Doc7's Fishless Cycle - 20 Gallon

[Aqua Tom]

Updated first post - will do a full set of readings in approx 6 hours (pH, Nh4, nitrite/ate)

at what point do i want to bring ammonia back up, and to what level?

When your ammonia finaly drops to 0ppm that is the end of the first stage, you then dose to between 2-3ppm to get the Nitite eating bacteria (N-bacs) started out, this is the start of the second stage Now you wait until the n-bacs eat all the nitrite, this will take a lot longer than the first stage.

Next would be the third stage but will go into that a bit later.

 

[Doc7]

OK. I dosed a little higher than that, and a little early (didn't read your post before this morning's test) - I was at 0.25 ppm and dosed it back up to ~4. Updated with current stats. (By the way I have nitrates! Haven't tested them since the 25th. Tap water is 0.0 nitrates) - keep in mind that my filter has been "cycling" for a month prior to starting the fishless with the zebras.

 

[Skins]

What stage are you at in your cycle?
Don't want to sound nosey just interested.

Skins.

 

[Doc7]

I am continually updating the first post with the stats. I think because my ammonia was rapidly headed towards 0 (hit 0.25, 16 hours after a 3 reading) that I am in the 2nd stage (nitrite)

 

[Skins]

I am continually updating the first post with the stats. I think because my ammonia was rapidly headed towards 0 (hit 0.25, 16 hours after a 3 reading) that I am in the 2nd stage (nitrite)

Seems to be processing nicely.

 

[Doc7]

Yessir.

Unfortunately right now I am working 14-16 hour shifts and will be doing this all the way till right before Christmas, at which point i will lose some days to various vacations. I'm sure I won't get an opportunity to do a solid qualifying week coupled with the opportunity to buy and stock fish until mid-January earliest, unless I have a solid nitrite population already underway from the amount of time the filter's been active fish-in/less and am able to stock on or before December 23.

 

[Skins]

Yessir.

Unfortunately right now I am working 14-16 hour shifts and will be doing this all the way till right before Christmas, at which point i will lose some days to various vacations. I'm sure I won't get an opportunity to do a solid qualifying week coupled with the opportunity to buy and stock fish until mid-January earliest, unless I have a solid nitrite population already underway from the amount of time the filter's been active fish-in/less and am able to stock on or before December 23.

Fingers crossed for a quick cycle.

 

[Doc7]

definitely got to start checking before i go to work, just got home and it's down to 0.5 from 4 in about 20 hours. definitely got my A-bacs working hard now i just have to keep them fed....

 

[Skins]

definitely got to start checking before i go to work, just got home and it's down to 0.5 from 4 in about 20 hours. definitely got my A-bacs working hard now i just have to keep them fed....

 

[Doc7]

Just when I thought that this cycling stuff was easier than everyone made it out to be, I read a post by waterdrop in another thread and think i'm screwing up.

i've been avoiding hitting 0 ppm ammonia and adding before i go to work.

If the tank goes up to 12 hours at 0 PPM ammonia, what will that do to my cycle?? how long can the bacteria live with 0 ammonia? i'm within hours of a 0 ppm reading every time i test (approx 0300 and 1500 hours now, though on days like today i'm going to be at work for a 16 hour shift so it will be 0700 before i get to test again) so i've been afraid to not dose at 0.25 - 0.5 ppm for fear of starving the a-bacs.

see first post for updated logs


edit: i think i'm overthinking it, and way overdosing. it sounds like its OK that it's going to close-to-0 ppm in 12 hours and i'm only supposed to dose it every 24 hours NOT EVERY 12!! i've added the equivalent of 8 ppm ammonia in the last 24 hours...


did i put way too much nitrogen in and need to perform a water change?

 

[Doc7]

Added ammonia today at 1500 hours on the 24-hour mark - did NOT at when it was 0 ppm at the morning test ("12 hour" mark)

 

[Doc7]

Please help - do i dose ammonia at 0 ppm, or at 24 hours (and 0 ppm) ? If it's "just" 0 ppm then i will dose every 12 hours.

Thank you...

 

[Skins]

Please help - do i dose ammonia at 0 ppm, or at 24 hours (and 0 ppm) ? If it's "just" 0 ppm then i will dose every 12 hours.

Thank you...

Hello Doc7,
its best to dose only on the 24hr mark this way you won't build up your nitrates as quick.

Skins.

 

[anon02]

As Skins says it wont harm your cycle to dose at the 24 hour mark. In the nitrite spike it is usual to dose just 2-3 ppm and that doesn`t set the cycle back any

 

[Doc7]

Well my cycle is underway and now I am adding ammonia each 24 hrs and just waiting for those nitrites to go away and then do a qual week.

On my night shift I haven't yet gotten out of bed on time to hit the LFS that isn't PetSmart (Absolutely Fish in Clifton NJ, USA - supposedly one of the best in the country) so I'm sure this may change.

However for some reason, I just have a really peaceful tank in mind. For one thing, it's not a 20-Long, it's a 20-Tall and after seeing the Zebra Danio behavior in my abandoned fish-in cycle, I feel like the tank is just not long enough for those fish to be truly happy.

I used to have a betta, in an unfiltered tank that had a weekly 100% water-change and scrubbing of gravel/etc (I knew nothing of cycling, and unfortunately googling for advice on Betta's did not lead you to forums like this one). He lived for several years. I am unsure to this day of his cause of death, and I wonder now if there was an ammonia spike (he was struggling at the surface before I left for a concert, and with my limited knowledge I didn't even attempt to do a water change) and that's what did him in.

Anyway I really liked the betta. He was a pain to feed; this was in a half-gallon little box mind you, so he may not have exhibited behavior normal to bettas. Do they actively come to the surface to feed? I (and someone else who also had a betta in a similar setup) pretty much had to show the betta where the food was and encourage them to eat which sometimes took several minutes.

If they aren't usually that difficult to feed, I think I would really like having a betta again, along with some cories and I am thinking pygmies for that. If I feel like the tank is being "wasted" with just the betta and cories, then I can at least use him to develop my media into "mature" media for 6 months, and then I'll have the entire range of freshwater fish suitable for my tank size open to me (without concern for "immature" media), and move him into a separate, smaller display tank.

Again, I haven't visited the LFS to see what options are available to me. Also I barely have any decorations at this time (just a few plastic plants) so I will be able to tailor the tank specifically to whatever critters I wish to keep. I do have a sand substrate and don't envision changing that after all that work



edit: sounds like tetras could go in too; after the media is matured for a while that is...