Cycling tank: nitrites going up and down

[Eti]

Hey guys,

I am cycling a 75G barebottom tank where I would like to add 8 discus when it is fully cycled.
I started the process on Sept. 8th 2013 adding Dr Tim ammonium fishless tank (without any sulfactant) until 5ppm.
The weird part is that I got nitrites like 10 days later until 7ppm and the following day, they would come back down to 0 (without any nitrates) The weirder thing is 4 days later, they came back up to 7-8ppm, and the following day…0 (and same for nitrates) At the same time, the ammonium was slowly decreasing.

I know I am using the API test kit well (shaking, waiting 5mn etc…) and I do not do any water change to let the tank cycle well…I just do not understand why the nitrites go up and down. I also have been dosing ammonia regularly since it was going down (without any nitrites or nitrates reading)…I put prime at the very beginning of the cycle, but that was it.

I thought that could be maybe Dr Tim’s fault, so I just added a raw shrimp yesterday in order to have a more “natural” way of cycling the tank.

What do you guys think?
Thank you!

[Len]

What is the temp and pH of the water? Both will play a part in how quickly the tank cycles. I wouldn't have added the shrimp -- it's no more natural than pure ammonia and leaves room for nasty bacteria to grow as it rots. If your nitrites are going up and down and no nitrates are present then there is something wrong with either the test kit or how you are using it as that's impossible.

[Eti]

85f and 7.8...took off the shrimp and started with dr Tim ammonium. After a complete wc...I guess I will just be more patient..!

[flutterbug]

I just read an article about fishless cycle and it said something about adding a teeny tint amount of super finely ground fish food to get a stalled cycle going. Something is in the fish food supposedly that the bacteria need that won't be there with just ammonia. Also if your Ph crashed or spiked really hight above 9 or below 6.5 it said you need to do a water change to get the ph right again. I guess the ph can stall the cycle as well. If you want I can share the link. I am not explaining it as well as the article did..

[lipadj46]

Just keep on waiting. Starting with ammonia at 5ppm will mean the nitrites will spike higher. 5ppm ammonia is a bit high to start with I usually like to start with 2-3ppm ammonia. You could have added tetra safe start to speed things up.

[Eti]

Thank you! If you have the link, that would be amazing!

[flutterbug]

How's it going?

[Eti]

Funny you ask..just tested and finally got some nitrites!!!!

[flutterbug]

Cool, you must have a lot by now!