Cycling

[Maxta]

Right i have my API Freshwater Master kit and a bottle of ammonia.

Can people please confirm that this is what i should be doing and if its in this order. Also anything iv missed out.


1) Test the pH of my water using the "pH Indicator Solution" and i should ideally be looking for a pH above 5.

2) Pour some water into the bowl i use to fill my tank - then add using the medicine dropper a few drops of Ammonia into it.

3) Swirl the water around, and then put a sample of it into a tube and add some of the ammonia test solution. I should be looking at a level of around 5 or 6 ppm to start off with, and that indicates how many drops i need for my tank.


I will be using the "Add and Wait" method.

4) With the information gained from step #3 i add "X" amount of drops of ammonia to my tank to raise my level to 5 or 6.

5) Wait until the levels of ammonia drop down to 1 - how long will this take? If i put the ammonia in at 1pm, do i test 24 hours later to see if its gone down to 1?

6) When the levels of ammonia are around 1 test the levels of Nitrite.

7) Raise the levels of ammonia back upto 3/4.

8) Test nitrite daily.

9) When the levels of ammonia fall to 0, raise the levels back upto 3/4 again.

10) Repeat this procedure until the levels of ammonia reach 0 within 12 hours.

11) Keep feeding the bacteria the same amount of ammonia.

12) Keep adding ammonia each day and test for Nitrite, and then also Nitrate. How long after droppin ammonia in do i test for Nitrate and Nitrite?

13) When the levels of Nitrite eventually fall to 0, the tank is ready.

14) Do i 75-90% water change.

IS THIS CORRECT?

Thanks

Ian

 

[Maxta]

Before adding ammonia:

The pH of the water in my tank is 6.6.

The ammonia levels are 0 - the colour in the tube was slightly darker than the yellow on the card, but not by much.

Got a jug, filled it up with 500ml of water, dropped 3 small drops of ammonia into it. Mixed the water, poured a sample into the tube and now iv waited 5 minutes, the ammonia reading was just over 8. I then did thisn again but with one drop of ammonia, and the level is just over 4.0 id say.

 

[Maxta]

Anyone?

Since earlie:

added 2 drops which lifted the ammonia levels to roughly 0.25-0.50. Added another two drops, boy is this going to take the mick lol!

Edit 1: I applied another 2 drops (4 in total), and it raised the levels to about 1.0. So iv added an additional 4 drops of ammonia (8 in total now) This is the thing im using:

After dropping ammonia in, im giving it 10 minutes before i check the levels. Is this a good idea, or should i wait longer? Im just allowing time for the ammonia to mix in.

Is the number of drops high because my pipette thing is so small?

Edit 2: What the fudge. I added an additional 4 drops of ammonia (8 in total, from the pipette above) and the reading hasnt gone up that much, just above 1 now. Its going to take alot to get it 5-6 Just added another 4 drops, making that 12 in total and the readings about 2. God damn how much do i need to put in lol! Added another 8 drops (20 in total) and the levels of ammonia are around 3-4. Added another 6 and testing now (26 drops in total) and the level was around 4 again.

Iv pushed the boat out this time because this was taking the mick, gone for the big 40 (an additional 16 drops, so 40 in total), after a few minutes i saw the colour change darker more quickly, so i knew this was the one. And eventually the levels were around 5, woo hoo. Time to leave and test daily

 

[Tessla]

Looks like you've got the right idea. You'll want to check for nitrates as well, once those start building up you'll know that you've got the nitrite oxidizing bacteria building up in your tank (the second kind.) It may help to make a log in a spreadsheet program of ammonia, nitrites and nitrates and the time tested so that you can easily make a graph to look at. This will make it easier to tell if your cycle stalls for some reason and give you a better idea of bacteria growth.

 

[Maxta]

I kind of have a log in wordpad so far, times, dates, drop ammounts, ammonia levels.

