Fishless cycling question

[Palmer]

For the first time I have been trying to do a fishless cycle on my 125 gallon tank and have a couple fo questions on how its going so far. I have been using household Ammonia and adding 4 mls per day. After two weeks I no longer read Ammonia levels above 0 ppm. Now its been another two weeks and I have not read Nitrite levels above 0.5-1 ppm but I am starting to get Nitrate levels between 20-40 ppm. I'm wondering why I never received a Nitrite "spike" ( I assumed I'd see something close to 5 ppm at one point. Also I have not seen yet the Nitrite levels go down to 0 ppm they seem to hold steady at 0.5-1ppm.

Another point to mention is my tank is in my basement which is quite cool. Because of this I have been keeping the tank at 80 degrees F as to not burn out my heater. So I know it should take longer since usually temps of 86 degrees etc are preffered.

Any feedback would be appreciated

Palmer

[HOSStile]

Did you add bacteria or just let nature take its course? I know when I did my 50 I got a Nitrite spike for about 3 days. The tank was fully cycled in about 10 days but I also seeded it by using a used filter out of a AC 500 in the filtration. If you think that your nitrite tester is working properly then I would say it is cycled because of the Nitrate readings you got. Harold

[Palmer]

Oh yeah forgot to mention I did seed it with a little bit of gravel that I hung in front of my filter intake. I havent really seen a spike of Nitrite just consistent readings of 0.5- 1 ppm. I guess if my Nitrates continue to rise and the Nitrite doesnt change I'll just do a large water change and get some fish.

Thanks!

Edited May 20, 2005 by Palmer

[HOSStile]

Sounds good, just monitor after adding fish should be just fine.