Im Cycling With Fish But....

[Just_Another_One]

but its taking so long, 3 months already.. i found out my lfs will take my fish so i can fishless cylce, i know it will be for the better for them but ill miss my little black skirt tetras so much, they were my first fish , during this time i figure i can get rid of my neon blue pointy gravel((beginners mistakes)) and go for something more natural and softly rounded so i can house a few bottom dwellers. i feel so guilty getting keeping them in the un-cycled tank but also feel guilty for geting rid of them.

 

[dthoffsett]

What are your ammonia nitrite and nitrate readings now? After 3 months your cycle should be almost finished.

 

[Just_Another_One]

What are your ammonia nitrite and nitrate readings now? After 3 months your cycle should be almost finished.

last week when i tested i didnt even have a nitrate or nitrite reading just a little amonnia..im tired of waiting and putting my fish through all this stress and also the water changes are gettin kinda tough, its a 33 gal tank by the way, i think its a good idea so i can change the gravel and stuff. im just not sure exactly how to do a fishless cycle. ive read the posts but still kinda confused.

 

[Christine1014]

Three months and not even Nitrite? Are you adding tap water conditioner when you change the water?
You're not throwing out your filter pad every week or anything are you?

 

[Just_Another_One]

Three months and not even Nitrite? Are you adding tap water conditioner when you change the water?
You're not throwing out your filter pad every week or anything are you?

everytime i add new water i condition it with aqua plus, i was using tetra in the yellow bottle but i switched since aqua plus was cheaper. i rinsed my filter pad once or twice in old tank water. maybe my filter is too small, its a aqua clear 50 or something, for a 33gal tank...i wanted to upgrade but i thought id wait till after ive cycled its just so frusterating cuz the fish are part of the family but i know there suffering , im wondering fish stores allow you to board your fish for a month or 2... has anyone heard of that before.

 

[Lynda B]

Maybe you can tell us exactly what your routine has been so that we can help figure out why your tank is still not cycled. My husband has black skirts. He loves them.

 

[Just_Another_One]

B)-->QUOTE(Lynda B @ Jun 19 2007, 11:33 AM) [snapback]1659088[/snapback]
Maybe you can tell us exactly what your routine has been so that we can help figure out why your tank is still not cycled. My husband has black skirts. He loves them. [/quote]
ok well the temp was set at 24 up untill last week then i raised it to 28... every 2 or 3 days i siphon out 4-6 gallons of water then re-add the same amount of de-chlorniated tap water. i feed them hikari micro wafers once a day, sometimes two if im bored. anything i've missed??

 

[Christine1014]

Sorry, I just realized I didn't answer your basic question!

Fishless cycling, simplified: (have a read of this, then go back and see if the original threads you read make more sense.)

-The point of it is to mimic the fishes' natural ammonia (waste) production, thereby helping good bacteria to grow and process all the bad stuff.
- So, you have your bottle of pure ammonia, a liquid master test kit (try the API freshwater master test kit. Nutrafin makes one too, I think), and some kind of eye dropper / medicine dropper.
- Add about 5 drops of ammonia for every gallon of tank water. If you have a 10 gallon tank, add 50 drops of ammonia.
- Test the water. Is your ammonia about 6 ppm? If not, add a few more drops until it is at 6 ppm.
- Now the waiting starts. Next day, check your ammonia. Has it gone down? If not, wait.
- Keep testing and waiting until your ammonia level drops. Now, test for nitrIte. You should have some. Yay! Cycling has begun! Now, add a few more drops of ammonia until your test reads 3 or 4 ppm.
- Keep your ammonia levels right aroaund 3-4. Test every day, adding drops of ammonia as necessary. Your nitrites will eventually go sky-high then start to drop. When they drop, do a nitrAte test. It's the nitrate that's "eating" your nitrIte, just as your nitrIte ate your ammonia.
- When you have no ammonia and no nitrites, but lots of nitrate, you're cycled. Do a BIG water change and add your fish.
- a word of caution. After this big water change, add fish RIGHT AWAY. Otherwise, your new bacteria won't have anything to eat and they'll die off. Adding the fish (and the poo they make!) is just like adding ammonia. This keeps the cycle going. You just have to do water changes (around 25% or so) every week to keep the nitrates in check.