I didnt bother testing for nitrates/nitrites at first because my tank was only 3 days only and had no ammonia in. Now im just waiting, i managed to get the levels of ammonia between 4-6 yesterday night.

Now its the waiting game.

 

[Jcartwright]

So the ammonia goes into the tank THEN take a sample to test?

When the ammonia drops to 0 within 12hrs i check for nitrites but keep feeding the nitrites until they drop to 0 then check for nitrates and do a big water change? and then add fish.

I've read the info and stuff but i really want to tie up some ends before i start. I get my tank on thursday and will start the cycle at weekend, so i really want to get it right because in the past i've managed to kill goldfish with in a month of having them.

 

[Maxta]

I think you start to test for nitrites when the levels of ammonia start dropping, to see if its being produced. And if thats successful, then you start to check for nitrates.

On a side note, dont expect the ammonia levels to drop within 12 hours straight away, i think it takes a week or so just for the levels to drop from 5-6 back down to 1, not entirely sure. But i checked after 12 hours and my levels have gone to about 4. Il be checking later tonight after 24 hours. My water has gone a bit murkier, and if i look from the side the water is cloudier, not much though.

I just hope i have enough Ammonia test solution to last the distance lol. I did about 8 tests yesterday, one on my dads tank, two on testing how much it takes to get the levels of ammonia upto 5-6 in a jug, then about 5 trying to get my tank ammonia levels upto 5-6. Then iv used one today just checking the levels. Eeeek. If i run out il have to buy another brand of ammonia test, cant afford to pay another £20 for master kit in which il only be usin the ammonia bottle.

 

[bymauldin]

So, while we're talking about cycling and testing nitrites...I have a question . The article on fishless cycling says "Your nitrites will go off the chart" What exactly does that mean? Does that mean that they'll be so high it won't match anything on our color card from a Master Kit? Or just that they'll raise? I'm on day 13 or 14 of fishless cycling and my nitrites have only raised to .25 ppm and they've held steady for a few days now. My nitrates are up to about 20 ppm. I was just curious if I could expect my nitrites to raise any more or if I'm just looking for them to drop back to 0 now?

I think you start to test for nitrites when the levels of ammonia start dropping, to see if its being produced. And if thats successful, then you start to check for nitrates.

On a side note, dont expect the ammonia levels to drop within 12 hours straight away, i think it takes a week or so just for the levels to drop from 5-6 back down to 1, not entirely sure. But i checked after 12 hours and my levels have gone to about 4. Il be checking later tonight after 24 hours. My water has gone a bit murkier, and if i look from the side the water is cloudier, not much though.

I just hope i have enough Ammonia test solution to last the distance lol. I did about 8 tests yesterday, one on my dads tank, two on testing how much it takes to get the levels of ammonia upto 5-6 in a jug, then about 5 trying to get my tank ammonia levels upto 5-6. Then iv used one today just checking the levels. Eeeek. If i run out il have to buy another brand of ammonia test, cant afford to pay another ?20 for master kit in which il only be usin the ammonia bottle.

Most places you can just buy the individual test solution bottles to replace the ones in your Master Kit. You shouldn't have to buy a whole new kit just because you ran out of one test solution.

 

[Tessla]

Not all cycles will go the same, that's what the test kits are for! Nitrites may or may not go off the charts depending on how quickly the bacteria get into your filter. Once you start seeing nitrates in your tank (unless they're present in your tap water, it's a good idea to test your tap water as well) you know that the nitrites are being converted. You may get a stall along the way, which is why I suggest keeping a log in a spreadsheet and making yourself a nifty little graph to track your progress. I find this little FAQ to be a useful guide to the mechanics of cycling, your cycling stats should show a graph similar to the picture in the article.

In the end, what you're looking for is a tank that will rapidly convert ammonia added to the tank to nitrites and finally to nitrates to the point where ammonia is zero except when being added to the tank, nitrites are also zero and only the nitrates continue to rise.

 

[Maxta]

Thanks.

See other post for stats.