CezzaXV
Fish Gatherer
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Hello all!
Just a thread I've made to keep a record of my cycle in. I tried starting a blog but I felt like each post had to be substantial rather than being able to just post readings and such. Feel free to comment, give pointers etc.
Tank setup:
Marina Style 60 from Pets at Home - capacity 60L Pic
Heater and filter came bundled with the tank.
Substrate half gravel and half sand
5/9/11 - Washed out gravel and sand and arranged in tank
6/9/11 8:20AM - filled tank with water and dechlorinated. Water is rather cloudy, but have left the filter and heater running whilst at work. Hopefully will have cleared up by the time I get home.
6/9/11 6PM - Water quality has improved, but is still somewhat clouded. After a large (maybe 70-80%) water change, the water is still slightly cloudy but very much improved. Hopefully the filter will clear it completely soon. Still waiting for my test kit to arrive (rather annoying, since it was one of the first things I ordered, but other things I ordered days after arrived days ago. Sod's law!). I've now used all of the tiny bottle of dechlorinator which came with my tank. Boo! Hoping my test kit will arrive in the post tomorrow, but until then I'm keeping the heater and filter running to clear up the water and get it at a suitable temperature for cycling.
7/9/11 8AM - Left the filter running overnight (I'm actually impressed by how quiet it is now). Difficult to tell if the water has cleared up any more or not. It's so quiet, I have to keep checking it's still on! PLEASE let today be the day when my test kit arrives! I turned the heater off as the light was annoying me while I slept, and it was rather comforting to know that even though it's been off for over 8 hours, the water temperature has only dropped 2-3 degrees.
7/9/11 6PM - Still no test kit. Getting annoyed now. Sent a sternly worded email to the seller so feeling slightly better now. Resisting the urge to dose it up with ammonia anyway. I'll cry if it doesn't come tomorrow lol!
Left filter running today but the water didn't seem to have cleared much more. Upon inspecting the cartridges, there was a build up of the yellowy stuff that had previously been floating in the water. Tried to clear it out under the tap, forgetting that it's got chlorine in it and I have no dechlorinator right now. D'oh! I doubt the small amount in that little bit will cause much harm, but I've ordered some dechlorinator now anyway. I'm sure another water change will clear it all up.
8/9/11 8AM - Nothing new to report in my tank, but just wanted to sing out my eternal gratitude and thanks to Fluttermoth on these forums who has agreed to send me some mature media. Thank you thank you thank you!
Day 1 - 9/9/11 12.30PM - The waiting game begins! Went to my LFS and bought an ammonia test kit, and glad I did as my API kit still hasn't come (there was a parcel waiting for me when I got home and I was both annoyed and happy at the same time, but alas, it wasn't my test kit). I put 2ml of Kleenoff ammonia in, and after testing it showed that it was somewhere around 5mg/L (pic). Google seems to suggest that mg/L is more or less the same as ppm, but anyone care to shed more light on that?
So, got my tank going (could do with a water change, but will wait for my dechlorinator to arrive first). Filter is running 24/7, heater is maintaining the water temperature around 30C and my air pump is on a timer and comes on for 15 minutes every hour between 10AM and 10PM.
I also added 30ml of Nutrafin Cycle as per the instructions. I've not heard great reviews of such products, but I reason that it can't hurt so the worst that can happen is it's completely ineffective. I should be recieving some mature media on Tuesday, so all is looking up.
Day 2 - 10/9/11 6.30PM - Ammonia still reads at 5mg/L (though I wasnt really expecting any different). Added 15ml of Nutrafin Cycle as per the instructions. Also added 5ml of Tetra Aquasafe (dechlorinator) in the hope it may clear the water a little as I dont want to do a water change yet if I can help it.
Day 3 - 11/9/11 5.45PM - Ammonia test seems like it's marginally lighter in colour though I'm sure it's just wishful thinking. Still no test kit so impossible to test for nitrites to see if that theory has any merit (if it doesn't turn up by Tuesday, I'll just buy a test kit from the shop). Added 15ml Nutrafin Cycle.
