"Dale Henderson" wrote in message
...

I am trying to perform a fishless cycle on my aquarium. Currently I'm
adding 1/2 teaspoon of ammonia nightly (enough to bring the
concentration to 2ppm) and the next day my ammonia level is zero.

This is good.

My concern is my Nitrite. About two weeks ago it spiked to 5ppm and
recently (about 5 days ago) it has fallen and held steady at
2ppm. So my question is how long should I expect the nitrite to be
this high?

Either your filter is too small, or the presence of ammonia is inhibiting
the bacteria which consume the nitrite. I would stop adding ammonia.

Another oddity is my Nitrate. It raised from 5 to 10ppm and then it
seems to be falling. Since I have no plants in the aquarium, what
would cause this. I have noticed a white hair-like growth on a fake
rock that looks like fungus. Could this be an algae? And could this be
why my nitrate seems to be falling.

Unknown. I can't imagine a fungus taking all those nitrates out, but who
knows? Maybe you should harvest the stuff and sell it on the internet
;~).

And when this process is finally finished how many fish should I put
in the aquarium? Should I start slow? Or is it safe to put a full
compliment of fish in the aquarium?

When the cycle appears to be finished, drop in enough ammonia to take it
up to 5ppm and see if it all clears within 24 hours. If it clears, then
you should be ready for a good sized compliment of fish, though you
should still exercise caution. There is a lot of variables not being
divulged (size of tank, filter type, size/type of fish, feeding routine).
Generally speaking, 5ppm NH3/4 probably covers a full fish load of
juveniles when they grow up. If the tank will be holding 10 adult Silver
Dollars, then 5ppm consumed in 24 hours should position you to add 10
juvenile (ie: 6 month old) Silver Dollars. These are generalities. It
is possible to do the math, but it's not very precise and mostly over my
head anyways ;~). In any case, monitor the water and feed sparingly for
a few days, so you have plenty of time to react to any problems. hth
--
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