Cycling With Fish

kcalbat · Dec 3, 2006

ok so i am cycling my 44 gal aquarium with fish, 5 rasboras to be exact (long story on these fish).

Before when i cycled my tank i had ammonia readings within a few days. Now that i moved and set up my aquarium here the cycle is taking super long.

Rasboras are not great waste producers but i figured i would have readings by now. It has been two weeks now and ammonia readings remain at 0.

What am i doing wrong? im i just being impatient?

thanks in advance

karuna · Dec 3, 2006

One possibility perhaps is that you maybe missed the ammonia and nitrite spikes?

What are your stats for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate reading at the moment?

EDIT: duh, well your ammonia is obviously 0 hehe, but what are the nitrite and nitrate levels?

kcalbat · Dec 3, 2006

ok, this is confusing.

Originally i had bought the liquid bottle testing equipment and that worked out fine. When i moved and eventually got this tank back i was having trouble remembering how to do the testing. The ammonia and the nitrate both have two bottles and im not sure which one i have to shake for 30 seconds or 1 minute or whatnot.

I lost the instructions so i dont know how to use them now. Ive tried playing around with them but that has only left me with reading of 0 in everything (except pH)

So i went and bought testing strips and am having difficulty reading them.

If im reading them right then in Nitrates im getting either 0 or 20

My real difficulty is reading the nitrite because on the chart a 0 reading is pure white but the strip itself is beige even before dipping it into the water. Once i dip the strip its automatically at .5 so ive been getting a .5 reading since i first set up the tank.

If that is confusing im sorry. If anyone has instrustions on how to use the freshwater master test kit (by aquarium pharmaceutical, inc.) i can redo the tests. Otherwise im basing my readings on the test strips.

Is it possible my cycle is done

i would think that impossible for two weeks. The testing strip on the ammonia i can for sure, possitively read 0.

HELP!?

thanks again

stang1 · Dec 4, 2006

I should imagine it's the same with all liquid kits so these are what you do.
Nitrate-add 5 drops of #1 and 5 drops of #2. Shake tube. #3, shake for 5 seconds and add 3 drops. Shake tube again and leave for 5 minutes.
Nitrite-add 5 drops of #1 and 5 drops of #2. Shake tube and leave for 2 minutes.
Ammonia- add 6 drops and shake tube, no need to wait for results.
PH-add 4 drops and shake tube, again no need to wait.
Hope this helps.

Creature Seeker · Dec 4, 2006

You have a very very similar situation to me (I thnk you may even be cycling with the same fish!). Check my thread here:

http

/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=168890

...

dark_mushroom · Dec 4, 2006

The nitrate in the aquarium pharmacuticles one

is however many drops of bottle 1(10 i think), then shake for 5 secs.

Shake bottle 2 for at least 30 seconds

then add however many drops of bottle 2 (10 i think)

then shake the tube for at least 1 minute

kcalbat said:
ok, this is confusing.

Originally i had bought the liquid bottle testing equipment and that worked out fine. When i moved and eventually got this tank back i was having trouble remembering how to do the testing. The ammonia and the nitrate both have two bottles and im not sure which one i have to shake for 30 seconds or 1 minute or whatnot.

I lost the instructions so i dont know how to use them now. Ive tried playing around with them but that has only left me with reading of 0 in everything (except pH)

So i went and bought testing strips and am having difficulty reading them.

If im reading them right then in Nitrates im getting either 0 or 20

My real difficulty is reading the nitrite because on the chart a 0 reading is pure white but the strip itself is beige even before dipping it into the water. Once i dip the strip its automatically at .5 so ive been getting a .5 reading since i first set up the tank.

If that is confusing im sorry. If anyone has instrustions on how to use the freshwater master test kit (by aquarium pharmaceutical, inc.) i can redo the tests. Otherwise im basing my readings on the test strips.

Is it possible my cycle is done i would think that impossible for two weeks. The testing strip on the ammonia i can for sure, possitively read 0.

HELP!?

thanks again

Miss Wiggle · Dec 4, 2006

yeah ignore the test strips, they're useless.

can I just check how old your test kit is. they go off after about 6 months and need replacing, kind of sounds like it's an old kit, so it might be an idea to buy a new one and start afresh, you'll have instructions too then!

kcalbat · Dec 4, 2006

oh...thats true....it is older not quite a year but def. over 6 months. I will buy a new test kit! thank alot. Man...i sure have a lot of test strips left...haha.

This morning the ammonia test strips indicated the ammonia was a bit less than .25. Stupid strips....

thanks alot for your help guys....this cycling thing never gets old! muhahaha

InaneCathode · Dec 5, 2006

Shake *all* the bottles. If it's a solution it won't matter if you agitate it, if its *not* a solution you'll be right as rain if you shake it enough.

For me at least, my nitrate test kit has a bottle of chromium. It's a metal, so it doesnt dissolve in liquid, you have to shake it for quite a while to get it mixed in right.