[johnboygonebad]

My tank has been up and running for about 8 weeks. I did a fish in cycle.
Ph is 6.4
Am is 0
no2 is 0
No3 is at about 5
Am climbed to about. 50. But I never registered any nitrite.
So how are my nitrates climbing?
55g
Fluval 403 filter
2 small angelfish
6 columbian tetra
5 glowlite tetra
1 rainbow shark
1 sa bumblebee catfish
A few live plants.

 

[Diana]

Did you add any source of bacteria?
~Cycled media
~Bottled product that included Nitrospira species of bacteria
~Plants (especially if they came from tanks that had fish or other livestock)
~Other

Plants would help both ways: they remove nitrogen in all the common forms, and they can bring in beneficial bacteria on their leaves, stems and roots. "A few live plants" does not sound like enough to remove all the waste from that fish list, though.

Have you added NO3 in some other form, such as fertilizer? This might suggest the tank is not cycled with respect to growing bacteria, but that the plants are enough to remove the ammonia.

 

[ctaylor3737]

It is usually quick,when going from nitrite to nitrate. Small bioload or just good bacteria. I often never see nitrites in some tanks. Others I am plagued, when it cycled,it is usually like you said happens overnight. Test it for a few days if it's steady it's cycled.

-Chris

 

[johnboygonebad]

I have 1 amazon sword, 1 tiger lotus, 3 small clumps of dwarf sagittaria? And about 10 or 12 stems of cabomba. All came from established tanks with fish. Used Api stresscoat + to treat water.
Also have flourite and laterite for substrate.

 

[Diana]

The plants do not sound like they are very much, but they are helping some.
The tank they came from, with fish, would have supported a certain amount of nitrifying bacteria growing on the surface of the plants, on leaves, stems and roots.

So, it seems to me that you brought in enough nitrifying bacteria to jump start the cycle, and the plants are helping out.

I would continue to monitor things, and not add more fish until the conditions have been stable for a week or two.

When you are ready to add more fish you might add some Nitrospira species of bacteria to the tank. These are the correct species of nitrifying bacteria.
The grow to match the waste load in the tank. When there are few fish there are few bacteria. When you add fish there is more waste than the bacteria can handle.
By boosting the population of bacteria the fish are protected.