Fishless Log Cycle

[fshinggrl]

Tapwater
ph - 7.6
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 0

Ok, please offer any comments and support! ( I need a lot of it!) I hope I am doing it right.

temp: 82 degrees
size of tank: 13 gallons (seems like an odd size lol)

ph - 7.6

Ammonia - 2.0 - 4.0 (seriously, can these two colors be any more alike? I don't know which one it was...

Nitrite - .25

Nitrate - 10

 

[fatheadminnow]

Good job!

Try to get up near 4-5 ppm of ammonia.

It takes sometime to get used to the colors. You have to look at the "hue" of the color, instead of trying to match the color. You will get the hang of it.

One thing you should do, test your tap water for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, just to see what your tap water is.

-FHM

 

[fshinggrl]

Ok, I added the tapwater (well water) info to my first post so it is in order.

eta: what is ppm?

 

[fatheadminnow]

Ok, I added the tapwater (well water) info to my first post so it is in order.

eta: what is ppm?

Did you add water conditioner to the water before you added it to the tank?

Even though you have well water, I do as well, and that might not contain chlorine, you should still use a water conditioner just because water conditioner has trace nutrients that are beneficial for the fish. Nutrients that don't come in water alone. However, there are other beneficial nutrients that are in water as well.

PPM = Parts Per Million.

Now, you need to test for ammonia and nitrite every 12 and 24 hours. When your tank can process 4-5 ppm of ammonia to nitrite and to nitrate (Ammonia and nitrite will equal 0 ppm) within the 12 hour mark from when you added the 4-5 ppm, then you will be cycled.

So, check the ammonia and nitrite 12 hours after you added the ammonia, then ONLY add ammonia back up, when it is close to 0 ppm, at the 24 hours mark.

So, lets say 12 hours after you added the 4-5 ppm of ammonia, you check the ammonia level and it reads 0 ppm. Don't add any ammonia at this time, instead add the ammonia back up to 4-5 ppm 12 hours later, (24 hours after you first added the ammonia up to 4-5 ppm).

-FHM

 

[waterdrop]

OK, excellent directions there from FHM, especially in explaining to only ever add ammonia at your 24-hour mark each day (meaning the hour of the 24 hour day when you've chosen to always do your "ammonia adds." it could be 7am or 9pm or whatever, but its good to make a habit of it.)

So I'll only make two minor comments: I'd bring the temp on up to 84F/29C, making it a little warmer for the bacteria. Also, it usually takes a while before things really get going, so twice a day testing is overkill for now. Really, testing ammonia and nitrite perhaps once every other day would be fine. It can take 1, 2 or even 3 weeks for that first dose of 5ppm of ammonia to slowly drop to zero ppm. When it does drop to zero then you can start testing once a day and do that for a while. Don't sweat the 2ppm vs. 4ppm color difficulty for now, its only important that there be some ammonia in there for now and that it not be as high as 7 or 8ppm, that would be too high.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[fshinggrl]

Ok, I tested this morning (after adding ammonia yesterday early afternoon (timing is a little off) and my ammonia level is high (probably a 'duh').

I picked up some ammonia that passes the shake test. It however does not say the volume of ammonia that is in it. It just says that it is VERY strong.

 

[fatheadminnow]

Ok, I tested this morning (after adding ammonia yesterday early afternoon (timing is a little off) and my ammonia level is high (probably a 'duh').

I picked up some ammonia that passes the shake test. It however does not say the volume of ammonia that is in it. It just says that it is VERY strong.

What kind of ammonia is it? There is no % diluted label printed on it?

It probably is 10% diluted, as ammonia is really poisonous, and I highly doubt you can get a higher percent than 10% in regular stores.

What I would do is, get a 1 gallon ice cream bucket, or something you know the volume of and fill that up with water. Use the calculator and set it to 10%, then figure out how much ammonia to add to the bucket you have to bring the ammonia level up to 1 ppm of ammonia. Why 1 ppm, because it is a little easier to distinguish than 4-5 ppm...lol. If the amount of ammonia you have added brings the ammonia in the bucket up to 1 ppm, then you will know the percent diluted.

-FHM

 

[fshinggrl]

I should add that I have a heater designed for a 20 gallon tank on high... 82/83 degrees seems to be the higheste temp my tank is going.

 

[fatheadminnow]

I should add that I have a heater designed for a 20 gallon tank on high... 82/83 degrees seems to be the higheste temp my tank is going.

That's a really good temp for a fishless cycle!

-FHM

 

[fshinggrl]

I"m still here. I"m testing, but it is sticking with dark green for now.

 

[waterdrop]

Make sure its not dark enough green to mean 8ppm, you don't want it that concentrated. If in doubt, remove enough water that you're more sure its something like 4ppm. And don't worry if you do that.. 2ppm, 3ppm, 4ppm, 5ppm are all good enough for the first couple phases of fishless cycling, its only near the very end that 4-5ppm is important.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[fshinggrl]

Make sure its not dark enough green to mean 8ppm, you don't want it that concentrated. If in doubt, remove enough water that you're more sure its something like 4ppm.
~~waterdrop~~

Thanks. I ended up taking 80% of the water out and it still tested dark once I added more water. I don't understand. The water tested great before I put it in. I'm trying to be patient. I know this takes time.

 

[fshinggrl]

Ok. So yesterday I tested and my ammonia level was GREAT!

So, I added ammonia and tested tonight. Ammonia leve was great again!

So, I checked my nitrates. 40/80 - can't tell.

So, what do I do now?

Oh, and does it matter that someone unplugged my heater? SO the water was cold?

 

[fatheadminnow]

Ok. So yesterday I tested and my ammonia level was GREAT!

So, I added ammonia and tested tonight. Ammonia leve was great again!

So, I checked my nitrates. 40/80 - can't tell.

So, what do I do now?

Oh, and does it matter that someone unplugged my heater? SO the water was cold?

Glad to see things are going well for you! Don't worry about the nitrates right now, they are not going to effect the cycle process. At the very end, when you are processing 5 ppm of ammonia to zero within 12 hours, and nitrite, then you will preform a 90% water change to lower the nitrate level.

A colder temp will slow the bacteria's metabolism which will slow how fast they colonize, so a colder water temp will slow the cycle down.

-FHM

 

[discus_lover]

about ph level you may read this one....
http/discusfishcaresecrets.blogspot.com/...r-aquarium.html
and your ammonia and nitrite level is little high.so do a partial water change...