New 5.5 Gallon Dwarf Puffer Tank

[waterdrop]

 

[jmiller]

PH/Ammonia/Nitrite/Nitrate

Day 1.....7.8/4.0/1.0/5.0
Day 2.....7.8/2.0/5.0/20.0
Day 3.....7.8/ 0 /5+ /20.0.....dosed to 4ppm
Day 4.....7.4/ 0 /5+ /5.0 .....dosed to 4ppm
Day 5.....7.4/ 0 /5+ /5.0 .....dosed to 4ppm
Day 6.....7.4/ 0 /5+ /40.0.....dosed to 4ppm
Day 7.....7.4/ 0 /0.5/40-80....dosed to 4ppm
Day 8.....7.4/ 0 / 0 /80.......dosed to 4ppm/checking every 12 hrs now
Day 9am... - / 0 / 1 / - ......
Day 9pm...7.4/ 0 / 0 /40.......dosed to 4ppm
Day 10am.. - / 0 / 1 / - ......
Day 10pm..7.4/ 0 / 0 /40.......dosed to 4 ppm
Day 11am.. - / 0 /<1 / - ......
Day 11pm..7.4/ 0 / 0 / 40......dosed to 4ppm/ pm testing done by "Neon Girl"
Day 12am.. - / - /<1 / - ......
Day 12pm.. - / - / 0 / - ......dosed to 4ppm/ removed one piece of driftwood to make way for plants

 

[jmiller]

PH/Ammonia/Nitrite/Nitrate

Day 1.....7.8/4.0/1.0/5.0
Day 2.....7.8/2.0/5.0/20.0
Day 3.....7.8/ 0 /5+ /20.0.....dosed to 4ppm
Day 4.....7.4/ 0 /5+ /5.0 .....dosed to 4ppm
Day 5.....7.4/ 0 /5+ /5.0 .....dosed to 4ppm
Day 6.....7.4/ 0 /5+ /40.0.....dosed to 4ppm
Day 7.....7.4/ 0 /0.5/40-80....dosed to 4ppm
Day 8.....7.4/ 0 / 0 /80.......dosed to 4ppm/checking every 12 hrs now
Day 9am... - / 0 / 1 / - ......
Day 9pm...7.4/ 0 / 0 /40.......dosed to 4ppm
Day 10am.. - / 0 / 1 / - ......
Day 10pm..7.4/ 0 / 0 /40.......dosed to 4 ppm
Day 11am.. - / 0 /<1 / - ......
Day 11pm..7.4/ 0 / 0 / 40......dosed to 4ppm/ pm testing done by "Neon Girl"
Day 12am.. - / - /<1 / - ......
Day 12pm.. - / - / 0 / - ......dosed to 4ppm/ removed one piece of driftwood to make way for plants
Day 13am.. - / - /<1 / - ......
Day 13pm.. - / - / 0 / - ......dosed to 4ppm

I'm starting to feel like a broken record.

 

[jmiller]

PH/Ammonia/Nitrite/Nitrate

Day 1.....7.8/4.0/1.0/5.0
Day 2.....7.8/2.0/5.0/20.0
Day 3.....7.8/ 0 /5+ /20.0.....dosed to 4ppm
Day 4.....7.4/ 0 /5+ /5.0 .....dosed to 4ppm
Day 5.....7.4/ 0 /5+ /5.0 .....dosed to 4ppm
Day 6.....7.4/ 0 /5+ /40.0.....dosed to 4ppm
Day 7.....7.4/ 0 /0.5/40-80....dosed to 4ppm
Day 8.....7.4/ 0 / 0 /80.......dosed to 4ppm/checking every 12 hrs now
Day 9am... - / 0 / 1 / - ......
Day 9pm...7.4/ 0 / 0 /40.......dosed to 4ppm
Day 10am.. - / 0 / 1 / - ......
Day 10pm..7.4/ 0 / 0 /40.......dosed to 4 ppm
Day 11am.. - / 0 /<1 / - ......
Day 11pm..7.4/ 0 / 0 / 40......dosed to 4ppm/ pm testing done by "Neon Girl"
Day 12am.. - / - /<1 / - ......
Day 12pm.. - / - / 0 / - ......dosed to 4ppm/ removed one piece of driftwood to make way for plants
Day 13am.. - / - /<1 / - ......
Day 13pm.. - / - / 0 / - ......dosed to 4ppm

Day 14am.. - / - / 0 / - .....My first zero Nitrite reading at 12 hr

Okay since this thing seems just about finished it's time to plan my planting and stocking without destroying everything I've done so far. I will release my plant order that has been on hold and it should deliver next Wednesday or Thursday and I'll go by and order my fish and schedule delivery for next Friday.

I've read a lot about staring a cycle but not so much on how to end one. I will continue to dose the ammonia every 24 hrs but let's assume my plants will deliver on Wednesday, when do I stop adding it?, and when would the big water change need to happen?

 

[LilyRose Tank]

There is kind of a funny story about this tank. Especially with what I wrote in Jayne's thread about her 4th tank, if you don't remember it was about trying to sneek the next one past her husband. When I came home with this one the wife was busy doing something and didn't see me bring it in. It set on my desk for about an hour until I finally got around to setting it up. I had it almost comepletely done when she walked into the room and immediately said "You bought another tank!?". And I replied with the straightest face possible "Nope, this is the one that I've had forever and I'm finally getting around to putting it up."

