Fishywishie Is A Noob - A Guide How Not To Cycle A Tank

[BethK]

ph shouldn't be effected by nitrate, although, the ph level can effect ammonia levels. water will contain 2 ammonia types, pure NH3 and the ammonium ion NH4+............higher akalines will contain ammonia and acidic will contain the ion.

Unless the ph level is drastic, high or low, it really isn't advisable to touch it. my ph sits at 8 from the tap and in the tank, never changes, even with bogwood or almond leafs. other people are different but you shouldn't experience a crash, unless there us something drastic with your water, going wrong x

 

[FishyWishie]

Im fully expecting my cycle to be one of the longest and most drawn out for some reason just know it

 

[PDSimon]

ph shouldn't be effected by nitrate, although, the ph level can effect ammonia levels. water will contain 2 ammonia types, pure NH3 and the ammonium ion NH4+............higher akalines will contain ammonia and acidic will contain the ion.

Unless the ph level is drastic, high or low, it really isn't advisable to touch it. my ph sits at 8 from the tap and in the tank, never changes, even with bogwood or almond leafs. other people are different but you shouldn't experience a crash, unless there us something drastic with your water, going wrong x

I take it you havn't done a fishless cycle?

Often when fishless cycling due to the large amount of nitrite being processed it can cause the pH to crash. Its something to do with that nitrite in excess is acidic. Most people here have pH crashes regulary just because of the amount of ammonia that we're trying to process. When the pH goes below 7, it slows slightly, and when it goes below 6.4-6 it will stall the cycle. This can be irratating as it takes a couple of days to get back going! When you add fish you don't generally get this problem, unless you have really really soft water.

This is why people use bicarbonate of soda as it makes the water harder and in return raises the pH if you add enough of it.

 

[BethK]

i've done fishless and fish in, maybe i am just luck cus i sailed through them both

 

[FishyWishie]

Day 58 in total (Including pre restart days) and im still on about 17 hours for nitrite to process 100 days here i come

 

[PDSimon]

i've done fishless and fish in, maybe i am just luck cus i sailed through them both

It sounds to me although you have hard water, which will resist the cycling pulling the pH down..

Day 58 in total (Including pre restart days) and im still on about 17 hours for nitrite to process 100 days here i come

Stick with it!

 

[BethK]

fishy, want some of my water

 

[FishyWishie]

I need something anyway my fiancee is giving me the money to buy the 30 galaxy rasborra if i buy the rest of the stock

I WANT MY FISH GODAMMIT !

 

[LondonguyJ]

I take it you havn't done a fishless cycle?

Often when fishless cycling due to the large amount of nitrite being processed it can cause the pH to crash. Its something to do with that nitrite in excess is acidic. Most people here have pH crashes regulary just because of the amount of ammonia that we're trying to process. When the pH goes below 7, it slows slightly, and when it goes below 6.4-6 it will stall the cycle.

Good clarification there Simon


Fishywishie...

It may seem like your nitrite bacteria have plateaued but from what I experienced they seem to take breaks in building numbers. I remember reaching 17 hours and then being stuck there for a few days/a week. Then eventually they would start processing quicker (building in numbers) and reduce my time by a few hours before taking another break.

So hang in there

 

[BethK]

mind you i didn't add chemicals to my tanks for cycling, it was all done with fish food, water etc, no issues at all.

my fish-in has always been the quickest 6- 8 weeks, cycled, no casualties or illness.

mind you, i personally think all the techie stuff isn't needed.

you're getting there wishie, with good advice from people who have cycled and been keeping fishies for time, you're in good hands

 

[FishyWishie]

Removed the bag of carbon from the Fluval 305 today (been meaning to do it for weeks lol) added Fluval ceramic tubes instead. I also topped up the other baskets with the rest of the pack say 6 or 7 tubes additional per basket so not overloading them but seemed a shame to waste the rest.

Did a test at approx 13.5 hours today and although its prob still sitting at 5 at this point its actually on scale colour wise as opposed to being so purple it wasnt even close so it looks like the cycle is moving again. Hopefully by removing the carbon bag and adding more ceramic tubes I'll create a little more surface area for bacs to form.

 

[waterdrop]

ph shouldn't be effected by nitrate, although, the ph level can effect ammonia levels. water will contain 2 ammonia types, pure NH3 and the ammonium ion NH4+............higher akalines will contain ammonia and acidic will contain the ion.

Unless the ph level is drastic, high or low, it really isn't advisable to touch it. my ph sits at 8 from the tap and in the tank, never changes, even with bogwood or almond leafs. other people are different but you shouldn't experience a crash, unless there us something drastic with your water, going wrong x

I take it you havn't done a fishless cycle?

Often when fishless cycling due to the large amount of nitrite being processed it can cause the pH to crash. Its something to do with that nitrite in excess is acidic. Most people here have pH crashes regulary just because of the amount of ammonia that we're trying to process. When the pH goes below 7, it slows slightly, and when it goes below 6.4-6 it will stall the cycle. This can be irratating as it takes a couple of days to get back going! When you add fish you don't generally get this problem, unless you have really really soft water.

This is why people use bicarbonate of soda as it makes the water harder and in return raises the pH if you add enough of it.

Agree with Si. The final nitrate product has a nitric acid component that can drive the pH in a downward direction. pH crashes are quite common during fishless cycling, happening with more frequency to people who have low KH. With a high tap pH in the 8.0 area, it wouldn't be surprising if BethK had a fairly high KH, which would keep the pH stable, a very different situation from people with low KH. WD

 

[backtotropical]

That calculator is not exact.

The calculator is absolutely exact. If you followed the calculator and didn't get the results you expected, you must have done something wrong or your test kit must be faulty.

 

[FishyWishie]

Starting to get a bit fed up now Cycle seems unable to move much under the 17 hour mark. Starting to wonder what the hell im doing tbh It's almost becoming a chore to check it everyday now as i know its not going to have moved. Prob should do another water change if those nitrates creep up any more, but truthfully i cannot be bothered at the moment plus with the ferts for the plants the nitrates are going to be very hard to keep on top of in any case.

If anything id have expected the removal of the carbon and the addition of more bio media (None of the baskets are to crammed) to speed things along but its like the tank has 'settled' at this point which isn't to good.

 

[Liverbird36]

What are your Nitrate readings at the moment ???