Fishless Cycle Please Help!

[Skins]

By the time you add your subtrate and decor you will proberly only change 45ltr(20%).
I use buckets for water changes and the water that i replace is cold tap water mixed with kettle boiled water to match tank water temp.

Keith.

 

[SLIM]

By the time you add your subtrate and decor you will proberly only change 45ltr(20%).
I use buckets for water changes and the water that i replace is cold tap water mixed with kettle boiled water to match tank water temp.

Keith.

Hmmm yeah i suppose your right and i never thought about using the kettle. I have 2 15 litre buckets so i guess thats only 3 buckets out and 3 buckets in.
Thanx mate, that would be loads easier.

 

[SLIM]

Well looks like thing are finally starting to work.
NitrAtes are off the charts now and NitrItes have dropped to just 1ppm!!
Im soo happy iv waited so long to get to this stage.
Ok, so once the Nitrite has dropped completely to 0, the plan is to slowly up the ammonia back up to 4ppm every 24hrs.
Am i completely cycled when the tank can process this 4ppm of ammonia and nitrite in 24hrs or 12 hrs?
12hrs right?

 

[weezawoo]

yay good news! glad it is all starting to sort it sefl out for you

 

[SLIM]

yay good news! glad it is all starting to sort it sefl out for you

Thanx! Im over the moon! Not quite there just yet but im really happy with the reults all the same.
Its been a long stressful journey and now the end is in sight

 

[Skins]

Well looks like thing are finally starting to work.
NitrAtes are off the charts now and NitrItes have dropped to just 1ppm!!
Im soo happy iv waited so long to get to this stage.
Ok, so once the Nitrite has dropped completely to 0, the plan is to slowly up the ammonia back up to 4ppm every 24hrs.
Am i completely cycled when the tank can process this 4ppm of ammonia and nitrite in 24hrs or 12 hrs?
12hrs right?

Hello Paul,
When you reach your qualifying week you want your filter to process 4/5ppm of h/h ammonia in 12 hours.
Its all looking good Paul,

Keith.
P.S remember you only dose with h/h ammonia every 24hrs

 

[SLIM]

Brilliant!
Thanx mate. Il keep u all posted and il upload some pics when i finally have some fish.

Im currently researching into external filters for the 260litre tank i plan to buy in the next upcoming month.
I have my eye on the Fluval 405. Just wondering if anyone can recommend it or suggest a better filter in the same price range?

 

[Skins]

Brilliant!
Thanx mate. Il keep u all posted and il upload some pics when i finally have some fish.

Im currently researching into external filters for the 260litre tank i plan to buy in the next upcoming month.
I have my eye on the Fluval 405. Just wondering if anyone can recommend it or suggest a better filter in the same price range?

I use the 405 on my 240ltr, very good bit of kit. Have a look on Ebay m8 got mine on there for £80 new+del.

Keith.

 

[SLIM]

Yeah it looks like a good bit of kit and im currently watching it on eBay for £80.
Think il order that then. Thanx again mate

 

[SLIM]

Well Nitrites finally dropped to zero yesterday. It didnt exactly just drop over night like most literature said it would, its dropping very slowly.
The tank is taking approximately 24 hours to process the Nitrite when i add the daily 2ppm of Ammonia. (Ammonia still dropping in 12 hours)
I havnt upped the ammount of Ammonia yet as i thought it would be an idea to let the Nitrite cycle speed up abit before i do.
Also my PH has rapidly dropped from 8.2 to about 7 or 6.8. Hard to tell as the colours on the colour chart are very similar.

 

[Harlequins]

Looking good

Nitrite always takes longer to process than ammonia does,so it is a waiting game,but worth it in the end

Keep an eye on your ph,if it drop below 6.0 it will stall the cycle and may need bi-carb to bump it back up again...

 

[SLIM]

Looking good

Nitrite always takes longer to process than ammonia does,so it is a waiting game,but worth it in the end

Keep an eye on your ph,if it drop below 6.0 it will stall the cycle and may need bi-carb to bump it back up again...

Ah thats good news then thanx.
Did u mean il need Bi Carb if my PH continues to drop to bring the PH back up again? Will Bi Carb make my PH unstable tho in the long run?
The colour im getting on my PH test is a very pale baby blue colour which doesnt seem to directly match any colour on the colour chart.
The closest it matches is 7. anythin below 7 on the chart seems to be green and im not getting green so i think im safe at the mo.
This is going by API liquid tests

 

[Skins]

Hello Paul,
Good news about your nitrite. I would consider dosing up on some sodium bicarbonate, the bacterias we want reproduce better with a pH of 7.4 to 8.4.
Like Harlequins said the cycle could stall if your pH levels get to low.

Keith.

 

[SLIM]

Hello Paul,
Good news about your nitrite. I would consider dosing up on some sodium bicarbonate, the bacterias we want reproduce better with a pH of 7.4 to 8.4.
Like Harlequins said the cycle could stall if your pH levels get to low.

Keith.

Yea ok il look for some online now.
But will it effect my PH and make it unstable in the long run? And will the PH come down again on its own after the cycling process if i use Bi Carb? Iv been told in the past to stay away from Buffers if possible as the tank will rely on them once i use them.
And if i do use Bi Carb how much do i add per Litre/Gallon?

 

[Harlequins]

During a fishless cycle its not uncommon for the ph to drop...once you're up and running with fish in and with weekly w/c and tank maintainance the ph might not change at all.

It not good to add any buffers into the tank,has products like ph up & ph down can cause bad fluctuations on the ph which will stress fish more than having a steady ph.

I think it depends what your gh & kh readings are also,this affects the ph.

Short term use of bi carb whilst cycling will be fine has when you've finished your fishless you'll have to do a 100% w/c to clear out all the nitrate etc.
I'm not totally sure but i think its 1.5 tsp of bicarb of soda to 50 ltrs of water,let it settle then test the ph again,if its still low add another lot etc until its back up to around 8.0

Bicarb is available in most supermarkets by the baking area