possible problem during cycling

Question
Hi Joe,

I am new to the aquarium hobby and I am in the process of cycling a new 90Gal tank for Tanganyika African Cichlids and I think I may be running into a problem. My Nitrite levels do not seem to want to go down ( they have been sitting at around 3ppm for about 2 weeks. I am doing a fishless cycle and I think I may have been adding too much ammonia. My ammonia levels are consistently dropping to zero after about 8 hours of adding the ammonia to the tank so the bacteria is making use of it and my Nitrate is sitting steady at 40. I did a 50% watter change yesterday under the advise of a friend and this did bring the Nitrite down to about 2 and I was told to cut my ammonia down to half of what it took the first time to bring it to 5ppm. I want to make sure that I am on the right track since I would have thought that if I have that much Nitrate the Nitrite should be going down...but again I am new to this and I am really not that sure what I am doing. I hope this all makes sense to you cause I am desperate for answers! :)

Thanks,
Vince  

Answer
Hi Vince...
You are doing just fine. Since you are fishless cycling, please, no water changes. Any good bacteria that may be in there you are getting rid of. You don't have to worry about nitrite levels if there are no fish to harm.
The key to this is patience and time.
If the ammonia is consistently dropping to zero, then you have sufficient nitrites to "eat" the ammonia. The nitrate at 40ppm is a good level and things should calm down any day.
Here's what I would do.
If you plan on getting a catfish, like a common pleco, get him and add him to the tank "AFTER" your ammonia zero's out tomorrow. Plecos go good with cichlids. I keep one.
The Pleco will add natural ammonia to the tank and you can stop the additon of any ammonia.
Check your levels daily, and after one week of zero ammonia, do a 50% water change, add a bottle of stress zyme, make sure your nitrite and nitrate are good. (zero nitrite and up to 30ppm nitrate is ok).
Then you can slowly stock your tank. You are only a week away!