Day 4 - 12/9/11 5.45PM - Ammonia reading still much the same. I'm getting some mature media tomorrow. Woohoo!
Day 5 - 13/9/11 11.30AM - Added mature media into my filter.
Day 5 - 13/9/11 3.30PM - Bought myself an API kit. Readings - Ammonia 4ppm, Nitrite 0.25ppm, High pH 8.2
Day 6 - 14/9/11 5.45PM - Ammonia ~4ppm, Nitrite 0.5ppm
Day 7 - 15/9/11 6PM - Ammonia 2ppm, Nitrite 2ppm, Nitrate somewhere between 10-20ppm, pH 7.6, High pH some weird red colour that doesn't seem to be on the scale?
Actually dead chuffed today. I thought my mature media wasn't working (I suspected the bacteria had died before it got into my tank), but I read on another thread that nitrite doesn't normally appear til two weeks in, so that restored my faith. Also, I was very happy to see nitrate in my tank, although to be honest I haven't tested my normal tap water parameters so I should get that done.
Day 8 - 16/9/11 6.20PM - Promising readings today: Ammonia 1.5ppm, Nitrite somewhere between 2-5 ppm, Nitrate 20ppm, pH 7.6, high pH 7.8
Day 9 - 17/9/11 6.45PM - Ammonia 1ppm, Nitrite 5ppm, Nitrate ~30ppm, pH 7.6. Looking promising. Hoping to get my first 0 or 0.25 for ammonia in the next day or two.
Also took readings on my tap water after letting it stand for 24+ hours. All zeros, with a pH of 6.4 (not surprisingly since I have very soft water). These readings please me as it means not only do I have good quality tap water, it also means there was no nitrite in my tap water before, so the readings after adding the mature media were the result of bacteria and not just what was already in the water.
Day 10 - 18/9/11 6.15PM - Ammonia between 0.25-0.5ppm, Nitrite 5ppm+, Nitrate just below 40ppm. Looking forward to redosing the ammonia tomorrow and seeing how quickly it goes down this time around. I may retest my ammonia in the morning to see if it drops to 0 or 0.25 overnight.
Day 11 - 19/9/11 9.05AM - Ammonia now reading 0. Woohoo! Redosed ammonia and is now around 4ppm. pH is off the scale on the blue end, and the high pH doesn't seem to have a colour for it on the chart, but it's definitely purple (a very pink kind of purple). I'd consider a water change to bring the pH down, but I'd have to redose the ammonia then too and that would only cause the pH to rise again. I'm really excited to see how quickly my tank processes this second batch of ammonia.
Day 12 - 20/9/11 6.15PM - Ammonia 0ppm, Nitrite 5ppm+, Nitrate 80ppm, pH 7.6, High pH 7.8. Really wasnt expecting to get my next 0 for ammonia anywhere near as soon. I knew it would be quicker, but was never expecting this! Redosed 2.5ml ammonia up to 4ppm. Tested for high pH and got the same pinky purple colour I got yesterday after I added ammonia. I know a high pH isn't great for the bacs, but it seems to rise and fall with the ammonia.
Day 13 21/9/11 6PM - Ammonia 0ppm, Nitrite off the scale, Nitrate 80-160ppm, pH 7.6+, High pH 7.8. Following advise on the forums, have lowered my dose of ammonia and will continue to do so until I get my first 0 on nitrite. Redosed 1.25 ml of ammonia, bringing it back up to 2ppm. High pH now 8.4?
Day 14 22/9/11 6.40PM - Ammonia 0ppm, Nitrite off the scale, Nitrate 80-160ppm, pH 7.6, High pH 7.8. Redosed 1.2ml of ammonia to 2ppm.
Day 15 23/9/11 10.25PM - Ammonia 0ppm, Nitrite off the scale, Nitrate test inconclusive? Looks like it's gone down but sure that can't be the case. Redosed 1.25ml of ammonia to 2ppm. pH is off the scale, High pH some colour I can only describe as "wine".
