I do not know most of what you did, but if you used the Dr. Tim's bacteria and ammonium chloride properly, it takes between 10 and 14 days tpo cycle a tank, However, You must follow his direction on his site for doing so.
The one think I do know is what you report has little chance of success. Step one is to set up the tank with the substrate and decor all in it, A lot of the good bacteria lives outside of one's filter. A lot will be in the substrate if you use it.
Live plants consume ammonia in the form of ammonium which is the form of most ammonia when in water. If you have them, depending on the tyope and volume, you may not need to cycle at all.
Next, the nitrifying bacteria are photo sensitive and they live where there is liyyle of no light.
From Dr. Tims site on how to cycle using his bacteria. I have made some things red to stress them
MATERIALS NEEDED:
You will need an
ammonia solution,
ammonia and
nitrite test kits (a
pH test kit is also a good idea) and a little patience.
The Process:
- Day 1 – dose ammonia to 2 ppm ammonia-nitrogen [NH3-N] using our ammonium chloride (1 drop per gallon [After Nov 2016 when using DrTim’s ammonium chloride use 4 drops per gallon]) [NOTE: do not expect your test kit to exactly read 2 ppm and it is not critical to get exactly 2 ppm. The key is to not add too much ammonia]. If using DrTim’s Aquatics One & Only Live Nitrifying bacteria add it now (turn skimmer, UV and ozone off and remove filter socks for 48 hours).
- Day 2 – Measure ammonia and nitrite.
- Day 3 – If ammonia and nitrite are below 1 ppm add more ammonia: four drops of our ammonium chloride per gallon (check the label).
- Days 4 & 5 – Measure ammonia and nitrite.
- Day 6 – If ammonia and nitrite are below 1 ppm add 2 ppm ammonia. Four drops of our ammonium chloride per gallon. [NOTE: since you have added the One & Only your ammonia kit will not read 2 ppm and DO NOT continue adding ammonia trying to get to 2 ppm – just add 2 ppm ammonia (4 drops per gallon of our ammonium chloride) and carry-on.
- Days 7 & 8 – Measure ammonia and nitrite. On the first measurement day (Day 2, 4, 5, 7 or 8) that BOTH ammonia and nitrite are both below 0.5 ppm (NH3-N or NO2-N) your tank is close to being cycled.
- Now start to measure ammonia and nitrite every day.
- When BOTH ammonia and nitrite are below 0.2 ppm (NH3-N or NO2-N), add another 2 ppm ammonia.
- Continue to measure every day. When you can add 2 ppm ammonia and BOTH ammonia and nitrite are below 0.2 ppm (NH3-N or NO2-N) the next day your tank is cycled – congrats! You’re done!
- Do a partial water change and add some fish.
Tips and Troubleshooting:
- IMPORTANT – Do not let the ammonia OR nitrite concentration get above 5 ppm.
- NOTE – As of November 2016 DrTim’s changed their ammonium chloride solution and you use 4 drops per gallon instead of 1 drop per gallon. Read the label on the bottle you have and follow the directions on the bottle.
- If either ammonia or nitrite concentration get above 5 ppm, do water changes to lower the concentration.
- Do not let the pH drop below 7. If it does, do a partial water change to bring the pH back up.
- Do not add ammonia removers to bind the ammonia – overdosing with these products will just increase the cycling time.
- You do not have to add ammonia everyday – the bacteria do not have to be fed every day. Adding ammonia everyday will results in a sky-high nitrite reading and slow the cycling process.
- Is your tank bare-bottom? – if your tank does not have substrate (gravel or crushed coral) on the bottom this is called a bare-bottom tank and they take longer to cycle because there is not very much substrate for the bacteria to adhere to. If you are setting-up a quarantine tank and do not want to use a traditional substrate consider adding some inert glass rock or marbles or some other non-calcium-based media to the tank bottom. This will help cycle the tank faster.
Now there is one more important thing you need to know. There are two different scales that can be used for testing Ammonia. Nitrite and Nitrate. One is preferred and used by scientists and is called the Nitrogen scale. All it measures in s the N involved, The other is what is mostly used in the hobby ans is called the Total Ion scale.. This measure everything. It is easy to understand when you see the formulas for everything:
Ammonia = NH3 (ammonium = NH4) so there are 3 or 4 hydrogen atoms as well as the nitrogen atom.
Nitrite = NO2 so there are 2 oxygen atoms as well as the nitrogen atom.
Nitrate = NO3 so there are 3 oxygen atoms as well as the nitrogen atom.
it is possible to convert he two scales into each other. This explains the above even better and then gives the conversion rates. Since as hobbyists we are not in need of as great an accuracy as science. So, to simplify the Total Ammonia calculation I just use a factor of 1.28 rather than having to first calculate how much of each form the total ammonia is as the below advises. (See the final paragraph)
What follows is from
https://www.hamzasreef.com/Contents/Calculators/NitrogenIonConversion.php
There are two major ways to describe the concentrations of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate in water. The "nitrogen" weight of these molecules describes the weight of only the nitrogen atoms within them. On the other hand, the "ion" weight of these molecules describes the weight of the entire molecule.
For example, the term nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N) refers to the weight of only the nitrogen atom within the nitrate molecule; as opposed to nitrate-ion (NO3), which describes the weight of the entire nitrate molecule. Note that a given nitrate-nitrogen value will always be lower than the associated nitrate-ion value. Conversion between the two forms is as simple as applying a constant (see graph below).
Scientific literature often uses the "nitrogen" form rather than the "ion" form to describe the concentration for these molecules. The "nitrogen" form is more appropriate when discussing nitrification/denitrification cycles, as it simplifies various equations and flow-charts. For example, it is easy to see that 100 ppm of nitrite-nitrogen (NO2-N) can go on to form 100 ppm of nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N). Using the "ion" form here would be more cumbersome; 100 ppm of nitrite (NO2) goes on to form approximately 135 ppm of nitrate (NO3).
Note that a total ammonia value (NH3 + NH4) cannot be trivially converted from "nitrogen" to "ion" form or vice versa. The total ammonia value must first be broken into component NH3 and NH4 values, then those converted individually to NH3-N and NH4-N and added together. The Free Ammonia Calculator can be used to do this. |
Converions:
| NH3 = NH3-N x 1.21589 |
| NH4 = NH4-N x 1.28786 |
| NO2 = NO2-N x 3.28443 |
| NO3 = NO3-N x 4.42664 |
So you need to apply the conversions above to Dr. Tim's numbers. For example to convert his 1 ppm of ammonia you multiply by 1.28. Because his ammonium chloride produces 2 ppm of Total Ammonia (for four drops) on the nitrogen scale that would be 2.56 on most hobby test kits.
When he says not to exceed 5 ppm of ammonia or nitrite those numbers on our test kits would be ammonia 6.25 ppm and nitrite 16.25 ppm.
, hopefully some bacteria are residing in the filter so fingers crossed it won't take so long.
