Fairly New With Water Cycling Question?

[jgarza1975]

Ok, here goes. My question is this. I took a base level reading from my tap water that has been dechlorinated with stress coat +. The first readings are not at 0, they read the next level which is i think .25. If I start out with that reading what do I do to do a fishless cycle. Do I put dechorinated water in and let run through filter until ammonia is 0, then start adding ammonia to bring to 5ppm, or do I add at the beggining to bring to 5ppm?

 

[jgarza1975]

any ideas before I start a fishless cycle???

 

[Christi_22]

Ok, here goes. My question is this. I took a base level reading from my tap water that has been dechlorinated with stress coat +. The first readings are not at 0, they read the next level which is i think .25. If I start out with that reading what do I do to do a fishless cycle. Do I put dechorinated water in and let run through filter until ammonia is 0, then start adding ammonia to bring to 5ppm, or do I add at the beggining to bring to 5ppm?

Thanks for all your vast knowledge and help on this one!!!!!!

Hi

I too get Ammonia levels in my tap water, which worried the hell out of me when I first started keeping fish. As you are doing a fishless cycle then really all you need to do is add your Ammonia and bring it upto about 5ppm. Sometimes Chloramines in tap water will come up as an ammonia reading too, but it wont affect your cycle, just make sure to add your dechlorinator and off you go. Monitor the levels and just add Ammonia when the level has dropped back down to zero.

 

[jgarza1975]

Ok, here goes. My question is this. I took a base level reading from my tap water that has been dechlorinated with stress coat +. The first readings are not at 0, they read the next level which is i think .25. If I start out with that reading what do I do to do a fishless cycle. Do I put dechorinated water in and let run through filter until ammonia is 0, then start adding ammonia to bring to 5ppm, or do I add at the beggining to bring to 5ppm?

Thanks for all your vast knowledge and help on this one!!!!!!

Hi

I too get Ammonia levels in my tap water, which worried the hell out of me when I first started keeping fish. As you are doing a fishless cycle then really all you need to do is add your Ammonia and bring it upto about 5ppm. Sometimes Chloramines in tap water will come up as an ammonia reading too, but it wont affect your cycle, just make sure to add your dechlorinator and off you go. Monitor the levels and just add Ammonia when the level has dropped back down to zero.

Thank You!

 

[waterdrop]

Agree. Ammonia in tap water is a non-issue for fishless cycling other than you not having to add quite as much ammonia when you do your adds.

Once you get fish and begin your normal maintenance routine you just will want to verify that it is still a non-issue. In your case with such small traces (I assume you're using a liquid based kit and not paper strips) I would expect your cycled filter will make such quick work of it that you won't have to do anything different. People who have enough ammonia in the tap water that it reaches significant levels after a large water change have to develop a new habit of doing smaller but more frequent water changes so that the tap water ammonia is diluted more when it initially goes into the tank.

~~waterdrop~~