I Need Some Help With Fishless Cycle Ammonia Dose

[Aqua Tom]

3 ppm

 

[Welshweeks]

prime is fine mate, can do the water change any time you want, ditch 75% then it leaves you with some nitrites in the left over water for the bacs to munch on and brings down the nitrate a lot. simples.

Tizer my ammonia is gone in 12 hours, I have redosed up to 3ppm as you said, do I keep going re dosing to 3ppm when it hits 0 ?

Looks like I'm at a similar stage to you and after doing some reading I'm currently re-dosing ammonia once every 24 hours (although it's clearing in 12) until my nitrites clear in 12 (which are currently around 13/14 hrs). Then I'm sure you should be re-dosing every 12 hours (as they are both clearing in 12 hrs). Do this for a few days (7?) to ensure it's continuously clearing in 12 and your done! I think!

 

[Tizer]

Ammonia is always going into the water column with a stocked tank and without it the ammonia munching bacteria will start to die off, or hibernate as some believe, whichever it is, you dont want it to happen.

So yeh, keep feeding them and the nitrite they produce will also keep getting pumped out for the nitrite crunching bacs to feed on.

Check the nitrate in a week or so, and if its high again, do another water change and knock it down again.

For me, ammonia hit zeros in 3 weeks, nitrite took 2 weeks. It was a little back to front to the norm. Just have to keep plodding along, but its something you cant rush.

 

[gforce17]

I didn't realise I needed to change the water during the cycling process, My ammonia levels are quickly going down after I put more in but the nitrites and nitrates are still very high. Are the nitrates slowing down the process? Should I do a big water change?

 

[Tizer]

high nitrates is something people believe could stall a cycle or cause it to take longer. So you don't have to do a water change, it will cycle, but sometimes it can help.

 

[gforce17]

Thanks. What % would you suggest?

 

[Tizer]

Thanks. What % would you suggest?

I've already said that in this thread somewhere

 

[gforce17]

 

[pdludbrooke]

prime is fine mate, can do the water change any time you want, ditch 75% then it leaves you with some nitrites in the left over water for the bacs to munch on and brings down the nitrate a lot. simples.

Hi Tizer, I have done the 75% water change this morning at 5.00am before work and now my nitrites are still reading through the roof and my ammonia is taking a little longer to get lower was reading 0.50 -1.0 ppm after 12 hours. Do I need to do another water change to get the nitrites lower or should I leave it for a bit ?

 

[Tizer]

i'd just carry on as u are mate, leave it a week see whats what

 

[pdludbrooke]

i'd just carry on as u are mate, leave it a week see whats what

cheers! Will do, first time panic syndrome, better than new tank syndrome

 

[OldMan47]

During the nitrite spike it is best to only carry around 2 ppm of ammonia once a day pdludbrooke. Although you may see nitrites off scale, this gives you a chance to see them come on scale a bit sooner. If nitrates start to affect your pH, do a maximum water change, what I often call a 90% water change. What I mean by that is that I take the water level down so far that I have trouble going any further, then add my new dechlorinated water back in.

 

[pdludbrooke]

During the nitrite spike it is best to only carry around 2 ppm of ammonia once a day pdludbrooke. Although you may see nitrites off scale, this gives you a chance to see them come on scale a bit sooner. If nitrates start to affect your pH, do a maximum water change, what I often call a 90% water change. What I mean by that is that I take the water level down so far that I have trouble going any further, then add my new dechlorinated water back in.

Thanks Oldman47

 

[gforce17]

high nitrates is something people believe could stall a cycle or cause it to take longer. So you don't have to do a water change, it will cycle, but sometimes it can help.

Chose not to do water change. Two weeks on and nitrites still very high. Ammonia being cleared in 12 hours. Should I do a water change now?

 

[Tizer]

The same advice stands, be it two weeks later or two years