Fishless Cycle Am I Doing It Wrong

[charlton]

Hello again, i've been doing my wishless cycle now for about a week and i've had no signs of anything changing at all, is it common for the first week to see nothing change ? I got some gravel from a mature tank last thursday hoping this might speed it up but i've still seen nothing ? Am i doing something wrong ?

Cheers

charlton

 

[Squid]

Charlton,

Apologies, I have just remembered i was supposed to respond to one of your older threads, so sorry about that.

Did you empty the tank and start again with regards to ammonia levels? If you did not then you may find that being an issue.

Are you testing for nitrites as well as ammonia levels to see if anything has changed at all?

Otherwise, if it is just one week I wouldn't worry too much. You may find that things happen fairly rapidly all of a sudden, and your ammonia levels have gone down by a huge % overnight.

It has been said that an airstone and higher temperatures can speed up the cycle. However, mine took jsut over 1 week before the ammonia started dropping.

You have to wait even longer for the nitrites to drop, often over twice as long as the ammonia levels dropping. It's a frustrating game of patience i'm afraid.. hang in there

EDIT: btw, mature gravel can help, but not a huge amount. and.. i love the freudian slip of saying "wishless cycle" instead of "fishless cycle"... made me laugh anyway...

Squid

 

[charlton]

Charlton,

Apologies, I have just remembered i was supposed to respond to one of your older threads, so sorry about that.

Did you empty the tank and start again with regards to ammonia levels? If you did not then you may find that being an issue.

Are you testing for nitrites as well as ammonia levels to see if anything has changed at all?

Otherwise, if it is just one week I wouldn't worry too much. You may find that things happen fairly rapidly all of a sudden, and your ammonia levels have gone down by a huge % overnight.

It has been said that an airstone and higher temperatures can speed up the cycle. However, mine took jsut over 1 week before the ammonia started dropping.

You have to wait even longer for the nitrites to drop, often over twice as long as the ammonia levels dropping. It's a frustrating game of patience i'm afraid.. hang in there

EDIT: btw, mature gravel can help, but not a huge amount. and.. i love the freudian slip of saying "wishless cycle" instead of "fishless cycle"... made me laugh anyway...

Squid

hello squid

i did change my water a few times to get the ammo down to readable level, i haven't had any changes in the nitrIte levels as of yet but i'm still waiting for a liquid test kit to come through the post so only checking with the paper type at the mo ( i know these aren't very accurate ) !! Just wanted to make sure i wasn't wasting my time and not getting anywhere !! Cheers for your reply

oh and i am using an air stone and raised the temp !

charlton

 

[Miss Wiggle]

if you've no reliable test kit (i.e. decent liquid one) then you actually don't know that nothing's happening. it could just not be reading on your test kit. however that being said it does sometimes take a week or so before you see any movement in the levels. stick with it

 

[charlton]

if you've no reliable test kit (i.e. decent liquid one) then you actually don't know that nothing's happening. it could just not be reading on your test kit. however that being said it does sometimes take a week or so before you see any movement in the levels. stick with it

yeah good point, i'm hoping to receive it in the post either today or tomorrow, hopefully it'll turn up and i'll be able to test and realise i'm alot further with my cycle than i first thought !!! Well i can always live in hope, cheers for your reply !!

charlton

 

[backtotropical]

Hi Charlton,

What is the pH of your tank? I ask because if pH dips below 6.0 or thereabouts, it will inhibit the growth of the bacteria.

Also, as Squid said, ammonia levels which are too high (say 8.0ppm and above) will also inhibit the bacteria.

Also, how much movement is there on the surface of the water? The more the better for this purpose, and if theres none at all, that may be your problem.

Just me stringing a few thoughts together.

Cheers

BTT

 

[charlton]

Hi Charlton,

What is the pH of your tank? I ask because if pH dips below 6.0 or thereabouts, it will inhibit the growth of the bacteria.

Also, as Squid said, ammonia levels which are too high (say 8.0ppm and above) will also inhibit the bacteria.

Also, how much movement is there on the surface of the water? The more the better for this purpose, and if theres none at all, that may be your problem.

Just me stringing a few thoughts together.

Cheers

BTT

hi BTT

still only testing with paper testers cos i'm still waiting for my api kit to come through the post but that showing the ph to be 8.0, my liquid test kit for ammonia is showing between 4 and 5 ppm (hard to tell) the same as its been for over a week now !! And i've got an air stone, the filter pointing towards the suface so there's plenty of surface movement !!! Just can't wait to see some change in colour of ammonia, I don't want alot, just a little bit to prove on getting somewhere