HI, after un unsuccessful start to fish keeping....I started to do everything 'by the book'...
I set up my tank about 2 weeks ago, ready to start my fishless cycle:

15 gallon tank
Dechlorinator and Nutrafin Cycle added
undergravel filter
Bio/Mechanical filter
Gravel, Fake Plants etc
Heater 82/28o
Bubble Wall

On day 1, I added 1ml of pure ammonia, reading about 3-4ppm, a week later I did a test and it gave me a 0ppm reading, I was initially unsure of how much ammonia to add so I thought I must not have added enough ammonia so I added 5ml more ammonia. Did another test and got a reading of about 5-6ppm. Today, another week later) I have done a reading and my ammonia is back at 0ppm. My other readings show:

NO2 - 1.6ppm
NO3 - 110+ off the scale
PH = 7.5
GH = 10
KH = 7

SO my question is is this possible? am I missing something?, have I done something wrong?.....I though this was meant to take 40 days or so.
As I understand it, once ammonia is 0ppm ang the nitrates have spiked you do a huge water change and you're pretty much good to go.
I noticed 2 different fishless cycle methods on this website, one states add ammonia on day 1 only, the other states add it daily, so which is the right one...
What do I do next then?

Hi Drew, I have never done a fishless cycle but it makes more sense to me to add smaller amounts of ammonia daily, it mimicks the way fish would excrete waste.

Your nitrItes are going well but your nitrAtes are really weird 110+? What test kit are you using?

Ok, I suggest that you do a 50% water change and add more Cycle, it should be added weekly regardless of whether you do a water change or not when cycling. Then I would add 1 ml of ammonia daily and monitor your water param's, see how things are going in another week.

what filter and stuff are you using, any live plants etc?

just interested

Hi Drew,
I am in the middle of fishless cycle also. I add only once at the beginning. In the biginning my ammonia level was 8. Two days after, I got Nitrite 0.25. This is the fourth day of the process and I am getting Nitrite .50.
In my case, I put some beneficial bacterial also.

I'm using a Nutrafin 'essential mini master' test kit. Yep the readings are 110ppm I put the + in as the colour was a deeper purple than the last one (110) on the scale. This is what I'm talking about.... here's the guide I followed http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/FishlessCycle.html There is also another one on Kokos site that suggests adding ammonia daily.... confusing hey!

The filter is a Juwel Compact, you can see it here http://www.juwel-aquarium.de/en/filter_full.htm No real plants only fake ones.

So fishmesmerised, you think I should do a 50% water change and add ammonia daily? How much, I've read about 0.3ml a day, And what results am I ultimately looking for?

You're looking for 0ppm ammonia and nitrite and less than 30ppm nitrate.

Sorry I meant, as far as the fishless cycle...or is that it once you have those readings you're done?

You have the same test for nitrate i have and found really confusing so went to test strips. 110 is in the right range and I think would be around 30 on my test strips. Test your tap water to see what that is reading and if the same then its ok.
Is this tank for goldies as UG isnt very effective and Juwels need a good second filter to keep up with fish waste?
As for the cycle you have to test your water every day and keep adding ammonia to keep it at around 3 and above as necessary. Once the nitrite levels start then reduce the ammonia to 1 and only add when below this amount. Once the nitrites look to be dropping then add ammonia at .5 until the nitrites are 0 and once at 0 do a 50% water change to get your tank at 0 for ammonia and nitrite and add 1 goldfish. After a few days of testing and the ammonia and nitrites havent changed then if your tank is big enough add another fish or if its meant for one fish then your tank is cycled. With using the bacteria as well it wont take long to cycle but using just ammonia it should take a few weeks to complete. The higher the water temperature the quicker the process.

Hi Sandy, are you saying I need 3 filters as I have a UG one as an added axtra really and a bio/mechanical (described above) as my main. So basically keep adding ammonia daily (reading 3ppm) until the nitrite levels start to decrease, when they do keep ammonia at 1ppm until nitrites read 0ppm then 50% water change then done!
The tank is only going to be for 1 lionhead, prob too small for 2...what do you think?

That'd be good for the one goldie, he (or she) will really love you for the extra space

Good luck with the rest of the cycle. It might be a good idea (if you aren't already) to make a chart from week to week so you can easily compare your cycle's progress.