[Darth Erin]

Hello all! Here I am again with another rookie question. I have a currently cycling tank and my nitrites won't go down. I test daily. Ammonia has been at zero for a while now, but nitrites have been at 2 ppm for, oh, I would say 5 days now. Nitrates are at 5-10 ppm and holding. How long does it normally take for nitrites to start going down? Thanks!

 

[djrichie]

generally 3 to 4 weeks, but your levels are high for keeping fish, don't do a WC before the Nitates reach 20ppm. Your almost there you will see a spike on day and the next day everything will be great..... Stick with it, the one thing I have true to all in this hobby, take your time and get it right, because in the long run you will much more happier with the tank.

 

[MediaHound]

Richie is correct, the entire cycle can range somewhere about 6-8 weeks. First the ammonia spikes, then the nitrite spikes, then both should taper out at zero.
Hang in there!

 

[Darth Erin]

Thanks for the input. I have fish in there and they seem to be doing fine. I have 4 white clouds, 5 x-ray tetras, and 3 peppered corys. I closely monitor them every time I feed them and everyone is eating well and acting very lively. I heard they're all pretty hardy fish, so I'm not worried too much. I'll hold off on the WC until my nitrates get up to 20 ppm. Besides, I have a great "cleaning crew"!

 

[MediaHound]

Also, as you probably know already, hence your itchy finger... resist the temptation for new fish right now till the cycle completes.

 

[Mikeman410]

this kind of stuff takes a wile, When i was cycling my tank i couldnt get my ph to even out, one day is was fine and the next it was crap

 

[djrichie]

Mikeman - when unstable Ph is a problem, you need to look at what you Kh is, generally if you Kh is below 4 you can have Ph swings or low Ph lock. To correct the problem you can use bake soda, 1/2 teaspoon for every 13.5 gals but becareful as you are messing with chemistry, so never do it unlues you have a test kit and test after every application, but wait at least 15mins to give it time to mix with the all the tank water.

 

[Mikeman410]

well it eventually got pretty good and everything is ok