Pity I left the receipt out. I got busted.

sorry Just started reading your post....lol, lmao....haha.....well dishonesty never works does it babe...good luck with tank, off to read the rest of the thread
OK now read the rest of you thread, this is a very fast cycle, which are usually prone to sticking problems, try not to do a me.....don't be impaitient......let the plants wait til you have finished the final qualifying week, i have never seen a cycled tank in 3 weeks! sloooooooow down and watch x

 

[jmiller]

Oh she really doesn't care at all, she thinks it's kind of funny how I'm so obsessed with this little fish. She knows she has absolutely no room to talk because I had to build a room in the basement for all of her sewing/knitting/craft stuff. Complete with storage closets, sofa, tv, large cutting table, french doors going into it, remodeled bathroom next to it, , you get the idea.

I think I'll be fine as far as the cycle goes, after all this tank is being cycled for one 1/2" (1.25cm) fish. I think it will be pretty safe to bet that there is no way that it actually need to be able to handle as much as it was conditioned to.

 

[LilyRose Tank]

Yeah know what you mean, there are dwarf puffers at one of my lfstoo...and oh boy would I love one but i can't have another tank and I understand they are aggressive, so can't have one, even though they are so beautiful. good luck

 

[jmiller]

...and oh boy would I love one but i can't have another tank...

Isn't that what you said last time?
Yes they require they own tank, but it's a very little tank. Start working on that husband of yours.

 

[jmiller]

PH/Ammonia/Nitrite/Nitrate

Day 1.....7.8/4.0/1.0/5.0
Day 2.....7.8/2.0/5.0/20.0
Day 3.....7.8/ 0 /5+ /20.0.....dosed to 4ppm
Day 4.....7.4/ 0 /5+ /5.0 .....dosed to 4ppm
Day 5.....7.4/ 0 /5+ /5.0 .....dosed to 4ppm
Day 6.....7.4/ 0 /5+ /40.0.....dosed to 4ppm
Day 7.....7.4/ 0 /0.5/40-80....dosed to 4ppm
Day 8.....7.4/ 0 / 0 /80.......dosed to 4ppm/checking every 12 hrs now
Day 9am... - / 0 / 1 / - ......
Day 9pm...7.4/ 0 / 0 /40.......dosed to 4ppm
Day 10am.. - / 0 / 1 / - ......
Day 10pm..7.4/ 0 / 0 /40.......dosed to 4 ppm
Day 11am.. - / 0 /<1 / - ......
Day 11pm..7.4/ 0 / 0 / 40......dosed to 4ppm/ pm testing done by "Neon Girl"
Day 12am.. - / - /<1 / - ......
Day 12pm.. - / - / 0 / - ......dosed to 4ppm/ removed one piece of driftwood to make way for plants
Day 13am.. - / - /<1 / - ......
Day 13pm.. - / - / 0 / - ......dosed to 4ppm
Day 14am.. - / - / 0 / - .....My first zero Nitrite reading at 12 hr
Day 14pm..7.4/ 0 / 0 / 80.....dosed to 4ppm

 

[waterdrop]

Fishless cycle looking good there John. Weekend coming up, can't wait to see what new tank Jayne will find -this- weekend! WD

 

[jmiller]

Can you help me out here?

Okay since this thing seems just about finished it's time to plan my planting and stocking without destroying everything I've done so far. I will release my plant order that has been on hold and it should deliver next Wednesday or Thursday and I'll go by and order my fish and schedule delivery for next Friday.

I've read a lot about staring a cycle but not so much on how to end one. I will continue to dose the ammonia every 24 hrs but let's assume my plants will deliver on Wednesday, when do I stop adding it?, and when would the big water change need to happen?

I'm pretty sure her next tank will be a dwarf puffer tank.

 

[waterdrop]

Well, once you do the big water change and stop supplying ammonia, you will begin to lose bacteria but only at a tiny rate at first, pehaps 1% the first day, 2 the next, 4 the third, something like that. So if you can't manage it the very next day its not a disaster, although I think the common thing to to perhaps water change. In fact, the big water change is mostly to clear out nitrate(NO3), so you can actually dose ammonia -again- if you know you're going to have to go another day - it won't produce that much nitrate just once or twice. Just be sure all ammonia has cleared of course before releasing fish into the tank.

Its a weird feeling, switching to fish, because you no longer are dosing ammonia, but you keep up the testing in case you get a mini-cycle of any sort, in which case you switch to fish-in cycling behaviour immediately, of course.

It still takes a tank some more months to really settle in. I sometimes think that about 6 months is the sweet spot where one day you look at the tank and it just seems vibrant and perfect. After a good fishless cycle though, the fish (if you get a healthy batch) should look great from day one and stay that way.

WD

 

[jmiller]

Okay that's what I needed to know. If everything continues like it should then the day the plants arrive I'll do the big water change and stop dosing. That way it will only be two days max.

 

[waterdrop]

Tell me the name of your plant supplier again. I may give them a try someday. WD

 

[jmiller]

http/www.sweetaquatics.com/

This is what I plan on stuffing into this 5.5 gal:
1 Bacopa Australis
2 Lilaeopsis Mauritiana potted (will be split)
1 Anubias Barteri Var Nana narrowleaf
3 Vallisnmeria Spiraus Leopard
1 Cryptocoryne Walkeri potted

Since I took out the driftwood I have a few round stones that I might put in.