12 Days Into Fishless Cycle... Huge Bloom, Massive Nitrites

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fatheadminnow said:
I stand behind my own research but thanks for the info.  Some of this stuff is newly discovered so thanks for the link to that article.  The fishless cycling method, on this site, has changed so many times but I still stick with my method because it has been proven to work for me and my customers time after time again.
 
I still like to dose near 5ppm at the beginning and taper off near the end.  However, I still like to dose everyday, per my method.   I'll do some further studies in the coming months for my own personal gain.  Thanks for the info, though, I do stand corrected on some of the information such as the dormancy.  It was thought, back in the day, they die off instead of go dormant.  However I have seen much longer rebound times than a mere 2 hours.  I have seen days so I find that part to not be totally accurate compared to my research.  
 
There are many factors that go into the bounce back time, including which particular species are in the tank.  These articles refer to very specific species, some of which are in our tanks, but not always.  Which species of bacteria were you cultivating and researching?
 
 
You have referenced your own research a few times, and as a bit of a science nerd myself, I'd be curious to see it.  If you would post your research into the scientific section, it would be a great benefit to all members.
 
 
The fishless cycle article on this site was changed only once in the last 4.5 years since I've been a member of the site.  The mod team changed it to the new article as the new article is more in line with current research.  It was changed only for the purposes of offering the simplest method (and more importantly, most effective and efficient) we could for new members.  The number of questions regarding cycling have dropped a great deal as far fewer individuals following the method are running into stalled cycles, by keeping the total ammonia added to a minimum, while still producing a robust enough bacterial colony to deal with the ammonia for a full tank of fish.  
 
I'm going to try this new method.  I'm interested in seeing the results myself first hand.
 
I guess the most I have done some studies on is how the autotrophic bacteria behave in different scenarios.  I do have a few articles on this site in the scientific section if someone wants to dig them up lol.  They are probably out dated now since I wrote those about 4 years ago.
 
At last... Tank #1 tested ammonia at 0.0 ppm this morning and nitrites were at 0.0 ppm. Nitrates were approximately 120 ppm. I dosed ammonia back up to 3 ppm and will check tomorrow morning. If ammonia and nitrates are both at 0.0 ppm, it's time for a water change and stocking of the tank!

Tank #2 still has nitrates of 2.0 ppm as of this morning.

All said and done, if I'm good to go tomorrow, tank #1 will have had a timeframe of 28 days for cycling. Today is day 29 for tank #2.
 
28 days is a really good cycle time.  Hopefully everything works out for ya.
 
Haven't replied lately, but both tanks cycled. As mentioned above, tank #1 in 28 days, tank #2 was done in 30 days. Tank #1 currently has 2 small angels, 3 female blue wag platys, 3 panda cories and 3 green cories. Tank #2 (was bare-bottomed; now has substrate) has 6 long-finned leopard danios, 4 red-eye tetras, and a male blue wag platy that was committing felony sexual harassment against one of the females in tank #1 and was moved. *Knock on wood* I haven't lost any fish, and have just completed a cycle in a 29 gallon tank (had a bag of media on the floor of tank #2 that I used to cycle) that took 6 days. (Yes, I have a bad case of multi-tank syndrome - we have since added 3 ten-gallon tanks as quarantine and fry tanks, and have a spare 20 gallon-tall that we got at a dollar-a-gallon sale at a local pet store... I'm trying to find space for a 60 gallon... my wife and I want to start a tank together - she currently has a 30 gallon).
 
The angels will be moved as soon as my decorations for the 29 gallon are finished. I'm currently waiting on the driftwood to finish leaching tannins before I add it and plants to the 29. Once that's done, I'll give the tank a couple days, then they're in a new home. The danios were a mistake... my daughter loves them, but they seem to stress other fish out too much. We call tank #2 the lunatic asylum now since those knuckleheads act like a bunch of 4-year-old kids on a sugar rush in a toy store.
 
Many thanks to all that advised here! Hopefully I can repay the info someday.
 

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