Fishless Cycle

[fish-face]

Been doing the fishless cycle for about 3 weeks and testing daily results usually around
amm-0.8-1.0 before topping up with ammonia
nitrite-2.0
nitrate 75-110 dont test this every day

todays results
amm-2.4
nitrite-0.3
nitrate 110
will test again in about 6hrs to see if ammonia drops to zero then add a few drops daily till i get to the lfs, does that sound that it is coming to the end of my cycle?

 

[WILDER]

Yes it does to me though never done a fishless cycle.

 

[fish-face]

6/7 hrs later
amm-as above
nitrite 0.1

 

[riverman444]

You are definitly in the latter stages, but I'm kind of stumped by your ammonia level.

 

[WILDER]

So am I.

 

[fish-face]

topped it up with ammonia yesterday afternoon,30 hrs ago will test again in a few hours.

just double checked ammonia its about 2.0 or just lower

 

[WILDER]

Ok, but it looks like it there nearly, might have to do water changes to get the ammonia reading down to 0.

 

[fish-face]

just double checked ammonia its about 2.0 or just lower, will check again in the morning-thanks

 

[riverman444]

I see the plausiblilty and purpose of fishless cycling but I just don't do it. As long as you are steadfast and religious about testing and monitoring and know what you are doing, a regular cycle with fish will go off fine. I have rarely lost fish during an initial cycle.

My 2 cents.

 

[mark.w.jones]

To be properly finished fishless cycling, your tank should be getting rid of your 3/4 ppm Ammonia completely within 12 hours. Otherwise you won't have enough of the bacteria needed to suuport your fish stocks. Assuming you're doing the add and wait method, where you top up ammonia every time it drops down near to zero, you just need to be patient. It took around 4 days for my ammonia to be going in 12hours and a further 14 days before my nitrites were also going in the same amount of time. Keep it up and good luck.

Riverman. The main advantage of the fishless cycle is that you grow a huge amount of beneficial bacteria in your filter without stressing fish. Also, when finished I did an 80% water change then fully stocked my tank from the beginning rather than adding a few fish every week or so like people used to do.

 

[fish-face]

better carry on dosing with ammo then,thanks

 

[DebraAustin]

better carry on dosing with ammo then,thanks

Having completed a fishless cycle just a little over a month ago I'd say you still have a bit of time left before your cycling is done. Your ammonia is not going down fast enough and your nitrite cycle is not doing much either. I know it can be discouraging to have to wait so long, but I say it is worth it. I only lost one fish and I think that was due to stress, because when I went back to the lfs they had several of the same type dead in the tank. I bought another variety of the same fish and it did just fine. I have just one more fish to add and my tank will be finished. My tank took about five weeks to complete its cycle, so hang in there and don't rush it. Just think how you'd feel if someone suddenly stuck you in a building full of carbon monoxide and said "Oh, it will go away with time. You'll be OK." I don't think you would like it and I don't think the fish like being in a tank filled with ammonia or nitrites, even if they do survive.

Debra

 

[fish-face]

Thanks all for the advice/help will carry on adding ammonia and being patient, just getting excited about the prospect of finally seeing some fish as opposed to algee and tired looking plants

 

[BigIan]

how long was it before your amonia first dropped??

I added 6 ppm 4 days ago and still no major change its going slowly but i mean SLOWLY

 

[fish-face]

usually takes about a day for me but i had some dead leaves and such in the tank at the weekend so i changed 10% of water,in case it affected the tests