Fishless Cycle Log - Add & Wait Method

[BIG BAD BARRY]

Give it at least 20-30minutes before testing to allow it to circulate fully.
The reddy/pinkish colour i found was when the ph was between 8.2 and 8.4

 

[jonathand]

Yeah my high pH test changed red/pink the other day and didn't match anything on the chart.
Next day it was back down to 8 again, maybe I added too many drops, as they come out red with the API kit.

 

[MarlinTiger]

Hi all,

Day 24 test results are as follows:

pH 8.0 - A definite match of the colour.
Ammonia 0ppm - Added more to raise back upto 2ppm level.
Nitrites 5.0ppm - Still off the charts.
Nitrates 80ppm - A true red to match the colour on the chart.

Things are looking up.

Have a good day everyone.

MT

 

[Gvilleguy]

Glad to see those nitrates spiking. A great sign!!

 

[Skins]

Glad to see those nitrates spiking. A great sign!!

+1

Keith.

 

[MarlinTiger]

Morning everyone,

Day 25 test results, 21hrs after previous, are as follows:

pH 8.0 - Good solid colour match again.
Ammonia 0ppm - Addded enough to take level back up to 2ppm.
Nitrites 2+ppm - Oh yeah, at last some movement!
Nitrates 80+ppm - Colour appears to be darker than the 80ppm but not as crimson as the 160ppm.

Happy days.

I think jonathand won with his prediction on the 28th Jan?

Have a good day all.

MT

 

[jonathand]

awesome

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, you just have to wait out the Nitrite Spike (the excess nitrite because of the leverage the A-Bacs have (they produce 2.7ppm nitrite for every 1ppm of ammonia you give them)) which can sometimes last weeks, but finally it will start to drop and hopefully start going to zero at the 24-hour mark on a regular basis. That moves you on to the third phase where the new problem becomes how much nitrite you can get processed in only 12 hour away from the dosing mark.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Skins]

Morning everyone,

Day 25 test results, 21hrs after previous, are as follows:

pH 8.0 - Good solid colour match again.
Ammonia 0ppm - Addded enough to take level back up to 2ppm.
Nitrites 2+ppm - Oh yeah, at last some movement!
Nitrates 80+ppm - Colour appears to be darker than the 80ppm but not as crimson as the 160ppm.

Happy days.

I think jonathand won with his prediction on the 28th Jan?

Have a good day all.

MT

Great news m8

Keith.

 

[Gvilleguy]

I know I did a white man happy dance when my nitrites finally dropped for the first time!

 

[MarlinTiger]

Morning all,

Day 26 test results 24hrs after previous testing & dosing:

Tank temperature = 28.4C
pH 8.0 - Seems to have settled once again.
Ammonia 0ppm - Tank can handle quite easily the 2ppm in 24hrs.
Nitrites 0ppm - First double zero cannot quite believe how quickly it has gone down, but to see that pale Blue colour was fantastic.
Nitrates 80ppm - Not as dark as yesterday.

So I have now dosed Ammonia back upto the 4ppm level.

I bet my white man dance was a whole lot worse than yours Gvilleguy!!

Have a good day everyone - I know I will.

MT

 

[Skins]

Hello MT,
When your 4ppm dose starts to hit constant zeros on the 24hr mark thats when you want to start thinking about testing on the 12hr mark REMEMBERING only to dose with your h/h ammonia on the 24hr mark. Now that you will be seeing larger ammounts of nitrAte it will pay you to monitor your pH so that if it crashes you can act on it.
nitrAte=nitric acid=depending on your waters buffering(gH/kH)capabilitys may cause your pH to crash.

Keith.

 

[MarlinTiger]

Morning all,

Day 27 test results are as follows, 24hr last test & dosing:

Tank Temperature = 28.5C
pH 8.0 - Quite stable at the moment but taking on board Skins comment about possibility of it crashing.
Ammonia 0ppm - Added to 4ppm level yesterday, so it has processed that in 24 hrs.
Nitrites 0.25ppm - Can't say I wasn't dissappointed not to see 0ppm because I was but hey-ho!
Nitrates 80ppm - No change from yesterday.

Dosed with Ammonia back upto 4ppm level.

Have a good day everyone.

MT

 

[BIG BAD BARRY]

The low range ph test kit only uses 3 drops so test it every 12hrs to put your mind at rest.
Your ph is good at the moment.
I found it difficult to match results on the high range test but as long as it kept showing 7.6 on the low range i was happy.
Keep an eye on the nitrates as you are doing.
As long as you are ready to either dose with bicarb or do a water change, you will be fine!

 

[Skins]

The low range ph test kit only uses 3 drops so test it every 12hrs to put your mind at rest.
Your ph is good at the moment.
I found it difficult to match results on the high range test but as long as it kept showing 7.6 on the low range i was happy.
Keep an eye on the nitrates as you are doing.
As long as you are ready to either dose with bicarb or do a water change, you will be fine!

+1,

Keith.