Gelt's Fishless Cycle Log

[eaglesaquarium]

That is a bit odd. Anyone have an explanation for that?

High pH test can't produce a reading below 7.6, so all it indicates in this case is that the pH is below 7.6.

That makes sense. Thanks.

 

[Gelt]

Day 29 - 1900 hrs readngs - All zeros again, no suprise there

Temp 29.5C
PH 7.6 -7.8
4ppm Ammonia re-dosed.

yet another get out of bed at 0700 hrs on a Saturday...to test with one eye open!

be glad when this is done so i can get a lie in

G

 

[KittyKat]

Nitrate is getting high again, but that is not as likely to cause a problem now and you should be done in 4-5 days anyway.

 

[Gelt]

Day 30 - 0700 hrs readings - Ammonia Zero N02 zero , N03 Lots!

just out of interest i tested at 0100 hrs this morning , some six hours after Ammonia re-dosed to 4 ppm @ 1900 hrs: Ammonia was down to 1ppm and NitrIte was between 1-2 ppm but closer to 1 ppm.

it seems that i'm probably munching my NH3+NH4 and N02 inside around 9 hrs ....which is great

Anyway i propose to do a 50% WC tommorrow morning just to keep the NitrAtes under control as they are off chart.


Next reading at @ 1900 Hrs.

G

 

[KittyKat]

You are actually in the 4th "day" of qualifying, not the 5th it starts when you get double zeros first time 12 hours after dosing, not of the day of the dosing.. not that it will make much difference if everything is going well.

 

[Gelt]

Day 30- double zeros again day 4 qualification done (thanks Kat!)

Nothing abnormal,

PH stable
Temp stable

large water change tommorrow and visit to MA for drip acclimatization equipment and reserve fish.

Aiming for added fish on Monday

G

 

[KittyKat]

visit to MA for drip acclimatization equipment

*ahembucketandairlineahem*

 

[Gelt]

visit to MA for drip acclimatization equipment

*ahembucketandairlineahem*

Thanks Kat...tis the airline i need , currently flush with buckets..

Its also an excuse for me to go to MA ...needing 'equipment' sounds better!

 

[eaglesaquarium]

visit to MA for drip acclimatization equipment

*ahembucketandairlineahem*

Thanks Kat...tis the airline i need , currently flush with buckets..

Its also an excuse for me to go to MA ...needing 'equipment' sounds better!

Maybe I have more money than brains, but I saw this, and am planning on ordering it when I am ready for fish. Maybe it is more elaborate than I need, but for $7 for 3 of these, I think I can splurge. (I figure the 3 pak would be nice, in case I buy more than one species at a time. Since they will be coming from different water, it might not be a bad idea to have a few spares, just in case.)


Hey Kat, any tips for acclimating fish. Things to be certain TO DO, or NOT TO DO?

 

[KittyKat]

visit to MA for drip acclimatization equipment

*ahembucketandairlineahem*

Thanks Kat...tis the airline i need , currently flush with buckets..

Its also an excuse for me to go to MA ...needing 'equipment' sounds better!

Maybe I have more money than brains, but I saw this, and am planning on ordering it when I am ready for fish. Maybe it is more elaborate than I need, but for $7 for 3 of these, I think I can splurge. (I figure the 3 pak would be nice, in case I buy more than one species at a time. Since they will be coming from different water, it might not be a bad idea to have a few spares, just in case.)

That's basically how it looks if you do it yourself.. I tie a knot in the airline instead of having a tap on it though, because I'm too lazy to look for the taps and have airline all over the house >.<

Hey Kat, any tips for acclimating fish. Things to be certain TO DO, or NOT TO DO?

Do *not* add any shop water to your tank, do *not* dip the net in your tank after you get the fish out of the bucket.

Do disinfect the net after use, do ask the shop what their water pH and hardness are in the tanks the fish are coming from, do take your time, do cover the bucket with something so the fish don't jump out, do add something sacrificial to the bucket so they can hide (or something which is easy to disinfect), do watch it so you don't flood the house.

My method for it is quite simple:
* add the fish and shop water to the bucket
* put a hiding place in the bucket, I sacrifice a couple of plant cuttings
(* I add a small heater to the bucket at this point, I use a NeWattino plus)
* set up the airline to drain water into bucket, I usually use 1 drop per 5 seconds to 5 drops per second, depending on how different the water parameters are
* once the bucket is full (so about 90-95% is tank water), remove the airline
* catch the fish out
* turn the net inside out just above the water, so the net doesn't tip into the water, but so the fish can't jump out either
* throw away water and sacrificial plants from the bucket
* disinfect the net and any sacrificial ornaments in the bucket
* rinse bucket and everything in it well

Do keep in mind that most people do not do anywhere near this much, but I am picky and the reason I almost never have any disease in my tanks.. to put this into perspective, I've been keeping fish for 13-15 years now (can't quite remember just now), I have had maybe 100 aquariums over the time.. at most I had over 30 at one time.. and last month was the first time I had to treat whitespot.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

That's pretty much what I was looking for.


Do you have a bucket size preference?

 

[waterdrop]

wow, that's the mercedes benz of acclimations! Nice tips for full treatment there, thanks KK! I do most but usually not all of those, so will file away still more details. Like most of us I'm usually doing those acclimation steps when introducing the new fish to an empty Qtank, where they will be watched for a few months and then they will make a less involved move to the community tank.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[KittyKat]

Do you have a bucket size preference?

Most of my buckets are 10-12 litres just because I can't actually lift anything larger. I do have a 30 litre one for larger fish (which I also use to transport fish sometimes).

wow, that's the mercedes benz of acclimations! Nice tips for full treatment there, thanks KK! I do most but usually not all of those, so will file away still more details. Like most of us I'm usually doing those acclimation steps when introducing the new fish to an empty Qtank, where they will be watched for a few months and then they will make a less involved move to the community tank.

I like to be extra careful with new fish.

When moving between my own tanks, I rarely acclimatise. Usually, I just catch out and move because most of the tanks have same water parameters and some even share water.

 

[Gelt]

Great tips as alway Kat!

just out of interest do you add an airstone to the bucket as well?

and what do you use to to disenfect the bucket ornaments and net?

oh btw Day 31 my cycle is now complete, large water change and reduce temp later , good clean and prepare the tank, add a few plants etc..

0700 hrs readings at zero ,
1600 hrs same PH nice and stable @ 7-6-7.8
1900 hrs daily readings to be taken after WC .

Thanks for all your help guys

 

[KittyKat]

I use a very mild solution of pure bleach.. but for beginners, I would recommend ammonia, meth blue, malachyte green or aquarium medications. In my experience, first time anyone uses bleach, they overdose on it and the equipment needs to be thrown away because of that.

No, I do not usually use airstones, the water which is coming from the aquarium will have oxygen in it. If there are a lot of fish or large fish, I will use an airstone.