Day 16 24/9/11 6.30PM - Ammonia 0ppm, Nitrate 5ppm? (It's that colour but it didnt turn purple immediately in the bottom of the tube. Here's hoping!) Nitrate 20ppm? I really don't know what's caused this. pH 7.6, High pH 7.8
Day 16 24/9/11 9.30PM - So, it turns out the nitrate test solution had solidified in the bottom of the bottle and all I needed to do was bash it a bit and I got a reading of 80-160ppm, which was much more realistic!
Day 17 25/9/11 6PM - Ammonia 0ppm, Nitrite 0ppm. I give up on the nitrate test, I'm gonna look for another brand. High pH 7.8. Added 5L of dechlorinated water to top it up after the evaporation that's happened the last few weeks. Waiting til later tonight to redose ammonia as I plan to start 12 hour testing now. Added 2.5ml of ammonia to 4ppm at 9PM
Day 18 26/9/11 9.20AM - Ammonia ~3ppm, Nitrite 2-5ppm.
Day 18 26/9/11 3.30PM - I'm not getting impatient, I just wanted to add some new sand to my tank and do a big water change as I'm doing it. Ammonia 0.5ppm, Nitrite 2-5ppm. Will wait til I get double zeros to do my water change and add my sand.
Day 18 26/9/11 8PM - Ammonia 0ppm, Nitrite 2-5ppm. Redosed 2.5ml of ammonia to 4ppm.
Day 19 27/9/11 8.20AM - Ammonia 0.5ppm, Nitrite off the scale.
Day 20 28/9/11 8.15AM - Ammonia 0.5ppm, Nitrite off the scale, pH 6.6.
Day 20 28/9/11 8.30PM - Ammonia 0ppm, Nitrite off the scale, pH 7.0. I'm concered about why my nitrite doesn't seem to be dropping, so I made the decision to do a half dose of ammonia again until I get another 0 for nitrite. Redosed 1.25ml of ammonia to 2ppm.
Day 21 29/9/11 8.20AM - Ammonia 0.25ppm, Nitrite off the scale.
Day 21 29/9/11 8.10PM - Ammonia 0ppm, Nitrite 2ppm. It's set my mind at rest that there's a visible drop in nitrite, but I've decided to do another half dose of ammonia (1.25ml/2ppm) until I get another zero before going back up to my 4ppm dosage again.
Day 22 30/9/11 9.55AM - Ammonia 0-0.25ppm, Nitrite 2-5ppm.
Day 22 30/9/11 10.30PM - Ammonia 0ppm, Nitrite 0.5-1ppm. Doing the half dosages has convinced me that my tank can clear roughly 5ppm of nitrite in roughly 24 hours, so I'm happy that something is happening. Therefore, I've decided to up my dosage of ammonia back up to 2.5ml/4ppm and hoping that I see some progress soon.
Day 23 1/10/11 8.10 AM- Ammonia 2ppm, Nitrite 2-5ppm. Slightly concerned about the higher ammonia but it's only 10 hours since the last test.
Day 23 1/10/11 7.10PM - Ammonia 1ppm, Nitrite 5ppm. Decided not to redose tonight as ammonia isnt 0. pH 7.2.
Day 24 2/10/11 8.15AM - Ammonia 1ppm, Nitrite 0.25-0.5ppm. Still concerned about the ammonia.
Day 24 2/10/11 8.40PM - Ammonia 0.5ppm, Nitrite 0ppn. Redosed 2.0ml of ammonia to 4ppm. Added my wood to my tank and siphoned off some crud on the substrate so removed 20L and put 15L new water back in. Nitrate after putting new water in was 40ppm. I've not been testing everything every day as I should due to lack of test tubes. I've ordered a bunch of new ones which should now be on their way to me.
Day 25 3/10/11 10.15AM - Ammonia 1-2ppm, Nitrite 2-5ppm. Ammonia not as low as I'd like, but I'm happy that it's put a good sized dent in it, and there's enough nitrite there to keep the N-bacs working.
Day 25 3/10/11 8.25PM - Ammonia 1-2ppm, Nitrite 2ppm.
