Fishless Cycle

The zero ammonia with a rise in nitrites is definitely encouraging. That means the ammonia processing bacteria are hard at work but you don't yet have all the nitrite processing bacteria that you need. The rise in nitrates from 20 ppm to 40 also shows that you do have some of the nitrite processors so you are well on your way.
 
Think I typed the amonia wrong, it should've read 4.0ppm :blush:

Anyway

Fishless Cycle "Add and Wait" Method: 110L Tank - Day 2
Results 32 hours after 5ml amonia added to tank.(funny hours due to work etc)

PH 7.6
Amonia 2.0ppm
Nitrite 5ppm
Nitrate 40-80ppm

The Amonia has come down a bit again, and the Nitrite & Nitrate is still high.

More to follow this evening :)

Thanks
 
Excellent!

Don't worry about the nitrate(NO3) at this point. You've got a good pH for growing bacteria and the important thing now is watching the ammonia drop rate (the hours it takes for 5ppm of ammonia to drop to 0ppm) and the extent to which your nitrite seems to be "pegged" up at 5.0ppm, which, if it continues to measure at the top of the nitrite scale, will indicate your cycling process is in the "nitrite spike" phase of the overall process.

Since your work hours make it tricky, let me repeat that generally you want to establish a "window" of time within the 24 hour cycle of a day where you will add ammonia. Most people establish either morning or evening for this, but it doesn't matter when it is, just that it be regular, basically the same window each day. Then, if ammonia dropped all the way to zero at any point during the 24 hours prior to the window, you add the ammonia at some convenient time during the window and note the date and time of the "add" in your logbook.

That way, you're only ever adding ammonia once in 24 hours -and- you can easily look at your logbook and count the hours that the drop took when you next measure. Probably this is all clear, just never hurts to repeat the obvious I find.

~~waterdrop~~
 
Thats not a problem the 1st lot of amonia was added late evening.

So I take it I just keep adding amonia once it reaches 0ppm until it can go from 5ppm to 0 in under 24 hours?

Thanks
 
Yeah, so for example:

If you added ammonia in the evening and then woke up and tested it 12 hours later and it had dropped to zero, then you wouldn't add ammonia againg right then, you'd wait until the evening again. Ammonia only gets added once in any given 24 hour period.

You are just watching the rough "drop time" (whether it roughly takes around 24 hours or roughly 12 hours to drop)... believe me, it can be quite a while before enough N-Bacs have grown to get the --Nitirte(NO2)-- to drop to zero only 12 hours after ammonia was added!

~~waterdrop~~
 
Fishless Cycle "Add and Wait" Method: 110L Tank - Day 2
Results 48 hours after 5ml amonia added to tank.

Amonia 0ppm :)

5ml Amonia added to tank at 21:30
 
very good, that's a quick first drop, it can take a week or so sometimes.

all going well and quickly then :good:
 
'course we have to remember Wordy's is the case where Interpet Filter Start was being used for quite a while I think and then the day1,day2 is just since the switchover to ammonia -- probably the filter start has ammonia in it don't you think?
 
ah yes, i'm being blonde and i forgot! in that case it does look like the filter start has certainly done something. what day are you on if you include the filter start days wordy?
 
I'm on day 24 now, the tank was setup on new years eve.

On day 7 I took the water down to P@H to get it tested, and was told it weas high in Amonia, do two water changes with a day inbetween and it should be ok.

Day 10 I took some more water down and was told it was high in Nitite, do a water change every other day for a week then get it tested.

Day 16 got a API Master Test Kit and found it was still high in Nitrite & Nitrate.

Day 20 I decided to start a fishless cycle with Amonia as you guys advised me to

(Between days 1 and 20 I was adding the Interpet filter start as directed every other day)

Thanks
 
I'll find out tonight when I get back from work :)

As an aside I was at home on my dinner hour to let the dog out, and I quickly checked my Amonia level.

15hours after the amonia was topped up it is down to between 0.50 & 1.0 ppm
 
Fishless Cycle "Add and Wait" Method: 110L Tank - Day 3
Results 24 hours after 5ml amonia added to tank.

PH 7.6
Amonia 0ppm
Nitrite 2-5ppm
Nitrate 40ppm

5ml Amonia added to tank.
 
It seems like you are starting to get near the end of your cycle Wordy. Maybe there was enough ammonia in the starter that it gave you a more or less normal fishless cycle. At day 23 since you started things are about where we would expect them using straight ammonia.
 
Thanks, thats good to hear :)


Fishless Cycle "Add and Wait" Method: 110L Tank - Day 4
Results 14 hours after 5ml amonia added to tank.

PH 7.6
Amonia 0.25ppm
Nitrite 1ppm
Nitrate 40ppm
 

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