High Nitrite while cycling

[christine]

I am in the midst of cycling a 50 (60?) gallon tank for three axolotl for my classroom...

There are not any axies in the tank now. I have just today put in some apple snails, but before that there were not living animals in the tank.

I have been cycling for one month. I am using a freshwater Master test kit.
My numbers started out normal (0 on everything). Then Ammonia rose, then Nitrite, then nitrate.
This is all how it is supposed to go, I think.

The problem is, Ammonia has dropped to zero as of 15 days ago, but the Nitrite will not drop.

I am still putting frozen brine shrimp in to feed the bacteria, ammonia remains at zero, and nitrate is dropping, but I can't get the nitrite below 1.0ppm.

I did a 30% water change after the readings on 11/15, which is what dropped the Nitrate. Did another today after the readings, which should help more.

Numbers for my last three tests:
ALL: pH=7.0, Ammonia= 0.0ppm
11/15: Nitrite: 1.0 ppm
Nitrate: 20 ppm
11/17: Nitrite: 1.0 ppm
Nitrate: 5.0 ppm
11/20: Nitrite: 2.0 ppm
Nitrate: 5.0 ppm

So what do I do? How do I get the Nitrite to go down? How long should this take? I have been cycling since 10/23. Do I need a stronger filter or something??

My students keep asking when the axolotl will get here and I keep having to tell them "the water isn't right yet." It is getting quite frustrating for them (and me... I think I am anticipating this even more than they are!)

 

[amber]

Take the snails back out, as it will burn them.
However, there is no easy way to speed up a tank.
BUT - if you have another fish tank mature nearby, swap over some of the filter media - only half mind.
This will boost the bacteria and encourage them to work faster.

To calm the students, get them involved.
Every week, or whenever, sit and do water tests WITH them - this worked VERY well for my siblings and made them more aware of the conditions the animals need.

The ammonia drop is saying good things, it's halfway there - and 15 days is pretty soon actually - it can take two to five weeks to cycle fully.

Also, try putting a couple of plants in.

Just a thought - you're not using dip strip tests are you? They're horribly unreliable and inaccurate - invest in some liquid ones.
Master test kits are VERY reasonably priced at the moment, I always use mine, and have one for each of my bigger tanks at the moment.

Hope that helps.

 

[christine]

Thanks for the quick reply. I am using the Master Test kits, and there are a few plants in the tank.

How long is the wait usually between the ammonia drop and the nitrite drop?

I have been cycling for a full 4 weeks now, and considering that ammonia has been at zero for 15 days, I feel like things are going rather slowly.

I do not have another tank, but would adding more filter capacity be good, or can you "over filter?"

 

[kapo]

I found when cycling our tanks the nitrite levels did take ages to come down. One of our longest cycled tanks took 7.5-8weeks; two weeks for the ammonia to rise and drop to 0, and then it was waiting on the nitrite. Our tanks cycled between 3-8 weeks. Our first tank we just used some axie poo in the first week and a small cube of raw meat. Didn't "feed" it with more food like ur doing, we just let the tank cycle.


As Amber says, remove the snails, and another thing just let the tank run, no waterchanges. Getting the kids involved in the tests are a great idea (used similar with our kids); and another thing to keep them busy is if you can involve them in starting wormfarm for your axie if ur able to at school (they do wormfarms at some of our schools in NZ )

 

[amber]

Overfiltration is indeed a possibility. You need a filter built for the size/capacity of the tank.

What model/type are you using at the moment?
As I say, if you can, swap some of the media with a mature tank's filter - this will help.

Also, when you do the nitrite test next, rinse the tube extra thoroughly with bottled water - sometimes residues can throw it off a little.
I had helluva scare with the same thing, but it turned out I accidently used the tube I test for ammonia with by mistake!

 

[edward]

some comments,

snip "How long is the wait usually between the ammonia drop and the nitrite drop?

I have been cycling for a full 4 weeks now, and considering that ammonia has been at zero for 15 days, I feel like things are going rather slowly. "endsnip

This is pretty normal typically it takes between 60 and 90 days for a full cycle to occur. (see http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cyclingEDK.shtml) You maybe over feeding the tank with the ammonia source which is preventing the cycle from finishing.

Other than the excess current flow, you cannot overfilter a tank as this only provides more surface area for the bacteria to grow (for example look at the surface area provided in wet-dry filters for reef aquaria.....

Ed

 

[amber]

I apologise, I wasn't very clear.
Yes, I was indicating there would be an excess of outflow.
This of course can cause all kinds of issues - obviously stress to the animal being a top one, but also it can restrict plant growth and in extreme excesses it can even disturb the substrate!