Just a thread I've made to keep a record of my cycle in. I tried starting a blog but I felt like each post had to be substantial rather than being able to just post readings and such. Feel free to comment, give pointers etc.
Tank setup:
Marina Style 60 from Pets at Home - capacity 60L Pic
Heater and filter came bundled with the tank.
Substrate half gravel and half sand
5/9/11 - Washed out gravel and sand and arranged in tank
6/9/11 8:20AM - filled tank with water and dechlorinated. Water is rather cloudy, but have left the filter and heater running whilst at work. Hopefully will have cleared up by the time I get home.
6/9/11 6PM - Water quality has improved, but is still somewhat clouded. After a large (maybe 70-80%) water change, the water is still slightly cloudy but very much improved. Hopefully the filter will clear it completely soon. Still waiting for my test kit to arrive (rather annoying, since it was one of the first things I ordered, but other things I ordered days after arrived days ago. Sod's law!). I've now used all of the tiny bottle of dechlorinator which came with my tank. Boo! Hoping my test kit will arrive in the post tomorrow, but until then I'm keeping the heater and filter running to clear up the water and get it at a suitable temperature for cycling.
7/9/11 8AM - Left the filter running overnight (I'm actually impressed by how quiet it is now). Difficult to tell if the water has cleared up any more or not. It's so quiet, I have to keep checking it's still on! PLEASE let today be the day when my test kit arrives! I turned the heater off as the light was annoying me while I slept, and it was rather comforting to know that even though it's been off for over 8 hours, the water temperature has only dropped 2-3 degrees.
7/9/11 6PM - Still no test kit. Getting annoyed now. Sent a sternly worded email to the seller so feeling slightly better now. Resisting the urge to dose it up with ammonia anyway. I'll cry if it doesn't come tomorrow lol!
Left filter running today but the water didn't seem to have cleared much more. Upon inspecting the cartridges, there was a build up of the yellowy stuff that had previously been floating in the water. Tried to clear it out under the tap, forgetting that it's got chlorine in it and I have no dechlorinator right now. D'oh! I doubt the small amount in that little bit will cause much harm, but I've ordered some dechlorinator now anyway. I'm sure another water change will clear it all up.
8/9/11 8AM - Nothing new to report in my tank, but just wanted to sing out my eternal gratitude and thanks to Fluttermoth on these forums who has agreed to send me some mature media. Thank you thank you thank you!
Day 1 - 9/9/11 12.30PM - The waiting game begins! Went to my LFS and bought an ammonia test kit, and glad I did as my API kit still hasn't come (there was a parcel waiting for me when I got home and I was both annoyed and happy at the same time, but alas, it wasn't my test kit). I put 2ml of Kleenoff ammonia in, and after testing it showed that it was somewhere around 5mg/L (pic). Google seems to suggest that mg/L is more or less the same as ppm, but anyone care to shed more light on that?
So, got my tank going (could do with a water change, but will wait for my dechlorinator to arrive first). Filter is running 24/7, heater is maintaining the water temperature around 30C and my air pump is on a timer and comes on for 15 minutes every hour between 10AM and 10PM.
I also added 30ml of Nutrafin Cycle as per the instructions. I've not heard great reviews of such products, but I reason that it can't hurt so the worst that can happen is it's completely ineffective. I should be recieving some mature media on Tuesday, so all is looking up.
Day 2 - 10/9/11 6.30PM - Ammonia still reads at 5mg/L (though I wasnt really expecting any different). Added 15ml of Nutrafin Cycle as per the instructions. Also added 5ml of Tetra Aquasafe (dechlorinator) in the hope it may clear the water a little as I dont want to do a water change yet if I can help it.
Day 3 - 11/9/11 5.45PM - Ammonia test seems like it's marginally lighter in colour though I'm sure it's just wishful thinking. Still no test kit so impossible to test for nitrites to see if that theory has any merit (if it doesn't turn up by Tuesday, I'll just buy a test kit from the shop). Added 15ml Nutrafin Cycle.
