Fishless Cycling

[Jonno]

hi there,

i added the ammonia a week ago today and i still have not seen any drop in ammonia

i added some mature gravel, my old filter from my biorb and various other bits that have been in my biorb which i thought would speed it up, but it hasn't? What's worse, is that i've found some baby snails in the tank where the eggs have somehow come across from the biorb (i've now removed them)?

Is this normal?

Jonno.

 

[**sarahp**]

When you added the ammonia - how many ppm did it go up to?

TBH - a week isnt that long - except you did put in some mature media which should speed it up a bit the gravel probably didnt do too much (not much bacteria). What temp is the tank? I found when I did my cycle upping the temp made quite a difference

 

[Jonno]

When you added the ammonia - how many ppm did it go up to?

TBH - a week isnt that long - except you did put in some mature media which should speed it up a bit the gravel probably didnt do too much (not much bacteria). What temp is the tank? I found when I did my cycle upping the temp made quite a difference

with the API test kit it only shows 4ppm then 8ppm, so i made it so the colour was between the two? so i'd say about 5/6ppm.

temp i have kept at usual temperature after i read on here that people experienced trouble after they turned the temp back down again? perhaps i should raise it?

 

[**sarahp**]

with the API test kit it only shows 4ppm then 8ppm, so i made it so the colour was between the two? so i'd say about 5/6ppm.

temp i have kept at usual temperature after i read on here that people experienced trouble after they turned the temp back down again? perhaps i should raise it?

Ok - well the ppm isnt the problem then - I wondered if you'd put too much ammonia in and effectively sterilised your tank (and therfore killed all the good bacteria)

As for the temp - I turned mine down about 4 days before I added fish but carried on adding ammonia and its been fine.

Whats your ph? A low ph can seriously slow down the good bacteria that you need - the closer it gets to 6 the slower they get but if it is low DONT use a chemical to alter it.

 

[Jonno]

with the API test kit it only shows 4ppm then 8ppm, so i made it so the colour was between the two? so i'd say about 5/6ppm.

temp i have kept at usual temperature after i read on here that people experienced trouble after they turned the temp back down again? perhaps i should raise it?

Ok - well the ppm isnt the problem then - I wondered if you'd put too much ammonia in and effectively sterilised your tank (and therfore killed all the good bacteria)

As for the temp - I turned mine down about 4 days before I added fish but carried on adding ammonia and its been fine.

Whats your ph? A low ph can seriously slow down the good bacteria that you need - the closer it gets to 6 the slower they get but if it is low DONT use a chemical to alter it.

PH 7.6 is at the moment.

Just done a nitrite test and it seems to have gone up to 0.25ppm, so theres definately something going on by the looks of it. it was 0ppm previously.

there seems to be a bit of mist on the surface of the water too, not sure as that is significant?

 

[Behold]

with the API test kit it only shows 4ppm then 8ppm, so i made it so the colour was between the two? so i'd say about 5/6ppm.

temp i have kept at usual temperature after i read on here that people experienced trouble after they turned the temp back down again? perhaps i should raise it?

Ok - well the ppm isnt the problem then - I wondered if you'd put too much ammonia in and effectively sterilised your tank (and therfore killed all the good bacteria)

As for the temp - I turned mine down about 4 days before I added fish but carried on adding ammonia and its been fine.

Whats your ph? A low ph can seriously slow down the good bacteria that you need - the closer it gets to 6 the slower they get but if it is low DONT use a chemical to alter it.

PH 7.6 is at the moment.

Just done a nitrite test and it seems to have gone up to 0.25ppm, so theres definately something going on by the looks of it. it was 0ppm previously.

there seems to be a bit of mist on the surface of the water too, not sure as that is significant?

I still feel mathmatics are the best way to get 5ppm then test to see if its a bit above the 4ppm. our tank took about 9 days to remove the drop but once it droped it started moving fast from then on.

Is it possible the media was out of the water for too long and you are really doing a fresh cycle.

 

[Jonno]

well i think it has dropped tonight slightly, hence why i'm seeing some nitrite. that's been 8 days, so hopefully it'll get a move on now

media was put in 30 mins after we dechlorinated, so perhaps i added it too early and the temperature of the water killed the bacteria? i did however on saturday morning add my old dirty filter from my biorb, which is about the same temp as my new tank so perhaps thats had a positive effect

 

[rdd1952]

You definitely need to turn the heat up. Higher temperatures promote bacterial growth. There shouldn't be any issues with turning it back down. Once it has cycled, turn the heater back down to where you want it, do the big water change and add fish. The water will be the temp of the water you added as you will be taking most of the hotter water out.

Even with the temp at 76-78, you still should have see some drop in ammonia in that time but at least you do have some nitrite now. I think if you turn the heat up, it will start to move much quicker.

Adding the gravel from the other tank wouldn't help with the cycling process as there is only a minute amount of bacteria in the gravel unless you have a UGF. If you moved the filter from the other tank though, it should have taken off right away. What size is the other tank and what fish are in it? The dechlorinator wouldn't be an issue unless you are using some type tables. Dechlor like Stress Coat or Prime are instant so there isn't an issue with the dechlor killing the bacteria and the temperature wouldn't be an issue either.

 

[Jonno]

I've now upped the temp so hopefully we'll get moving abit quicker now, Thanks for your help!