Ask Questions About Cycling

[danzo]

Lol yea I'm same if you look no punctuation anywhere lol understood yea I'd just cycle then keep adding it until your Ammonia drops but thanks for letting me know where to get it from been looking everywhere lol

 

[Ch4rlie]

Yup, had exactly the same problem as you trying to find ammonia when clicked on forum link and nothing happened regarding pics. Was pretty frustrating! Lol.

Was just by chance I happened to come across the eBay one, looked good and is made just for aquarium purposes. Perfect!

Will add some Nutrafin cycle tomorrow. Thanks.

 

[danzo]

not a problm might have to order some in for myself dotn think the benificial bactira is working out as got no ammonia in there at all lol but just bee strugglign to find some thanks for that infromation

 

[FungusTrooper]

Low level planting- start with a 1 ppm addition.
Moderate level planting- start with a 2 ppm addition.
Heavy level planting- start with a 3 ppm. (Usually here one is adding CO2 and fertilizing regularly with high light levels.)
 
Each level of planting should consume that amount of ammonia in 24 hours or less. So you dose and test in 24. If you don't have a 0 reading, you don't have that level of planting. Depending how long it takes to clear the ammonia will determine how one proceeds. For the bigger plant loads the process goes one way and for smaller loads it goes another.
 
In your case it looks like you have a moderate level of plants. So if you have not added the 3 ppm suggested by eagle, change it to 2/3 the original dose amount so you are adding 2 ppm and test every 24 til its gone. If you have added the 3 ppm, not a biggie, still test every 24.

Heyo, so, okay. At 5pm last night, it was 0/0. I dosed with ammonia to bring it back up to 3ppm, waited half an hour and tested to make sure, then left it overnight.
I tested at about 9:30am this morning, and it's now about 0.5ppm. What's my next course of action? I'm almost certain it'll be 0ppm by tomorrow, maybe even by 5pm tonight.
 
Thanks for the help, hopefully once I wrap my head around all this I'll be able to help some people too.

 

[Blondielovesfish]

I don't see any point in adding nutrafin cycle. From what I've read, it doesn't speed things up and is just a waste of money IMO.
In a similar time frame the ammonia will still come down regardless of if you add the cycle or not. You just have to be patient.

 

[FungusTrooper]

Heyo, so, okay. At 5pm last night, it was 0/0. I dosed with ammonia to bring it back up to 3ppm, waited half an hour and tested to make sure, then left it overnight.
I tested at about 9:30am this morning, and it's now about 0.5ppm. What's my next course of action? I'm almost certain it'll be 0ppm by tomorrow, maybe even by 5pm tonight.

Since I can't edit my post any longer, sorry for double posting!
 
I just tested again (24 hours since I dosed back to 3ppm) and ammonia is about 0.125 and nitrites are just over 1. So.. now I'm on step two, feeding it snack amounts of ammonia and testing daily until they both hit very low, then feeding a full dose and hoping it eats it all within 24 hours, right?

How exciting.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

That's it...
 
Good work, keep it up.

 

[Ch4rlie]

I don't see any point in adding nutrafin cycle. From what I've read, it doesn't speed things up and is just a waste of money IMO.
In a similar time frame the ammonia will still come down regardless of if you add the cycle or not. You just have to be patient.

Thanks for that about Nutrafin, was never sure about it and always seem to be some conflicting advice.

Am always umming and ahhing about whether to add the stuff or not.

Think really am just impatient and want to see things moving in regards to fish cycle. So again, will do a wait and see situation!!

 

[eaglesaquarium]

If you are really looking to speed things up, adding mature media is the surest bet there is.
 
 
Even adding a few plants will help, as they often carry some of the bacteria we are trying to cultivate as well... or some pieces of substrate or decor that have been in an established (healthy) tank as well.  All of these will introduce the proper bacteria and can kickstart things.

 

[Alexarium]

I'd like to ask a few of questions:

1. On day 20 of the cycle I got a reading of 0ppm ammonia and 5ppm nitrite. I added my initial dose of ammonia and tested after around 40 minutes. The result I got was 2ppm ammonia and either 2 or 5ppm nitrite (most probably 5ppm but it is so very difficult to tell the difference with the API test). Should I add more ammonia to reach 3ppm?
2. The article says When you get two consecutive ammonia readings of 0 ppm, give the bacteria a “snack”. Trying to clarify just to be sure, does this mean that if I test i.e. Monday and get 0ppm ammonia, then test Wednesday and get 0ppm ammonia again, then I add the "snack"?
3. When is the most appropriate time to add plants? Would adding them when I empty the tank to do the water change, right before I add the fish, be ok?
4. During all my cycle testing, I have seen a costant appearance of 40ppm nitrate. Is this normal? I am hitting the API 2nd bottle hard and shaking it and agitating it really really well.

Thanks

 

[TwoTankAmin]

On day 20 of the cycle I got a reading of 0ppm ammonia and 5ppm nitrite. I added my initial dose of ammonia and tested after around 40 minutes. The result I got was 2ppm ammonia and either 2 or 5ppm nitrite (most probably 5ppm but it is so very difficult to tell the difference with the API test). Should I add more ammonia to reach 3ppm?
 
I think you may have been late on this addition. My bet was your test reading the time before may have met the addition conditions if not the one before that. The second 3 ppm dose should be done when ammonia in under .75 ppm and nitrite above 2.0 ppm. You were at 0/5. However, if this was only the second addition of 3 ppm it should not have cause serious problems.
 
The article says When you get two consecutive ammonia readings of 0 ppm, give the bacteria a “snack”. Trying to clarify just to be sure, does this mean that if I test i.e. Monday and get 0ppm ammonia, then test Wednesday and get 0ppm ammonia again, then I add the "snack"?
 
Yes once you have done the second 3 ppm ammonia addition, when you then get 2 consecutive ammonia test readings of 0 ppm, you feed the snack.
 
When is the most appropriate time to add plants? Would adding them when I empty the tank to do the water change, right before I add the fish, be ok?
 
Before you start the cycle.
 
During all my cycle testing, I have seen a costant appearance of 40ppm nitrate. Is this normal? I am hitting the API 2nd bottle hard and shaking it and agitating it really really well.
 
Have you tested your tap Nitrates? And the way the nitrate kits work is first they convert nitrate to nitrite and then read that. Aside from a kit for something you have no need to test at all, the nitrate tests rate at the bottom of the list for accuracy, reliability and utility of all the kits one might use. I don't think I have used one in over 10 years now.

 

[Alexarium]

This was indeed the second addition of 3ppm.
You got me worried though. Should I change something? Add more ammonia or do a water change?
Or just leave everything as it is?
 
I thought the plants would absorb some of the ammonia and derange the cycle.
Should I add them now?
 
Also, what you are saying is you never check on nitrates at all? Cause if that's the case, it's fine with me!
 
Thank you for taking time to reply

 

[Mar0811]

Extreme noob here. I want to thank everyone and this forum for the vast info I have gotten. Let me say I am a little overwhelmed. I had no idea there is a cycling process before fish can be added and the process seems complicated for a first timer but I will attack it! I noticed in the thread about cycling it says after the tank has been cycled to do a water change. This confuses me. Why change the water after it has been cycled? And how much to change? Does the cycle start over? I am just confused about the water change part. What maintenance is to be done after the cycle is complete? How often to test water and what to add? Sorry if this is a very basic question but I am new. Also...tropical/freshwater, what is the difference? Any cycling difference? Thanks!

 

[Mar0811]

Also, when changing the water how much to change and how often? Once a month? I have read some sources that say 25% every month, how is that done? I am very new at this. Just siphen out some water and replace with new water? thanks!

 

[Essjay]

The bacteria you grow during a cycle turn ammonia into nitrite then that nitrite into nitrate. Nothing removes the nitrate so it builds up. The water change at the end of the cycle is to remove the nitrate that has built up during the cycle. The cycle doesn't start over as the bacteria grown in the cycle live on surfaces not in the water, so unless you forget to add dechlorinator to the new water it won't affect the bacteria.
With the old method of fishless cycling, the amount of nitrate made was enormous. The water change had to be almost 100%. With the new method, it won't get as high, but a big water change (which I would call at least 75%) still needs to be done.
 
Freshwater/tropical - freshwater just means water from rivers and lakes as opposed water with salt in it like the sea. Tropical means water that is around 25o C (77o F) rather than cold water. The instructions in this section of the forum are for freshwater (no salt). The temperature you keep the fish at after the cycle could be tropical or cold, the cycling process is the same for them all.
 
Once the cycle has finished and you have fish you do weekly water changes; somewhere in the region of 20 to 30% for a tank that is not overstocked. Use a siphon tube to take the water out and use the tube to remove the mess on the bottom (uneaten food - though there should not be any if you are feeding the right amount - fish poop, bits of dead plants etc). If you have gravel, you push the wide end of the tube into the gravel, watch till the bits stop flowing then move the tube to the next bit of gravel and so on. If you have sand, you swirl the end of the tube about half an inch above the sand to lift the mess off the bottom and into the tube. This sounds a bit complicated at first but you'll soon get the hang of it.
The new water should be around the same temp as the tank water - feeling the two with your hand will get it close enough. Warm the new water with hot tapwater* or water boiled in a kettle. You also add dechlorinator (also called water conditioner) to the new water. If you use a bucket, like me, to put the new water in it is easiest to add dechlorinator to each bucket, at the amount for the volume of the bucket.
 
As for testing the tankwater - when you first get fish, test every day for several days to make sure your ammonia and nitrite stay at zero. Test again for a few days whenever you add new fish. Once you are sure everything is staying OK, you can test once a week for a while. When the tank has been running a few months with no problems, you can test once a month to keep an eye on it. After a while you won't need to test very often. You'll get to know your fish - what is normal for them and what isn't. If ever you see a fish behaving oddly, check the water. I've had fish for 17 years; I check the water when I think about it, maybe twice a year if that.
 
 
 
* unless you have the kind of hot water system we have where the hot water is stored in a cyclinder which is fed from a cold water tank in the attic - all sorts of nasties can get into that cold water feeder tank eg dead rats.