Day 4 - 12/9/11 5.45PM - Ammonia reading still much the same. I'm getting some mature media tomorrow. Woohoo!
Day 5 - 13/9/11 11.30AM - Added mature media into my filter.
Day 5 - 13/9/11 3.30PM - Bought myself an API kit. Readings - Ammonia 4ppm, Nitrite 0.25ppm, High pH 8.2
Day 6 - 14/9/11 5.45PM - Ammonia ~4ppm, Nitrite 0.5ppm
Day 7 - 15/9/11 6PM - Ammonia 2ppm, Nitrite 2ppm, Nitrate somewhere between 10-20ppm, pH 7.6, High pH some weird red colour that doesn't seem to be on the scale?
Actually dead chuffed today. I thought my mature media wasn't working (I suspected the bacteria had died before it got into my tank), but I read on another thread that nitrite doesn't normally appear til two weeks in, so that restored my faith. Also, I was very happy to see nitrate in my tank, although to be honest I haven't tested my normal tap water parameters so I should get that done.
Day 8 - 16/9/11 6.20PM - Promising readings today: Ammonia 1.5ppm, Nitrite somewhere between 2-5 ppm, Nitrate 20ppm, pH 7.6, high pH 7.8
Day 9 - 17/9/11 6.45PM - Ammonia 1ppm, Nitrite 5ppm, Nitrate ~30ppm, pH 7.6. Looking promising. Hoping to get my first 0 or 0.25 for ammonia in the next day or two.
Also took readings on my tap water after letting it stand for 24+ hours. All zeros, with a pH of 6.4 (not surprisingly since I have very soft water). These readings please me as it means not only do I have good quality tap water, it also means there was no nitrite in my tap water before, so the readings after adding the mature media were the result of bacteria and not just what was already in the water.
Day 10 - 18/9/11 6.15PM - Ammonia between 0.25-0.5ppm, Nitrite 5ppm+, Nitrate just below 40ppm. Looking forward to redosing the ammonia tomorrow and seeing how quickly it goes down this time around. I may retest my ammonia in the morning to see if it drops to 0 or 0.25 overnight.
Day 11 - 19/9/11 9.05AM - Ammonia now reading 0. Woohoo! Redosed ammonia and is now around 4ppm. pH is off the scale on the blue end, and the high pH doesn't seem to have a colour for it on the chart, but it's definitely purple (a very pink kind of purple). I'd consider a water change to bring the pH down, but I'd have to redose the ammonia then too and that would only cause the pH to rise again. I'm really excited to see how quickly my tank processes this second batch of ammonia.
Day 12 - 20/9/11 6.15PM - Ammonia 0ppm, Nitrite 5ppm+, Nitrate 80ppm, pH 7.6, High pH 7.8. Really wasnt expecting to get my next 0 for ammonia anywhere near as soon. I knew it would be quicker, but was never expecting this! Redosed 2.5ml ammonia up to 4ppm. Tested for high pH and got the same pinky purple colour I got yesterday after I added ammonia. I know a high pH isn't great for the bacs, but it seems to rise and fall with the ammonia.
Day 13 21/9/11 6PM - Ammonia 0ppm, Nitrite off the scale, Nitrate 80-160ppm, pH 7.6+, High pH 7.8. Following advise on the forums, have lowered my dose of ammonia and will continue to do so until I get my first 0 on nitrite. Redosed 1.25 ml of ammonia, bringing it back up to 2ppm. High pH now 8.4?
Day 14 22/9/11 6.40PM - Ammonia 0ppm, Nitrite off the scale, Nitrate 80-160ppm, pH 7.6, High pH 7.8. Redosed 1.2ml of ammonia to 2ppm.
Day 15 23/9/11 10.25PM - Ammonia 0ppm, Nitrite off the scale, Nitrate test inconclusive? Looks like it's gone down but sure that can't be the case. Redosed 1.25ml of ammonia to 2ppm. pH is off the scale, High pH some colour I can only describe as "wine".
