Fishless Cycle

[ilott]

Hello,

so about 10 days ago, I added almost 1.5 litres of FritzZyme 9 to my 80 gallon tank (overkill... maybe), I also added about 4ppm ammonia and this had dropped to almost 0 this morning, only my nitrites are not matching to any colour on the sheet it’s almost a light pinky purple and I just xan’t figure out what it matches? The nitrates appear to be rising but no sign of those nitrites dropping? I really can’t afford a large water change it took me almost a week to fill the tank. And i’m out of salt until the weekend, i’ve dosed 2ppm more of ammonia to keep the bacteria alive but I feel like I’ve gone wrong somewhere

 

[Funston07]

I would say that's probably 2.0ppm nitrite

 

[Labora]

Looks to me like it matches the maximum possible Nitrite value. If the Nitrates are rising then just give it a few more days to see if the Nitrite starts to drop. Nitrites aren't as bad as Nitrates.

 

[Funston07]

oh also if you have nitrite present dont test your nitrates, it's pointless cause the nitrite makes the nitrate test inaccurate. I would say perform a small water change if you can and you should be ready for a fish

 

[Funston07]

Looks to me like it matches the maximum possible Nitrite value. If the Nitrates are rising then just give it a few more days to see if the Nitrite starts to drop. Nitrites aren't as bad as Nitrates.

I think your confusing nitrite and nitrate

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

When you dose large amounts of ammonia it converts to large amounts of nitrate. Be patient and save up $$ for a large water change once nitrites drop off to reduce nitrate levels in the tank. Many would argue you are cycled already. Add smaller amounts of ammonia if your water change will be more than 2 weeks out.

 

[brandon429]

you are cycled



old school cycling rules consider nitrite

new cycles rules do not. simply change out all your water and begin, it will support life due to being cycled. nitrite no longer factors in reef tank cycling especially after buying 3 day bottle bac.

No reef tank cycle stalls, see work below.

 

[brandon429]

work thread:

How to unstick any seemingly stuck cycle

non digital ammonia test kit readings (api, Red Sea, nyos, seachem badges) make you think you aren’t cycled when indeed you are if you owned a $200 expensive seneye meter, you’d never be doubting your cycle status. since .01% of the reefing population owns these, we need a way to help the...

www.reef2reef.com

since you are past 3-5 days, the tested timeframe for Fritz, and you clearly have active nitrification going on, most would consider your cycle stalled since you post high nitrite

but that thread says it isn't stalled, nitrite no longer factors in reefing.
plus we're keeping started tanks on file for tracking... after doing a big water change, first rule in that thread, your water is no longer wastewater its water that matches your salt base- makes for a very clean start.

the biofilm layers underneath are active, we know this from your submersion timeframes and the presence of nitrite and the reduction of ammonia. changing out wastewater reveals the active filter surface area and you can begin. even if you added life right now they'd live, nitrite harms nothing in reefing. but its algae fuel upon conversion...so we change out algae fuel water for clean reef water and begin once ammonia down is shown.

The only reason to pay that much for bottle bac is to be able to meet the timeframes directly on the label for start dates, its exacting. Reef conventions start on time, they don't vary, we're using that science. the nitrite you've posted is expected for the 4 ppm ammonia, which signifies that you are cycled bigtime, we wouldnt need a fraction of that amount to be ready. need to change your algae water, and begin. new tanks have enough uglies challenge that you can either ride out for months or hand-clean into niceness, the more you reduce work the better. do a large water change and begin.

 

[KyOsIBa515]

Patience is your best friend in this hobby. You seeding the tank has began the cycle. Let it do its thing. I wouldn’t touch a thing for a week or so.

 

[lion king]

You are not cycled until both ammonia and nitrite zero out. You haver dosed enough ammonia to complete a substantial cycle, so there is no need to add more. Once the ammonia and nitrite has zero'd out, you will have substantial nitrtates, and a 50% water change would probably be good.

Nitrite will kill your fish; most times once there is a biological filter established, the nitrites get instantly converted to nitrates, so there's no issue. In the initial cycle where fish are concerned, nitrites needs to be zero. Here's a quick article I pulled because people need to see, but I have read and seen nitrite kill fish many times.

Nitrite - The Free Freshwater and Saltwater Aquarium Encyclopedia Anyone Can Edit - The Aquarium Wiki

www.theaquariumwiki.com

 

[brandon429]

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-06/rhf/index.php

nitrite is neutral in reefing. Above is the definitive reef article on it


nitrite matters only in freshwater. Here are unstuck cycles proving nitrite doesn’t matter along with that article above.

How to unstick any seemingly stuck cycle

non digital ammonia test kit readings (api, Red Sea, nyos, seachem badges) make you think you aren’t cycled when indeed you are if you owned a $200 expensive seneye meter, you’d never be doubting your cycle status. since .01% of the reefing population owns these, we need a way to help the...

www.reef2reef.com

there are only nitrite issues here due to 4x too much ammonia being applied, the fact the system still drops the ammonia fast is ultimate proof of readiness. Change out the waste water and begin, like the tanks above which are updated and rocking along fine. If she changes out wastewater for new, a perfect filter awaits underneath. Waiting weeks for the ammonia overdose to metabolize out defeats the purpose of buying bac, an unassisted cycle can run free of charge in that time

 

[ilott]

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-06/rhf/index.php

nitrite is neutral in reefing. Above is the definitive reef article on it


nitrite matters only in freshwater. Here are unstuck cycles proving nitrite doesn’t matter along with that article above.

How to unstick any seemingly stuck cycle

non digital ammonia test kit readings (api, Red Sea, nyos, seachem badges) make you think you aren’t cycled when indeed you are if you owned a $200 expensive seneye meter, you’d never be doubting your cycle status. since .01% of the reefing population owns these, we need a way to help the...

www.reef2reef.com

there are only nitrite issues here due to 4x too much ammonia being applied, the fact the system still drops the ammonia fast is ultimate proof of readiness. Change out the waste water and begin, like the tanks above which are updated and rocking along fine. If she changes out wastewater for new, a perfect filter awaits underneath. Waiting weeks for the ammonia overdose to metabolize out defeats the purpose of buying bac, an unassisted cycle can run free of charge in that time

Super duper helpful! I’ve always been told nitrites will kill anything instantly, i’ve got my fish in now and slowly working through daily water changes until my nitrites read 0. Then i’ll check my nitrates are where I want them. Thanks for your amazing help