Cycle Diary... Finished @ Day 127!

[Bobtastic]

Lol, cheers ~wd~, the fishies are still alive so I can only assume I'm doing something right.

 

[martinking]

I was, for a bit, thinking you were somehow way ahead of schedule, but given what you've said and looking at it more clearly I now think you are probably just coming along at a very typical pace and probably have not yet begun your "nitrite spike" (where the nitrite readings go as high as the test can show) phase which means you are on a typical schedule for 2 weeks. You probably have more weeks ahead of you and the danger of pH dropping is still ahead of you also. As usual, if pH drops as low as 6.2 then we'll want you to do a gravel-clean-water-change (good chance to practice your upcoming maintenance details) of 90% and recharge with ammonia. So far though, you're nowhere near that point yet. Keep it up with the good reporting!

~~waterdrop~~

I did have the nitrite spike the other day and after that I had the very low pH and I had to do the 90% Water change and recharge, its since then that the ammonia is taking 2 -3 days to clear, where as before it was taking about 20 hours. I think it might have stalled slightly!

 

[Bobtastic]

I did have the nitrite spike the other day and after that I had the very low pH and I had to do the 90% Water change and recharge, its since then that the ammonia is taking 2 -3 days to clear, where as before it was taking about 20 hours. I think it might have stalled slightly!

I understand that if the ph drops to as low as 6 it can stall the cycle. It might be worth checking, cos u can add Bicab to the tank to bring the pH back up. Waterdrop knows more about that than I do tho.

 

[waterdrop]

I was, for a bit, thinking you were somehow way ahead of schedule, but given what you've said and looking at it more clearly I now think you are probably just coming along at a very typical pace and probably have not yet begun your "nitrite spike" (where the nitrite readings go as high as the test can show) phase which means you are on a typical schedule for 2 weeks. You probably have more weeks ahead of you and the danger of pH dropping is still ahead of you also. As usual, if pH drops as low as 6.2 then we'll want you to do a gravel-clean-water-change (good chance to practice your upcoming maintenance details) of 90% and recharge with ammonia. So far though, you're nowhere near that point yet. Keep it up with the good reporting!

~~waterdrop~~

I did have the nitrite spike the other day and after that I had the very low pH and I had to do the 90% Water change and recharge, its since then that the ammonia is taking 2 -3 days to clear, where as before it was taking about 20 hours. I think it might have stalled slightly!

The highest nitrite(NO2) reading I see in your 15-day log is a couple of 3.3ppm readings. I would assume your test kit can go much higher for nitrite(NO2) and normally we'd expect to see it go to that highest possible reading and then sit there for a week or so. That's where I'm coming from, but its always a little hard to discern, especially over a forum, since the mature media factor can put a large unknown into the types of patterns one sees over the course of the process.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[martinking]

aha I see what you mean now!

I will keep an eye out, thanks guys!

 

[martinking]

ok so last night the pH dropped back down to 6 again, so I took out all of my live plants as they were slowly dying... I was hoping that was causing most of the problems.

Then I did another 90% water change and then recharged with Ammonia, I am starting to get really annoyed with this now, my missus has seen her #### because im refilling with water and we haven't even got any fish yet!

and worst is, I have at least another 2 weeks to go!

ps. updated the front page...

 

[martinking]

Sorry about the rant!

I've updated Day 16 PM...

Cheers

 

[chesterscot]

hi mate
stick with it youll be chuffed when it all comes together your in good hands with waterdrops advice ya wont go wrong there
regards scot
..................... if only the water changes stopped when you get fish lol my wooden floorings took some spills i tell ya

 

[waterdrop]

Sorry about your plant loss. Anytime you see dead leaves, you know they'll be contributing to a change in water chemistry. Remember, later on when you get a steady tank going, its fish ventilation, fish waste, plant debris and excess food debris that are what contributes the ammonia load to the tank. These organic molecules are all broken down by heterotrophic bacteria (different from the autotrophs we want in our filters) and turned into ammonia.

It can be a tough thing bringing family members along for the fishless cycle. Sometimes it helps to keep explaining the reasons why you are doing it.. about the gill and nerve damage that happens otherwise, but I know its hard.

Your water change was definately the right response. Now that we know your water is not hard enough to hold out forever, you could actually go ahead and put a tablespoon of baking soda in there (pure kitchen baking soda, not baking powder) and this will help to lengthen the time before you have to water change again. Be sensitive to drops of several tenths of a pH degree. For instance, if the baking soda raises your pH somewhat but then after a week or so it starts dropping and is lowering past your tap level then I'd put in another tablespoon. (and note that this is just for fishless cycling, not for later when you have fish)

~~waterdrop~~

 

[martinking]

Thanks Guys,

Something weird is happening now, I havent had a chance to update my results but basically my pH has risen slightly to 7.5 and my Ammonia is dropping very slowly, but I now have no nitrites and very low nitrates.

The Ammonia has now taken nearly 2.5 days to get down to this reading!

Does anybody know whats happening?

Cheers

 

[waterdrop]

Don't forget that all these things move in slow cycles. When you did your large water change that took various things out and put other things in and so the kinds of things you see in your test results may not quite settle into a pattern you recognize very well. Its very easy to fall into thinking of it like chemistry when in fact there is a lot of biology involved and animals, even colonies of microscopic ones, don't behave the same way chemical reactions do. You sound like you're doing things right.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[martinking]

Don't forget that all these things move in slow cycles. When you did your large water change that took various things out and put other things in and so the kinds of things you see in your test results may not quite settle into a pattern you recognize very well. Its very easy to fall into thinking of it like chemistry when in fact there is a lot of biology involved and animals, even colonies of microscopic ones, don't behave the same way chemical reactions do. You sound like you're doing things right.

~~waterdrop~~

Thanks WD,

I think I am definitely seeing this as more of a chemistry experiment than biology... I think its the just the test tubes to be honest!

ok Days 17,18 and 19 updated on the front page!

Cheers

 

[waterdrop]

Looked at your front page again. Without studying it very hard my guess is that you've still not reached your nitrite spike yet, which is not uncommon for the number of days so far. Chk ya later,

~~waterdrop~~

 

[martinking]

Thanks WD,

I've updated day 19, im getting some fresh mature media tomorrow so im hoping that's going to make a big difference!

I'm going to make sure I don't ruin the bacteria before I put it in this time!

Cheers

 

[waterdrop]

Great! I hope it helps! Can't hurt!

wd