Day 16 24/9/11 6.30PM - Ammonia 0ppm, Nitrate 5ppm? (It's that colour but it didnt turn purple immediately in the bottom of the tube. Here's hoping!) Nitrate 20ppm? I really don't know what's caused this. pH 7.6, High pH 7.8
Day 16 24/9/11 9.30PM - So, it turns out the nitrate test solution had solidified in the bottom of the bottle and all I needed to do was bash it a bit and I got a reading of 80-160ppm, which was much more realistic!
Day 17 25/9/11 6PM - Ammonia 0ppm, Nitrite 0ppm. I give up on the nitrate test, I'm gonna look for another brand. High pH 7.8. Added 5L of dechlorinated water to top it up after the evaporation that's happened the last few weeks. Waiting til later tonight to redose ammonia as I plan to start 12 hour testing now. Added 2.5ml of ammonia to 4ppm at 9PM
Day 18 26/9/11 9.20AM - Ammonia ~3ppm, Nitrite 2-5ppm.
Day 18 26/9/11 3.30PM - I'm not getting impatient, I just wanted to add some new sand to my tank and do a big water change as I'm doing it. Ammonia 0.5ppm, Nitrite 2-5ppm. Will wait til I get double zeros to do my water change and add my sand.
Day 18 26/9/11 8PM - Ammonia 0ppm, Nitrite 2-5ppm. Redosed 2.5ml of ammonia to 4ppm.
Day 19 27/9/11 8.20AM - Ammonia 0.5ppm, Nitrite off the scale.
Day 20 28/9/11 8.15AM - Ammonia 0.5ppm, Nitrite off the scale, pH 6.6.
Day 20 28/9/11 8.30PM - Ammonia 0ppm, Nitrite off the scale, pH 7.0. I'm concered about why my nitrite doesn't seem to be dropping, so I made the decision to do a half dose of ammonia again until I get another 0 for nitrite. Redosed 1.25ml of ammonia to 2ppm.
Day 21 29/9/11 8.20AM - Ammonia 0.25ppm, Nitrite off the scale.
Day 21 29/9/11 8.10PM - Ammonia 0ppm, Nitrite 2ppm. It's set my mind at rest that there's a visible drop in nitrite, but I've decided to do another half dose of ammonia (1.25ml/2ppm) until I get another zero before going back up to my 4ppm dosage again.
Day 22 30/9/11 9.55AM - Ammonia 0-0.25ppm, Nitrite 2-5ppm.
Day 22 30/9/11 10.30PM - Ammonia 0ppm, Nitrite 0.5-1ppm. Doing the half dosages has convinced me that my tank can clear roughly 5ppm of nitrite in roughly 24 hours, so I'm happy that something is happening. Therefore, I've decided to up my dosage of ammonia back up to 2.5ml/4ppm and hoping that I see some progress soon.
Day 23 1/10/11 8.10 AM- Ammonia 2ppm, Nitrite 2-5ppm. Slightly concerned about the higher ammonia but it's only 10 hours since the last test.
Day 23 1/10/11 7.10PM - Ammonia 1ppm, Nitrite 5ppm. Decided not to redose tonight as ammonia isnt 0. pH 7.2.
Day 24 2/10/11 8.15AM - Ammonia 1ppm, Nitrite 0.25-0.5ppm. Still concerned about the ammonia.
Day 24 2/10/11 8.40PM - Ammonia 0.5ppm, Nitrite 0ppn. Redosed 2.0ml of ammonia to 4ppm. Added my wood to my tank and siphoned off some crud on the substrate so removed 20L and put 15L new water back in. Nitrate after putting new water in was 40ppm. I've not been testing everything every day as I should due to lack of test tubes. I've ordered a bunch of new ones which should now be on their way to me.
Day 25 3/10/11 10.15AM - Ammonia 1-2ppm, Nitrite 2-5ppm. Ammonia not as low as I'd like, but I'm happy that it's put a good sized dent in it, and there's enough nitrite there to keep the N-bacs working.
Day 25 3/10/11 8.25PM - Ammonia 1-2ppm, Nitrite 2ppm.
