Fishless Cycling

[chardonnay1000]

Hi, Im cycling my tank fishless, and have read in great depth the pinned posts on it, however, the only thing i cant seem to grasp is when they use the term 'spike', as in 'you wait for the ammonia to spike' then half the dosage. Does it mean go off the top of the scale, or does it mean it will show on a test kit? Any suggestions will be glady received.

 

[Squid]

Not sure about the ammonia spiking during a fishless cycle, as this is the bit that you control, but with regards to things like the nitrite spiking, it means that you will see a considerable change quite quickly.. I seem to remember I had no nitrites for a while, then a small trace, and the next day it was right on the highest point of measurement for my test kit. That was the spike. if you imagine a line graph where a fairly consistent horizontal line suddenly shoots up to the top of the scale, thats the spike..

Well i hope thats right anyway, but thats my view on it. Hope it helps.

Squid

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yeah the spike is when you go from no reading, up maybe over a period of time to a much higher reading, then down again. then the same happens with nitrite. in terms of fishless cycling it's the nitrite spike you really need to watch out for, when this has gone up then down to 0 your tank is cycled.

 

[chardonnay1000]

yeah the spike is when you go from no reading, up maybe over a period of time to a much higher reading, then down again. then the same happens with nitrite. in terms of fishless cycling it's the nitrite spike you really need to watch out for, when this has gone up then down to 0 your tank is cycled.

So at the minute my nitrite is at .25 mg, is this the beginning of the spike do you think? It seems a lot quicker than i thought it would be?

 

[BigIan]

yea, over the next few days or weeks you will see it climb then fall. that is the spike.

when your ammonia go`s from 5ppm to 0ppm in 24 hrs, and the nitrates stay at 0 then your tank is cycled

 

[Squid]

yea, over the next few days or weeks you will see it climb then fall. that is the spike.

when your ammonia go`s from 5ppm to 0ppm in 24 hrs, and the nitrates stay at 0 then your tank is cycled

Typo: I think Ian meant nitrites.. if you don't see nitrates then its not cycling correctly..

Squid

 

[chardonnay1000]

so when my ammonia and nitrites are zero,what should my nitrates be or does it just depend?

 

[Squid]

Yes.. that depends.. but they will be pretty high, which is why you need the big water change at the end of the fishless cycle.

If it takes a while to get the nitrites down to 0 then the nitrates will build up and build up. Mine had so many nitrates that the KH had issues and the PH crashed and halted the cycle. I had to do a water change to resume the cycle.

Squid

 

[chardonnay1000]

Great info, thanks alot everyone.