1St Time 0Ppm - Next Step ?

[anon02]

Well, I may have been a little over-enthusiastic for a 42 day case (an awful lot of fishless cycles want to end at 60 to 70 days it seems) so we'll just have to see how it goes. Its good that you're staying on top of all the parameters so that nothing will go too far wrong on you. That's the only thing really much under our control. The much greater thing is just the bacteria themselves and the filter/flow/media situation they find themselves in and its all more or less out of our control, so we just have to wait it out. WD

I`m thinking along the same lines, you cant force nature, so I`m planning on cutting the dose and therefore the nitrite and nitrate production,it`s all good practise for when I have fish in

 

[waterdrop]

Of course, one problem with varying the dose too much during the third stage might be that it gets harder to interpret the results because there is a bit of a "delayed-wave" effect I feel sometimes.. that you are reading results that are coming from somewhat earlier dosing and if that earlier dosing varied then you aren't as sure of the pattern... oh, well, you and I are both probably reading too much in to it and it just needs to go onward.

 

[anon02]

Day 43 24 hour
no test due to water change
added 5ppm ammonia

Day 44 2/11 12 hour test
ammonia = 0.25/trace
nitrite = 2ppm
nitrate = 40ppm
ph 7.0

I decided that seeing as I wont stock until I`ve seen double zeros from a 5ppm dose, I may as well keep the dose at 5ppm and do the water changes as and when. pH has dropped to tap water level but I can see that it`s not from nitrate so I`m not messing with bicarb at this late stage

 

[anon02]

Day 44 2/11 24 hour test
ammonia = 0ppm
nitrite = 0ppm
nitrate = 20-40ppm
ph 7.6
added 5ppm ammonia

Day 45 3/11 12 hour test
ammonia = 0ppm
nitrite = 0.25ppm
nitrate = 40ppm
ph 7.6

So close

 

[anon02]

Day 45 24 hours
ph 7.4
Dosed 5ppm ammonia


Day 46 12 hours
ammonia = 0ppm
nitrite = 1ppm
nitrate = 40ppm
ph 7.4

Going backwards !!! Marvellous

 

[frida]

Day 45 24 hours
ph 7.4
Dosed 5ppm ammonia


Day 46 12 hours
ammonia = 0ppm
nitrite = 1ppm
nitrate = 40ppm
ph 7.4

Going backwards !!! Marvellous

Oh no!! Are they going on holiday again?

 

[anon02]

Just a blip, back to double zeros

 

[anon02]

Day 46 24 hours
added 5ppm ammonia

day 47 5/11 12 hours
ammonia = 0ppm
nitrite = 0ppm
nitrate = 40/80ppm
ph 6.8
added bicarb to adjust ph back up to 8.2

 

[frida]

Day 46 24 hours
added 5ppm ammonia

day 47 5/11 12 hours
ammonia = 0ppm
nitrite = 0ppm
nitrate = 40/80ppm
ph 6.8
added bicarb to adjust ph back up to 8.2

Hopefully you're at the start of your qualifying week then, and no more blips!

 

[anon02]

I may just take everything down, give a wash in bleach and start again

Cycling is such fun

 

[anon02]

Day 47 24 hours
added 5ppm ammonia
ph 8.2

Day 48 12 hour test
ammonia = 0ppm
nitrite = 0.25ppm
nitrate = 80ppm
ph 8.2

Another blip, do I have to start my qualifying week over ?

 

[waterdrop]

I would base that on the actual availability of the first stocking fish you want, your own schedule of availability for the big water change and being around to watch and enjoy the first stocking. Watching little nitrite blips gets ridiculous sometimes, late in the third stage - as dedicated as a good fishless cycler is we can count on you to do any necessary water changes if a small mini-cycle were to occur after the first stocking. How long has the overall fishless cycle been? Usually the first stocking won't be close to 100% anyway and by the time the qualifying week is just showing a random little blip, its unlikely to show up once there are fish instead of the huge 5ppm being dumped in daily. If there is some hitch in the schedule or fish availability then by all means take advantage of it to lengthen the qualifying period though.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[anon02]

I`ll dose up 5ppm tonight and see what tomorrows tests say. It seems a shame to come so far and not see it through to a conclusion, I have a little patience left in the tank even though I feel I`ve done more cycling than Lance Armstrong

I have plenty of time on my hands for the wc and stocking so no pressure there. My first stocking into the 50 litre will be 6 harlequins until the 215 litre is scaped and planted, then I plan to use it (50 l) as a q tank to hold the rest of the stock at about 6 fish at a time until the big tank is fully stocked, then maybe try to breed something when all the stocking is done

 

[Skins]

You've earned yourself the yellow jersey

 

[anon02]

You've earned yourself the yellow jersey

Day 49
Double zeros
Peace and tranquility has returned to my world

Whatever was all the fuss about