Dan-Cr4 Fishless Cycle

[Dan-CR4]

I have been doing my fishless cycle since Saturday 13th March. I have not started my thread til now as my broadband has been down since monday.

My setup is a juwel vision 180 tank. Its got sand as a substrate and has a 3d background, Im using a fluval 205 filter. it was a used tank but the filter is brand new. Im also running an air stone for about 8 hours a day.

Tank Volume: approx. 180 Litres
Tank Measurements: 92 x 41 x 55 cm

link to product /tank page

No mature media is being used. I have got used rocks in the tank.

My tap water readings are: Amm : 0, Nitrate : 10, Nitrite : 0, Ph : 7.5

The ammonia is 9.5% that i got from boots (UK). Im using a nutrafin mini master test kit to do my tests. i have attached an image below as i am keeping track by using microsoft access.

any tips that can help me along the way will be greatly appreciated

PLEASE NOTE: from day 17 im using the API test kit instead of the nutrafin kit.

Table above updated 16/April/10

 

[The Noob Fish Shepherd]

Um, I guess one obvious piece of advice I could give you is to make all changes slowly. From what I've learnt, more often than not its the change in conditions that kicks up drama rather than unfavourable conditions. Good luck!

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, that's good advice. Making changes slowing if you can is usually a good thing with tanks.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Dan-CR4]

did my 8am ammonia test and the ammonia has dropped from 4.9 to 0.6 overnight.

thanks for the advice guys. i am willing for it to take as long as it likes, i would rather have a good cycled tank before adding fish. my missus would kill me if i put any fish in harms way.

 

[Dan-CR4]

done my 8pm test tonight, heres the results.

amm : 0

nitrate : 110

nitrite : 3.3

p.h 8.0

after testing i added ammonia to take the level back up to 4.9. I have updated the image table on my first post. im frightened this is moving too fast, or am i moving along ok. this is my first tank i have done fishless cycling too so i am grateful if u can guide me on anything.

Thanks

Danny

 

[Dan-CR4]

My 8am ammonia test was 0, so it looks like at the moment it is processing the ammonia within 12 hours. will test the nitrite and ph tonight.

 

[waterdrop]

It looks to me like the first line in your table is indicating that you found zero ammonia and zero nitrite and a pH of 7.2 in your -tap- water. If that's correct then maybe a nitrate(NO3) measurement is the only thing missing from a full set of tap water measurements. I like to see a full set of tap water measurements along with an explicit statement of whether MM (mature media) was used in any way up top in the same first post where the daily fishless cycling log is going to appear, right along with the tank dimensions, volume and filter/filter-media information.

( Sorry for that long-winded way of asking your NO3 tap measurement but I was just thinking about all the stuff that we, as cycle checkers or whatever we are, have to search to pull out for each of the active cycle threads we run through each day.)

I'm just curious about whether that very high NO3 of 110 got help by being elevated to begin with or shot way up there just from 6 days of fishless cycling, which would be very unusual for an unaided fishless cycle.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Dan-CR4]

Hi WD

I will retest the tap water in a moment, I was going to use some mature media from my coldwater goldfish tank, but decided against it. The only stuff i have put in the tank in aiding the cycling was nutrafin aqua-plus when i filled the tank, and then just the ammonia when needed. i have not added any other chemicals or changed any water since the tank was first filled. I will get back to you shortly with tap water results.

thanks

Danny

update:

My tap water readings are: Amm : 0, Nitrate : 10, Nitrite : 0, Ph : 7.5

i was writing the ph down wrong, all the 7.2 should have read 7.5, as 7.2 aint even on the sheet, where did i get that from, doh.

I'm just curious about whether that very high NO3 of 110 got help by being elevated to begin with or shot way up there just from 6 days of fishless cycling, which would be very unusual for an unaided fishless cycle.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Dan-CR4]

I have updated my first post with more info, if theres anything else you think i should put there please let me know.

Thanks

Danny

 

[Dan-CR4]

heres tonights 8pm test. got the same results as last night. I have updated the table in first post.

amm : 0

ph : 8.0

nitrate : 110

nitrite : 3.3

added ammonia after testing to bring it back up.

thanks

Danny

 

[waterdrop]

Gee, maybe you had a load of the right type of bacteria in your water! Pretty amazing to have ammonia dropping (repeatedly now) to zero, nitrite spiking at the top of the nutrafin test's abliity to measure and nitrate shooting from 10 to 110 all in the first week! Its kind of like you missed the whole first third of the fishless cycling process and jumped straight to the 2nd third. Anyway, certainly looks good!

If we start to see the pH drop very much I think you will also be a candidate for a large water change with a re-charge of the ammonia, but I wouldn't do that right now while things are doing so well.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Dan-CR4]

Thanks WD for the reply, i was thinking this was moving too fast, I did me ammonia test this morning and its back down to zero again. Do you think i should be testing the ph and nitrite every 12 hours now as well? as at the moment i am only testing them in the evening.

 

[waterdrop]

No, certainly not every 12 hours, perhaps pH and NO2 every other day.

 

[Dan-CR4]

thanks WD. ok i will do them every other day, just so an eye can be kept on them.

tonights results amm:0, ph: 8.0

table in post one has been updated.

Thanks

Danny

 

[waterdrop]

How high can your nitrate(NO3) test measure?