hit zero. Didn't know if I should hold off on adding more ammonia since the nitrite is still high?

 

[Conovan]

Gotcha, I've seen some posts saying to add more ammonia once you you hit zero. Didn't know if I should hold off on adding more ammonia since the nitrite is still high?

My method of cycling is to just let it go. I have some of the 5 way dip strips. I add ammonia at the start and then wait for the nitrite to not change color anymore. Helps keep me sane. If I want to go for a longer cycle I ghost feed rather than adding more ammonia. but the more ammonia or food you add the more nitrate you end up with at the end of the cycle.

 

[Shawn_epicurious]

Normal cycle rotation : ) don’t sweat it. What you are seeing is normal

 

[Mr. Fishy Fish]

nitrite will go away without extra ammonia. there are two different parts to the puzzle.

Nitrifying bacterium | Nitrification, Nitrifiers, Nitrogen Cycle

Nitrifying bacterium, any of a small group of aerobic bacteria (family Nitrobacteraceae) that use inorganic chemicals as an energy source. They are microorganisms that are important in the nitrogen cycle as converters of soil ammonia to nitrates, compounds usable by plants. The nitrification

www.britannica.com

That article is very informative, most articles on R2R are.

Gotcha, I've seen some posts saying to add more ammonia once you you hit zero. Didn't know if I should hold off on adding more ammonia since the nitrite is still high?

That's a hard question riddled with controversy. What I can say is this, if you add let's say 1.00 ppm ammonia originally, then it's completely converted into nitrates (this implies zero ammonia). From here if you add another dose of 1.00 ppm ammonia in the tank again, then test the next day you ought to have 0 ppm ammonia. What does this tell you? You will now officially know your beneficial bacteria can support x amount of fish waste equivalent to 1.00 ppm ammonia. So it's a good testing measure. Another thing you may have heard of is "ghost feeding", it's basically the same thing as continuously dosing ammonia. The reason people ghost feed is that they want to keep that beneficial bacteria fed. I have no clue how long beneficial bacteria live for without being fed and I believe this is where the controversy in your question starts.

 

[Brulee]

Thanks for all the replies! Much appreciated