Fishless Cycling....

[robyngunston]

I have been attempting to cycle my tank using rdd1952's "add and wait method" since before the 12th of May.....and I just don't seem to be getting it right? I currently have the following readings...initially I was using the tetra test kits but now I am using all API test kits...as I was told they would be easier to read and more accurate....I am still unsure though...when comparing the colour to the charts do you hold the tube against the white bit of the chart with the chart and tube actually touching or do you hold the tube just slightly away from the chart anybody know?

Ammonia = 1 (light green)
Nitrite = 0 (light blue)
Nitrate = 40ppm (dark orange/red)
Water temp about 82...but with the heat lately it seems to increase every now and then...

The ammonia just does not seem to be coming down quick enough and the other readings appear as if they are staying constant? I added more Ammonia a few days ago and initially it seemed to be coming down but now seems to be staying constant again or coming down very slowly.

Should I just empty all the water out and start again or should I just continue....as I said this has been going on since the 12th of May.....? With the same water? I have added Ammonia about fours times since I started and the water is started to smell not nice? I can also see some brown stuff has formed on the heater and on the pipe with the airstone.....and the filter looks quite dirty as well....bear in mind when I started the filter and sponge were new?

Any advice would be great.....I really do want to be able to eventually have fish....and not at the expense of a cycling using them

 

[Cheffi]

Only piece of advice I can give you is don't give up. I've nearly being cycling my tank for the same time as you. My readings are the other way round, ammonia going from around 2-3ppm to 0 in 12 hrs but my nitrites are up around 10ppm and refuse to come down. I also have brown algae, it looks disgusting and spreads so quickly but I've been told it will go as quickly as it comes and is a sign of a cycling tank.
How often are you adding ammonia and how much are you putting in?

 

[Silverlady]

After you add the Ammonia it needs to read 5.0 ppm.Perhaps you are not adding enough.
I started my 30 gallon tank with one Teaspoonful ,and then added half a teaspoonful a day. It took 16 days altogher.

 

[BWBettas]

Cheffi, you could add some quick growing stem plants to combat that alage

Bret

 

[Cheffi]

Cheffi, you could add some quick growing stem plants to combat that alage

Bret

Thanks for that bit of info Bret but as it's fishless cycling I'm not tooo bothered about it tbh. Also won't have any plants when it's done as it's for Malawi.
Apparently its common to end up with it at the end of a fishless cycle and it can disappear almost as quickly as it came.

 

[Gankutsuou]

ya know, there are always supper cheap 12 cent and 29 cent fish you could cycle the tank with... o_-.

comet goldfish anyone?

 

[robyngunston]

Only piece of advice I can give you is don't give up. I've nearly being cycling my tank for the same time as you. My readings are the other way round, ammonia going from around 2-3ppm to 0 in 12 hrs but my nitrites are up around 10ppm and refuse to come down. I also have brown algae, it looks disgusting and spreads so quickly but I've been told it will go as quickly as it comes and is a sign of a cycling tank.
How often are you adding ammonia and how much are you putting in?

Thanks Cheffi, I shall just wait and see what happens
Initially I added enough to take it up to 5/6....as requested on the thread once it came down I have been adding enough to take it back up to 3/4 ppm every time it drops to 0 but to be honest it just doesn't seem to be dropping to 0......? The last time I added ammonia I would have to check the exact date in my book at home (I have started recording everything) it was not yet at 0 but nothing seemed to be happening so I added enough to take it back up to 3/4 to see if anything would happen? It does seem to be coming down just very very slowly

 

[Don155]

Take a small cup of your tank water and dilute it with fresh tap water by say a factor of 3 or more. Then check your Nitrite reading again. The API test kit will "show" a reading of 0 if your Nitrites are actually too high for it to read.

At this point in your cycle, I would say there will be no harm in doing water change. The bacteria live in the gravel and filter, not the water. Therefore changing the water does not hurt at all except to reset the ammonia nitrite, nitrate readings.

FWIW my cycle also seems to be "stuck" in a Nitrite spike and that has prompted me to look around of almost every available forum I can find... the info below comes from that extra research, so I have not been able to personally verify it yet, but its still worth looking into some of the possibilities.


