fishless cycle dosing ammonia with nitrite spike

[muffi]

Hello fellow hobbyists

I am a newbie to this hobby, and have started this journey with a 60 Liter FW tank. I plan to make it a heavily planted betta tank. Here’s what I have so far:

• 50x35x35cm tank
• Tropica aqua soil 9 Liters
• 30cm piece of driftwood (soaked for 2 weeks prior to 16^th July, and I poured boiling water over it for about 5 minutes to sterilize it)
• About 5kg of rocks
• Tidal 35 filter, with Matrix and some crushed coral in the filter (because driftwood was reducing pH)
• LED Lighting strip, but it has been off all along

As of now, I am performing a fishless cycle since 16^th July with the above setup by adding liquid ammonia, and API Quick Start. Dosing of ammonia was at max 3ppm. I’m using the API test kits to measure water parameters.

As of yesterday, a 2ppm dose of ammonia disappears within 24hours (maybe faster, but I only test every 24hrs). pH of the tank is between 6.8 to 7.0. Nitrates have been elevated since day 1 at about 40ppm to 80ppm, but I believe this is due to the aqua soil. No water changes have been performed, only water top ups to maintain the water level.

I have seen Nitrites steadily increase over the last 4 days, and now they are roughly between 2ppm and 3ppm. I understand that having Nitrites above 5ppm could stall the 2^nd phase of the cycle.
So my question is, do I continue to dose ammonia and risk Nitrites going over 5ppm, or do I stop dosing ammonia until nitrites start going down? I have spent hours researching the fishless cycling process, but there seems to be no consensus on how to proceed once ammonia starts to disappear but Nitrites remain elevated. I don’t want to risk raising Nitrites above 5ppm and having to do a water change, which could prolong the cycling process. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

On a side note, since last week, a white fuzzy growth has started infesting the driftwood. Based on research, this is supposed to be a natural cycle and is harmless. However, I’d like to know if the high levels of Nitrates could be a contributing factor to this? The growth has been rapid, and certain areas of the wood looks ghastly

Thanks, Muffi

[Jetxx]

I'm still new, but I think you should have some plants that you plan to have inside by this time. It could help stabilize things. Just a question though, bettas generally prefer calm to still waters. Will your hob prove too much of a current for your betta?

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[muffi]

@Jetxx, thanks for the advice. I have read that adding plants while the aquasoil is brand new could lead to plat melt, so i decided to let tank cycle and the aqua soil to settle down as well in the process. I might start adding plants as soon as the Nitrite readings so some sign of dropping.
regarding the filter, i have set it to max right now to help with cycling. for sure i'll turn it down once the plants and betta goes in

[Jetxx]

Yeah. New soil sometimes leech ammonia and that melts the plants. But seeing you are close to 4 weeks in, maybe you can add a few hardy plants and floaters to test? Icic hope you get a nice betta!

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[muffi]

well, i guess i didn't have to wait too long I didn't dose ammonia yesterday, and today the nitrites read 0!
I have dosed ammonia to 2ppm again today, lets see what the readings are tomorrow

[Jetxx]

Hey, how's your tank? I'm excited to see it!

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[muffi]

Hi, here it is

Btw, do u know the name of the plant with the needle leaves in the background?

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