My cycle is happening again.

[Notsolostfish]

Iv been cycling my marine x60.2 tank for about 2.5 weeks now. First i added a full bottle of fritz 900. Woke up the next day with 2ppm nitrite. I added 2ppm ammonia. And i waited few days. I was adding ammonia at that time not every day but every other day..because people told me here on this forum to wait doe nitrite to catch ip as it was high. I havent done any water changes from day 1 as i filled the tank. 3 days ago the cycle ended. I was at 0 nitrite 0 ammonia. And 15 nitrate. Added aome 2ppm ammonia and nitrite went back up. And then someone told me that the cycle didnt end yet and to add more ammonia so i added 1ppm ammonia yesrerday and my nitrite is almost 2ppm again. Im tired of this doom fishless cycle.

 

[Reefer Matt]

My opinion: Relax, and let it cycle. Do not add anything. Give it a few more weeks to a month.

 

[Notsolostfish]

My opinion: Relax, and let it cycle. Do not add anything. Give it a few more weeks to a month.

For what? What im waiting for?

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

agree with above, no need to add ammonia like that, only once, then wait for the ammonia to drop to zero, (and i prefer to take the extra step to let nitrite drop to zero) and thats it, tank is cycled, put the ammonia and test kits away.

 

[PigDaddyF15E]

Sounds cycled to me. Stop adding ammonia.

You added ammonia. Ammonia ----> Nitrite -----> Nitrate. This is the cycle. You added 1ppm ammonia which is going to cause the nitrite and then nitrate to go up again. think of it like a wave...you made a wave (ammonia)...now it will go down...then nitrite up...then nitrite down...then nitrate up.

 

[Reefer Matt]

For what? What im waiting for?

For the tank to cycle and stabilize. Even a cycled tank is not an established tank. Nothing good happens fast in reefing. Just my opinion.

 

[KStatefan]

Did you read the responses to this question yesterday?

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/why-my-cycle-is-restarting.935744/

 

[homer1475]

Agree with everyone on this thread, and your other.

Your cycle is done. End of story.

Once you can process ammonia into nitrites, your done with the initial cycle of the tank. Your ready for your first fish. Just don't overwhelm the biofilter with large additions of fish(ammonia).

Nitrites are not toxic in salt water at levels we see in reef tanks.

 

[homer1475]

Just for clarification.....

Your cycle isn't starting again, it never ends once it's started.

Your constantly converting ammonia(fish waste, fish breathing) into nitrites, then into eventual nitrates.

 

[Tamberav]

I am confused... if your tank is processing the ammonia into nitrite quickly then you are done. The nitrite will be converted into nitrate, these bacteria establish slower then the ones that convert ammonia. Nitrite is not very toxic in saltwater so I don't tend to worry about it.

Definitely go slow and take your time adding any life. Even tho the cycle is done, there are a ton of other processes going on.

 

[AFHokie]

Like everyone else said, you keep adding NH3 you will keep getting NO2.

Nitrite is of little concern for the reef tank. Most people, myself included, don’t even buy or use a nitrite test kit when cycling. As long as you are converting the NH3 you are good.

Dr. RHF did this great article. Table shows how high your nitrites need to be to be an issue in a marine environment.

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