A higher pH level causes ammonia to become more toxic, and that may be actually inhibiting the growth of Nitrite to Nitrate bacteria. You may also have a very low level of phosphates in the tank. Excess Phosphates can cause algea to grow, but the Nitrite bacteria actually need a trace amount of it to be able to reproduce properly.

 

[Rediahs]

ya know, there are always supper cheap 12 cent and 29 cent fish you could cycle the tank with... o_-.

comet goldfish anyone?

I think many would object to using fish for cycling just because they are cheap. A fish is a fish. Why cause them harm if you don't have to? Personally I'm a bit shocked that you would say to use cheap fish to cycle, as though the only reason to fishless cycle is to save money on dying fish.

 

[geo7x]

Sorry if I missed something but why would you want to change the water? There's not much point, and at the end of the cycle youre going to be doing a massive water change of 75-90% so it will be fine for the fish. And also regarding the point made in the first post, just emptying it out and refilling it will do nothing, as DON155 said, practically all the beneficial bacteria is in the filter and the substrate, not the water. Whatever you do, dont give up, you will just have to go through it all again, and who's to say that you'll have better luck next time? Just wait it out, the nitrite spike will seem like its there forever, but it will go down, almost overnight. The brown stuff on the airstone etc is brown algae, ive got tons of the stuff in my cycling tank, dont worry about it, you can give it a good clean when the cycle's done. Maybe make dure the airstone's on to give some water movement which might help the smell or something i dont know, might want another opinion on that.

 

[Cheffi]

This makes sense to me. I was told to do a water change because I had this problem and almost from when I did that the algae got worse (which I take as a good sign now) and today my nitrites are reading 0.50ppm. However knowing my luck it will take a week to get to zero. Oh and I have a high ph reading here of 8.

 

[Ginge]

Cheffi a ph of 8 is good for you.

 

[Cheffi]

Cheffi a ph of 8 is good for you.

Yep I know specially for Malawi of the gineatus variety.

 

[scubadoo]

Now I just dont know what to do!

I've just bought my first tank, and aim to fill it and get it up and running this weekend.
I had decided on the fishless cycling route (got my ammonia and everything ready - just need to wash my sand / substrate and away we go), but reading all these woes I'm not so sure.

I've been keeping an eye on the ist off members willing to donate some bacteria, but nobody close enough to me

Might give it a wizz anyway and try one of the so called bacteria additive stuff ?
I seem to recall the wolf posted something about those quite recently - not sure where it is now tho

cheers

scuba

 

[Cheffi]

Now I just dont know what to do!

I've just bought my first tank, and aim to fill it and get it up and running this weekend.
I had decided on the fishless cycling route (got my ammonia and everything ready - just need to wash my sand / substrate and away we go), but reading all these woes I'm not so sure.

I've been keeping an eye on the ist off members willing to donate some bacteria, but nobody close enough to me

Might give it a wizz anyway and try one of the so called bacteria additive stuff ?
I seem to recall the wolf posted something about those quite recently - not sure where it is now tho

cheers

scuba

The newest one to the market is Tetra Safestart. It's supposed to contain the all the bacteria needed in a bottle. You buy enough to treat your tank ie for mine it would have cost me nearly £30. It didn't work for me but I was already a fair way through a fishless cycle so maybe it was an unfair trial. If you are starting off from scratch maybe give it a fair go. If it didn't work you should be entitled to your money back if it doesn't do what it says on the bottle. ie fish ready to go in immediately I think it says. The dosage is : 5ml of SafeStart will treat 6 litres of aquarium water so you need to work out how much you'd need.

Now I just dont know what to do!

I've just bought my first tank, and aim to fill it and get it up and running this weekend.
I had decided on the fishless cycling route (got my ammonia and everything ready - just need to wash my sand / substrate and away we go), but reading all these woes I'm not so sure.

I've been keeping an eye on the ist off members willing to donate some bacteria, but nobody close enough to me

Might give it a wizz anyway and try one of the so called bacteria additive stuff ?
I seem to recall the wolf posted something about those quite recently - not sure where it is now tho

cheers

scuba

Try putting a post asking for filter media in the buy and sell section. Don't forget to put where you are. Good luck.