How Long Should It Take

[stickyemu]

hi i started my cycle 3 weeks ago and i'm still waiting for my first dose of ammonia to reach 0 is this normall
or have i stalled

 

[JenCliBee]

wot did you dose the tank to (ppm) 2 remove the first dose of ammonia if dosed correctly can take upto 6 weeks in my expereince .

 

[stickyemu]

hi i dosed it to 4.9 its now at 2.4ish so is that ok

 

[toshapetriji]

Can you test the water for PH?

A cycle can crash when the PH reading falls too low.

 

[JenCliBee]

as above says test the ph its is always a good idea monitoring just incase but the ammonia drop seems about right IMO last bits of ammonia seem 2 take an age 2 disapear lol and its such a long draged thing doing a fishless cycle but the benefits at the end always out weigh the bad points and obviously more benificial in the long run


jen

 

[stickyemu]

my stats from day one after adding ammonia where

ph 8
nitrite 0.00
nitrate 1 in tap water
ammonia 4.9

my stats from yesterday 3 weeks on monday

ph 8/7.8 ish
nitrite 0.8
nitrate 10/15
ammonia 2.4

 

[waterdrop]

8 is an excellent pH for fishless cycling but 3 weeks without dropping to zero is a slow start. What size is your tank? What temperature? (29C/84F would probably be pretty ideal for fishless cycling.)

Does your filter have anything other than sponges, ceramics, bioballs?

~~waterdrop~~

 

[stickyemu]

my temp is 27c, the tank is 90l , the filter is the aquaone wet & dry trickle thats in the lid has cardon in it

 

[OldMan47]

A trickle filter will work fine for ammonia control. The nitrites you are showing means you are getting some amount of ammonia eaters in the filter. You are off to a slow start but it does seem to be moving forward.

 

[waterdrop]

I'd raise the temperature a couple of degrees. Are there other things in the trickle filter besides carbon?

~~waterdrop~~

 

[stickyemu]

there is sponges, ceramics and wool

 

[waterdrop]

ok, that's good. carbon is only good for about 3 days and then is ready to thrown out. Its not needed on a regular basis.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[doresy]

Yup, as suggested discard the carbon trays and take no notice of AquaOne's instructions to regularily replace them it's just a money making scheme.

In my experience this filter system works excellently and is more than able to handle the correct bioload for the tank. Just use floss, sponges and noodles and apart from the floss only clean one side of the filter at any one water change (once the cycle is complete and you have fish that is)

Your cycle has not stalled, had you started with a bit of matured media then things would have happened quicker.....patience my friend

 

[stickyemu]

just to let you know my ammonia drop to 0 this morning 4weeks 3 days after first dose

 

[OldMan47]

OK so now it's time to dose back up to 5 ppm. Is your nitrite rising nicely then?