Fishyless Cycle Log Take 2

25/12/10

MERRY CHRISTMAS

day 45

Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
PH 8



Day 5 of qualifying week
 
It sounds like you will be celebrating the new year by adding your first fish. Congratulations.
 
26/12/10

Day 46

12 hours after dose

Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
PH 8


Day 6 of qualifying week


no 24 hour dose due to family illness







27/12/10

0700 hrs dosed tank. will test & dose again at 12 hour mark to get back to correct dosing time.
 
congrats, you have far more patience than me :good:
 
27/12/10

Day 46

missed a day due to family illness (major tummy bug)




28/12/10

Day 47

0300hrs (came home from work due to myself getting ill)

Nitrite 0ppm
Ammonia0ppm

Half dosed tank (full dose tonight)
 
29/12/10

0900hrs

12hrs after dose

Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrite +5ppm ???? so tested again +5ppm omg!
PH8


1200hrs

15hrs after dose

Nitrite 0ppm (phew)







Now that is what I call a major blip.
 
Don't panic Tom, that's -exactly- what the "Qualification Week" is for!! Think if you'd just put fish in? This may be it! This may be your last big blip before the N-Bac colony finally moves up to the size they really need to be. What this does is reset the start of your qualification week, assuming it drops right back to double-zeros tomorrow or the next day. Remember, it has proved that it can do a lot of double-zero days and it will probably go right back to doing that again. It's biology, not chemistry, and it is quite common for it to give you a wild ride.

Also keep in mind that there is no "fault" here. You have been carefully asking, monitoring and doing all the best practice things as far as I've noticed, so it's important to accept that there are many variables (most of them chemistry that we can't do) beyond our control. Our two species of bacteria are just two among about a hundred and there is competition, potentially, for the best spots on the media - the wwtp folks mention this in some of their literature, so I think of it as one of the possibilities.

Your pH is still 8, so we're not looking at a crash here. Has your nitrate level gone way up?

WD
 
Don't panic Tom, that's -exactly- what the "Qualification Week" is for!! Think if you'd just put fish in? This may be it! This may be your last big blip before the N-Bac colony finally moves up to the size they really need to be. What this does is reset the start of your qualification week, assuming it drops right back to double-zeros tomorrow or the next day. Remember, it has proved that it can do a lot of double-zero days and it will probably go right back to doing that again. It's biology, not chemistry, and it is quite common for it to give you a wild ride.

Also keep in mind that there is no "fault" here. You have been carefully asking, monitoring and doing all the best practice things as far as I've noticed, so it's important to accept that there are many variables (most of them chemistry that we can't do) beyond our control. Our two species of bacteria are just two among about a hundred and there is competition, potentially, for the best spots on the media - the wwtp folks mention this in some of their literature, so I think of it as one of the possibilities.

Your pH is still 8, so we're not looking at a crash here. Has your nitrate level gone way up?

WD


i have not checked the nitrate level, will do so now.


results


Nitrate 160ppm.


Time for a water change methinks

.
 
30/12/10

0900hrs

12hrs after dose

ammonia 0ppm
nitrite 5ppm
high ph 7.4
ph 7 (its crashing so added bicarb)
Nitrate 160ppm

Will do a down to the substrate water change later today

1200hrs

15hrs after dose

nitrite 0ppm




Comencing water change now
 
One thing that should make you feel happy is that the very fact that your biofilter can now produce so much nitrate(NO3) is one of the signs that you are obviously near the end.

~~waterdrop~~
 
Ok, have done a down to the substrate water change. Did not change the water in the filter. Put plenty of dechlorinator in the tank a bit more than the recomended dose.

Here are the water stats after filling tank, so these are basicly fresh tapwater stats.

Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate between 40-80ppm :hyper: cleaned a different test tube thoroughly & repeated the test, results where the same. So I have high Nitrate straight out of the tap, grrrrrr.

PH 7.6
High PH 7.4
I know from experience that the PH will rise to 8-8.2 overnight as the c02 gasses off out of my tapwater.

GH 19 drops so 214.8+
KH 13 drops so 214.8+

So I have realy hard, high ph water that is high in nitrate straight from the tap lol.

I have decided to get some live plants asap to lower that nitrate but i have just broken my light bar so that will have to wait untill I can fix it or source a new one.



ever had "one of those days"?
 
31/12/10

DAY 49

0830hrs 17hours after massive water change. 12 hours after dose.


Ammonia 1ppm :hyper:
Nitrite 5ppm :hyper:

ph 6.8 -high ph 7.4 suprisingly the ph has not risen by itself so added bicarb to raise lvl to, ph 7.6 - high ph 8.2


oh well, looks like i am back to testing for ammonia only every 12 hours, I was so close to finishing, had a stock list set up & everytything.

I now seem to have gone backwards. I am pretty :angry: right now


1700hrs

20.5hrs after dose

Tested for ammonia again just because its annoying me

Ammonia 0.25ppm

So the bacteria are still there but not as efficient as before.

I need help here guys. What shall i dose my tank too tonight? 5ppm? 4ppm? 3ppm?

I am at a loss.
 

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