Advice on Cycling

[davet]

I need some advice from some of you more experienced folks. I am 8 full days into the cycling process and do not see any nitrites. Here are the details:

26 March - set up 55 gal in the morning and dose with Prime, add clear ammonia to 3ppm. API test kit. No seeding from any source.

Temp remains at 82-84 F, pH 7.6

I have had to add some small amounts of NH3 to keep the level at 2-3ppm, but yet to see any indication in the nitrite test.

What is a reasonable amount of time I should wait to to see nitrites?

Dave

[angel]

Bump!

[jgentry]

Fishless cycles generally take 2-2.5 weeks to complete. 8 days in you should be right about at the nitrite conversion step. It is possible that you already missed it though. Nitrite is only precent for a short period while the bacteria that convert it to nitrate are building up. Generally somewhere around days 8-12 you get a small nitrite spike and then you will never see nitrite again. You will only get Nitrate reading from that point and you tank if cycled.

[angel]

Thanks JD I'm unqualified to answer on this one as I've never fishless cycled.

[davet]

Appreciate the help! Of course, I am a bit impatient so that doesn't help. I have been looking on the web for additional information and found a good description here:

www.bioconlabs.com/nitribactfacts.html

What impressed me was the part about how slow growing these bacteria are compared to something like E. coli. My microbiology courses were 35 years ago and I think I may have forgotten a few things in that time!

[jon carman]

I normally give people a hand full of my "filter crap" and a 5 gallon bucket of water and they are good to go.

[davet]

Jon, that might have been worth the drive!