"NetMax" writes:

"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.


My aquarium is a 20 gallon with an undergravel filter and a power
filter. Each big enough for the aquarium.

After I read this post I looked at my filters. I first noticed I was
getting no flow through the power filter. After cleaning the rocks out
of the impellar and putting it back toghether It worked perfectly.

Then looking at the undergravel filter I noticed very little air
escaping from the top of the tubes. And realized that the airstones
are clogged and need replaced. So I removed the airstones and I seem
to have good flow. (I plan to buy new airstones when I get the
chance).But now I'm curious as to whether the airstones are really
necessary and what function they perform.

I also reread the fishless cycling pages and raised my temperature to
~90F. So now I can wait and see.

I am a little leary of stopping the ammonia. I'm concerned that my
ammonia-eating bacteria will starve.