# cycling issue: no nitrite



## jaguayo (Oct 26, 2011)

My tank has been cycling for a while now (fishless cycle). Amonia is down to 2 ppm and nitrate is well over 40 ppm, but the test says there is 0 nitrite. Can this be right? I've been dosing Nutrafin's Cycle to speed things up.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

How long is "a while now"? I fishless cycle can still take a while. What are you using to cycle the tank with? If ammonia, what has been your dosing regime?


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## jaguayo (Oct 26, 2011)

It's been almost two weeks now. I added 3 tablespoons of pure amonia and that sent the readings thru the roof (over 8 ppm), so I did a 50% water change and that brought it down to somewhere between 4 and 8. I'm getting high levels of nitrate from the tests (somewhere between 40 and 80 ppm) but I'm not getting any nitrites.


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## madtyke (Sep 26, 2011)

2 weeks is no time at all for a cycle and certainly not a fishless one, think 6 to 8 weeks and don't change any water until its fully cycled


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

^madtyke, the water change was because there was over 8ppm of ammonia initially. It only needs to be at 4ppm.

Test your water from the tap. You may have nitrates in your water. If so, that's why you have high nitrates but the nitrites aren't showing yet. (That's what happened to me.)


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## jaguayo (Oct 26, 2011)

holly12 said:


> ^madtyke, the water change was because there was over 8ppm of ammonia initially. It only needs to be at 4ppm.
> 
> Test your water from the tap. You may have nitrates in your water. If so, that's why you have high nitrates but the nitrites aren't showing yet. (That's what happened to me.)


I tested my tap water at the beginning and it was 0 across the board. I guess I´ll just have to be patient. I mean, if there are nitrates it means that there were nitrites at some point and I may have missed them, no?


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

Could be... but then your ammonia would be at 0ppm too..... anyway, it takes 6 weeks or so to do a fishless cycle. If you have bad luck (like my first one that I screwed up, lol,) it can take 8 weeks. I did have one that only too 4 weeks though.... each tank is different.


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## Summer (Oct 3, 2011)

I didnt have nitrates in the tap when I originally tested and then when I retested later on in the cycle i did....


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

If you have live plants in the tank and they are dieing that can cause your nitrates to rise.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Nitrites usually show up in the 3rd week or so. Once you figure out what it took to get you to 4ppm, you shoud be dosing that amount everyday until nitrites show. Otherwise, the cycle will stall out and take a little longer.


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## jaguayo (Oct 26, 2011)

Thanks everyone. I´ll keep testing and dosing then!


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## jaguayo (Oct 26, 2011)

Ok, so my amonia went down to 1 ppm, my nitrates are now 0.5 ppm and nitrates are 80 ppm. I have brought the amonia level back up to 4 ppm. Read somewhere that if in 24 hours it goes down to 0, and nitrites are 0 as well I can consider the tank cycled. I guess it's going to take a while!


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

If nitrites are showing now, cut the dose to half and dose every other day. You could be close to finished, but you could just as easily not be.


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