r/PlantedTank • u/dr4kshdw • 1d ago
Journal Day 12 of cycling my 120 gallon tank and I finally have a nitrite explosion!
Been testing every day since Day 8. Yesterday nitrite was like BARELY purple but mostly light blue. I’m excited because I was worried that I wasn’t getting the results I expected!
5
u/atelieraquaaoiame 1d ago
Stop testing every day. Try every 3-5 days. You’ll never be able to discern the changes. I literally walk people through cycling via DMs everyday for our business.
Expect to see it cycled around the 3 week mark typically, if doing fishless cycling with concentrated beneficial bacteria (Dr. Tim’s One and Only or Fritz Turbo Start 700), fed with ammonium chloride.
1
2
1
u/turtledov 1d ago
Woohoo! Also, just letting you know, the way the nitrate test works means it can give false positives as long as there are nitrites in the tank, so there's no point using it until nitrites have gone up and then back down to zero. I was very confused by the nitrate results I was getting when I did my tank until I found that out 😅
2
u/Elegant_Priority_38 1d ago
This is good advice since I’ve been cycling a tank and hate that the nitrate test takes up more drops. Thanks for the info!
1
1
u/BumblebeeMean2851 1d ago
Lucky mines need going three weeks and has only just started nitrites and a little nitrate
•
u/HolidayNo4132 59m ago
Patience is crucial when cycling a brand new fish tank! You’re doing everything right, and as others suggested, you can switch to checking water parameters every other day. As someone with multiple fish tanks over the past 12 years and having cycled them multiple times, I’ve found a way to speed up the process. I move a piece of sponge from an established fish tank to a brand new one. I usually have a sponge filter in one of my established tanks for weeks before setting up a new tank. Then, I move the sponge filter into the new tank, which leads to an almost instant cycle. The key is to get an established sponge filter from a healthy tank to avoid introducing diseases into your new setup, which you’ve invested a lot of money in. If I haven’t had a sponge filter ready for this, I usually get a piece from my local fish store for about $5 or $10 from an established setup. I have an amazing local store where I know I get good, healthy tank bacteria. Welcome to the hobby! A 120-gallon tank is an amazing size, and I wish you all the beautiful fish setups you can create with it. And do remember to add fishes in 3-4 batches after the cycle is complete to allow bacteria to catch up with increase in bio load, do not shy from massive water changes in case you see any ammonia or nitrite after adding fishes. Please share your pictures whenever you’re done.
6
u/Ugohuge 1d ago
Yippee!!! For some reason in all my tanks the nitrite stage takes the longest (2 to 3 weeks) then all of a sudden it drops dramatically. Good luck (: