Bojangles Fishless Cycle

[Bojangles]

I have decided to cycle my tank properly using a fishless cycle

I did have fish for 2 weeks in my tank after using mature media i got when i bought a filter from a member on here but for the life of me i could not get rid of ammonia so as i say im am starting again from the begining.


My water stats are as follows

Ammonia - 1- ppm (need to add more drops)
Nitrite - 0 ppm
Nitrate - 10 ppm
Ph 7.6
High PH 8


Question

1/ How much ammonia should i put in the tank i read someplace you should only take it up to 2 ppm but in the calculator on this site it says take it to 5 ppm

2/ What should u turn my heater up to its currently on 80f

3/ Air stone should i be using this all day or is it ok to turn it on in intervals during the day?

But the most important question

I am going to Disneyland Paris on 1st dec so i am going to ask my parents to add 5 drops of ammonia a day untill i get back will this keep the cycle going untill i come back home?

 

[Bojangles]

I have decided to cycle my tank properly using a fishless cycle

I did have fish for 2 weeks in my tank after using mature media i got when i bought a filter from a member on here but for the life of me i could not get rid of ammonia so as i say im am starting again from the begining.


My water stats are as follows

Ammonia - 1- ppm (need to add more drops)
Nitrite - 0 ppm
Nitrate - 10 ppm
Ph 7.6
High PH 8


Question

1/ How much ammonia should i put in the tank i read someplace you should only take it up to 2 ppm but in the calculator on this site it says take it to 5 ppm

2/ What should u turn my heater up to its currently on 80f

3/ Air stone should i be using this all day or is it ok to turn it on in intervals during the day?

But the most important question

I am going to Disneyland Paris on 1st dec so i am going to ask my parents to add 5 drops of ammonia a day untill i get back will this keep the cycle going untill i come back home?

Bump

 

[Miss Wiggle]

sorry for the delayed reply bojangles, with the forum so slow it's hard to get round to anything

you've certainly made the right decision in a fishless cycle.

1 - to start out with you top it up to 5ppm, later on in the cycle in the 'nitrite spike' phase you can drop it down to 2/3ppm so you don't have so much nitrite produced.

really you have to remember cycling is a supply and demand thing, you can cycle a tank just using 2ppm all the way through, but this means you can only half stock the tank, if you do it to 5ppm then you can fully stock the tank after the cycle is done. doing it with 5ppm will take a little bit longer, but not a whole lot so it's worth doing it.

2 - sorry i'm rubbish in farenheight, raise it to around 30oC

3 - airstone can be beneficial but it's not essential, so you can turn it on and off as you like

getting your parents to add ammonia works in principle, just need to iron out a few things to make sure that they're doing what they need to do.

well the amount of drops is going to depend on the size of the tank, what does 5 drops raise your ammonia up to from 0?

the second thing to consider is where you are in the cycle and how long you'll be away for. if your ammonia is dropping in 3/4 days and you'll only be away for 3/4 days then it's fine to go without adding anything, but if it's dropping in 24hrs by that time and you'll be away for 2 weeks then yes they'll need to add daily for you.

i think it's best to make another post on the subject a couple of days before you go and let us know where you are in the cycle, and then we can advise on what your parents are best to do, but the principle of them just topping up with a small amount of ammonia each day is fine, it may mean in the long run the whole process takes a couple of days longer, but it'll keep the bacteria alive while you're away and keep everything ticking over

 

[Schmill]

30 degrees Celsius = 86 degrees Fahrenheit

 

[petertr]

Really sorry to hear that the sponges in my fluval 4 didn't work for you. Can't understand why though

Good luck with the fishless cycle mate.

 

[Bojangles]

Update

Tank Cycle is on hold

Went to do my tests this morning only to walk in to a undoor swimming pool half my tank water was on my bedroom floor

Taking tank back to pests@home today and wont be leaving untill i get a refund

 

[petertr]

I think they should be compensating you for the damage done as well!

 

[Bojangles]

I think they should be compensating you for the damage done as well!

Me sister just said the same thing

Going to menton that the carpet needs replacing even if they knock a daft £20 of another tank i will be happy

Im just happy it tripped the power when it did or god knows what would have happened

 

[Miss Wiggle]

oh no! what a nightmare

better now than with fish in though at least

 

[waterdrop]

Really sorry to hear of your tank breakage. We had the same thing happen. Be sure to inspect the stand carefully, as it could be the cause. If you are indeed using a stand made for a tank and perhaps purchased along with the tank, many of these are made with "particle board" (wood chips/dust/shavings that are soaked in glue I believe) and can swell significantly if they get wet. If excess water during tank maintenance drips down to these stands, it can swell the wood, creating an uneven surface and quickly causing the tank bottom to crack.

In any case it will make sense to examine the situation and figure out what went wrong and take time to remedy it if needed.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Bojangles]

Just get back from pets at home wit ha new tank.

Women in pets at home made me feel like some kind of criminal for taken a broken tank back then started telling me that its not a pets at home policy to change or refund goods and i would have to leave the tank 1 week for them to see if it really was leaking which made me kinda angry so i got my mobile out and told her i will see what the trading stands say on this so called policy she soon changed her mind and went and got a new tank from the stockroom


Pets at home wont ever be getting my custom again!!

 

[petertr]

"its not a pets at home policy to change or refund goods"


Er, that isn't their policy, its the law! lol



Hope it hasn't made too much of a mess of the floor buddy

 

[Bojangles]

"its not a pets at home policy to change or refund goods"


Er, that isn't their policy, its the law! lol



Hope it hasn't made too much of a mess of the floor buddy

Drying out nicely now that i ran over it with carpet cleaner

 

[Bojangles]

Back to my cycle

After getting new tank and setting it added 2 caps of the cycle i got with the new tank set up waste not want not tho what good it will do i dont know

Set the heater to 80F added 5 drops of ammonia taken it to round about 3ppm thats a rough guess tho because i have ran out of the ammonia test need to pick up a new kit tomorrow

When i test my Ammonia tomorrow evening will take it back up to 5 ppm


On a side not can any of the North East lads reccomend a decent LFS where i can pick up a freshwater test kit in the Durham area as the ones in Sunderland are sold out

 

[Miss Wiggle]

dump all the cycle in, it probably won't do anything but with nmo fish in there's no risk from putting it all in, just dump the whole lot in and hope there's some bacteria alive in there.