week 1 of cycling.

[xobettaox]

just curious if these are normal results for the 1st week. i've never heard of tank cycling and i'm trying it out on my 55 gal..

oh and i'm using 10% ace ammonia.

temp-80
nitrate- 15
nitrite- 2
hardness- 150
chlorine- 0
alkalinity- 180
ph- 7.8-8.4
ammonia- 1-2 ppm (was about 5 ppm yesterday at this time). i added a little more today also.

so am i on the right track? any numbers that are off? i don't really know what is "normal".

thanks guys :)

[Option]

Looks like you're headed in the right direction, the ammonia should hit zero and eventually the nitrate will come down fast to near zero. And then you know your ready to add your livestock.

[xobettaox]

ok. so the last 2 days, i've been putting in 5 ppm of ammonia and a little less than 24 hrs later, it's gone back to 0. but, my nitrates right now are around 40 and nitrites 3. about how much longer do i have with the cycling do you think?

[asukabetta]

Well cycling takes about 3-6 weeks depending on each tank, it's a matter of testing your tank every time, also a cycle takes time to mature after its established which can take months, till then the cycle can fluctuate.

[Viva]

Nitrites should spike up very high first, once the ammonia and nitrites are back down to 0ppm, you will have only nitrates which are removed with water changes. Nitrates should never reach over 40ppm. In a tank with live plants, it may take longer (if at all) to see a nitrate reading because the plants will use up the ammonia before the bacteria can, and nitrates are the by-product of the bacteria.

My tank took about 3 - 4 weeks to complete its cycle with no live plants.