I sit possible to miss a nitrate spike during cycling?

[swanny]

Is it possible, oops. Started cycling my tank just over two weeks ago and saw my ammonia spike to .5, trites and trates 0. Tested a few more times and no more ammonia and still 0 trites and trates. Is it possible to cycle this fast? Did i possibly miss a day or two nitrate spike. I'm taking my time and not rushing, this is more of a curious question. Btw, I have been ghost feeding a few grains of pellets daily. TIA!

[Mad_Reefer]

More details about the tank would also be helpful. And 0 doesn't mean the "cycle" is over. Stability is what you want to look for.
See if you can add a bit more food to get a spike and watch it go down the line to nitrates.
But yes, it is possible for the nitrates to be eaten just as fast as it is turned to nitrates.

[Justdrew]

What did you use to cycle the tank? A spike to only .5 ppm is not that much ammonia. A good strong cycle will see ammonia in 1-3 ppm or even higher. This would guarantee that you will see a nitrite spike. Did you use any accelerators? Did you use existing live rock or sand from another tank? This could all effect your cycle. Also the nitrate won't spike exaclty. The nitrite will be converted to nitrate, and unless you have a means to export the nitrate, the value will just build over time. If it is just a small amount, nitrate can be consumed in the deeper parts of live rock or sand beds, but it generally takes alot longer than 2 weeks to build anaerobic bacteria to support this process.

Drew

[blackx-runner]

I'm going to guess you probably haven't cycled yet. You should have had higher levels of ammonia than that for a good strong cycle. Then you should see the nitrite spike as the ammonia drops down. Finally the nitrates will rise as the nitrite is converted.
Best thing to do is not rush out and get a load of livestock to throw in there.

[rcmania]

shake your nitrate bottles for 10 mins then run the test.

[Agu]

Don't go for a high ammonia spike, it just kills off life you paid for. A "good, strong cycle" is a contradiction. High ammonia/nitrite/ nitrate is not a good cycle IMHO,and is to be avoided

Continue "ghost feeding" another week or two and if there isn't an ammonia/ nitrite/nitrate cycle your tank is ready to go.