Nitrites stuck

[allcapps]

My tank is successfully processing ammonia in 24 hrs but nitrites have not dropped at all in over a week. Do I wait this out? Do I need to add more ammonia? When I initially dosed to 2ppm ammonia my nitrites shot up to over 5ppm and I did a partial water change. Been stuck here ever since.

 

[wolfen]

for every 1ppm of ammonia converted 2.7ppm nitrites are produced. it isn't that the bacteria is failing to remove ammonia but that the colony isn't converting enough nitrites.
doing a water change whilst cycling can harm the bacteria and therefore affect the cycling, never do a water change unless the nitrates are 110ppm or higher or the cycling has finished.
top the ammonia up to 4ppm daily until ammonia and nitrites read zero, keep the water warm whilst cycling and ensure ph is around 7.4-7.6, also make sure the water is oxygenated.
if all above is being done and the nitrites are still refusing to reduce then the filter media needs to be increased.

 

[allcapps]

for every 1ppm of ammonia converted 2.7ppm nitrites are produced. it isn't that the bacteria is failing to remove ammonia but that the colony isn't converting enough nitrites.
doing a water change whilst cycling can harm the bacteria and therefore affect the cycling, never do a water change unless the nitrates are 110ppm or higher or the cycling has finished.
top the ammonia up to 4ppm daily until ammonia and nitrites read zero, keep the water warm whilst cycling and ensure ph is around 7.4-7.6, also make sure the water is oxygenated.
if all above is being done and the nitrites are still refusing to reduce then the filter media needs to be increased.

Thank you this is very helpful! My pH is good and I have an airstone so I'll top off the ammonia and let it ride.

 

[allcapps]

for every 1ppm of ammonia converted 2.7ppm nitrites are produced. it isn't that the bacteria is failing to remove ammonia but that the colony isn't converting enough nitrites.
doing a water change whilst cycling can harm the bacteria and therefore affect the cycling, never do a water change unless the nitrates are 110ppm or higher or the cycling has finished.
top the ammonia up to 4ppm daily until ammonia and nitrites read zero, keep the water warm whilst cycling and ensure ph is around 7.4-7.6, also make sure the water is oxygenated.
if all above is being done and the nitrites are still refusing to reduce then the filter media needs to be increased.

It's been 10 days since my last post, I have been dosing up to 4ppm
ammonia-0 in 24hrs
nitrites- 2ppm
nitrates- 80ppm
pH- 7.4

Tank set up-20L, bare bottom with large river stones, java fern, plastic decorations, sponge filter for a 50g tank, 1.5in air stone

Any thoughts on how to get the nitrites to go down are appreciated. We go on vacation in 30 days and I really need this tank cycled, been at it for about 12 weeks now.

 

[wolfen]

increasing the amount of bio-media in the filtration system will allow for an increase in the bacteria colony which is needed to complete the cycling.

 

[allcapps]

It's been 10 days since my last post, I have been dosing up to 4ppm
ammonia-0 in 24hrs
nitrites- 2ppm
nitrates- 80ppm
pH- 7.4

Tank set up-20L, bare bottom with large river stones, java fern, plastic decorations, sponge filter for a 50g tank, 1.5in air stone

Any thoughts on how to get the nitrites to go down are appreciated. We go on vacation in 30 days and I really need this tank cycled, been at it for about 12 weeks now.

My tank is finally cycled from this point above. I thought I'd drop an update on how I got there for anyone else who finds themselves in this position. After this post I added more biomedia but my nitrite numbers didn't budge. Keeping the ammonia at 4ppm while the nitrites were so high created havoc on everything else- my pH bottomed out and I had a massive bloom of detritus worms. At this point I stopped the ammonia and started small water changes, about 25% in the morning and 25% in the afternoon. I did this for a couple of days until my nitrates were down to 20ppm and nitrites were .5ppm. Once my nitrates were low I dosed tiny amounts of ammonia, less than 1ppm, until my tank could process all the nitrites. This whole process took about a week but by the end of the week the tank was cycling properly and the detritus worms had retreated back into the filter or hell or wherever they come from.
Long story short I think you need to stop adding ammonia if your nitrites and nitrates are both high. I think it stalled the cycling process and made this take a lot longer.

 

[wolfen]

if the ph plummets then add enough bicarbonate of soda to bring the ph up to 7.4 - 7.6, the cycling can stall with low ph as low ph makes it hard for the bacteria to consume ammonia.
the bacteria that feeds on nitrites have to be grown the same as for ammonia.
your tank is cycled to 1ppm (good for a small juvenile) but you might have problems when it becomes an adult (the reason for cycling at 4ppm)

 

[allcapps]

if the ph plummets then add enough bicarbonate of soda to bring the ph up to 7.4 - 7.6, the cycling can stall with low ph as low ph makes it hard for the bacteria to consume ammonia.
the bacteria that feeds on nitrites have to be grown the same as for ammonia.
your tank is cycled to 1ppm (good for a small juvenile) but you might have problems when it becomes an adult (the reason for cycling at 4ppm)

I did correct the ph with bicarbonate soda when it dropped. I failed to mention above that once it was cycling I tested it again at 4ppm and it was successful, only at this point did I put the axolotl in the tank. He's already 8 in long so almost full size so we will know soon if it didn't cycle properly.