That's just a bullet-pointed, slightly streamlined version of the pinned topic, but hopefully that helps! Good luck! I know it's tough to give up the fishes (I adore my black skirts!) but it's better for them in the long run.

 

[rsands]

is it only the 3 black skirt tetras in the tank?

 

[Just_Another_One]

Sorry, I just realized I didn't answer your basic question!

Fishless cycling, simplified: (have a read of this, then go back and see if the original threads you read make more sense.)

-The point of it is to mimic the fishes' natural ammonia (waste) production, thereby helping good bacteria to grow and process all the bad stuff.
- So, you have your bottle of pure ammonia, a liquid master test kit (try the API freshwater master test kit. Nutrafin makes one too, I think), and some kind of eye dropper / medicine dropper.
- Add about 5 drops of ammonia for every gallon of tank water. If you have a 10 gallon tank, add 50 drops of ammonia.
- Test the water. Is your ammonia about 6 ppm? If not, add a few more drops until it is at 6 ppm.
- Now the waiting starts. Next day, check your ammonia. Has it gone down? If not, wait.
- Keep testing and waiting until your ammonia level drops. Now, test for nitrIte. You should have some. Yay! Cycling has begun! Now, add a few more drops of ammonia until your test reads 3 or 4 ppm.
- Keep your ammonia levels right aroaund 3-4. Test every day, adding drops of ammonia as necessary. Your nitrites will eventually go sky-high then start to drop. When they drop, do a nitrAte test. It's the nitrate that's "eating" your nitrIte, just as your nitrIte ate your ammonia.
- When you have no ammonia and no nitrites, but lots of nitrate, you're cycled. Do a BIG water change and add your fish.
- a word of caution. After this big water change, add fish RIGHT AWAY. Otherwise, your new bacteria won't have anything to eat and they'll die off. Adding the fish (and the poo they make!) is just like adding ammonia. This keeps the cycle going. You just have to do water changes (around 25% or so) every week to keep the nitrates in check.

That's just a bullet-pointed, slightly streamlined version of the pinned topic, but hopefully that helps! Good luck! I know it's tough to give up the fishes (I adore my black skirts!) but it's better for them in the long run.

thanks for the simplified version, now im just praying my fish shop will let me keep them there for a month or two, even if i have to pay them it will stillbe worth it if i got them back. its kinda amazing i havent killed any yet, they really are hardy fish but i hate the guilt of harming them , i thought it would take 4-6 weeks, if i knew it would take 3 months i woulda defo done a fishless cycle. oh well... i guess we're all allowed to make at least one newbie mistake

is it only the 3 black skirt tetras in the tank?

nah theres 6 of them , they were tiny when igot them but most are 1-2 inches long and 1 inch wide now, a cpl stayed small though

 

[Just_Another_One]

could it be because im not doing water changes everyday?. maybe ill start doing that and see what happens. i dont really have time to do it but ill have to make time i guess

 

[Lynda B]

ok well the temp was set at 24 up untill last week then i raised it to 28... every 2 or 3 days i siphon out 4-6 gallons of water then re-add the same amount of de-chlorniated tap water. i feed them hikari micro wafers once a day, sometimes two if im bored. anything i've missed??

Do you do your readings prior to doing your water changes? If so, what have they been?

You're not even doing a 10% water change. You should be doing much more than that. I do 25 - 50% per week. And my tank is cycled.

Do you siphon out water from the botttom of the tank, cleaning some of your gravel? Silly question, I know. But I've heard of some people just scooping out water from the top of their tank. Not the same.

 

[Just_Another_One]

B)-->QUOTE(Lynda B @ Jun 19 2007, 12:08 PM) [snapback]1659161[/snapback]

ok well the temp was set at 24 up untill last week then i raised it to 28... every 2 or 3 days i siphon out 4-6 gallons of water then re-add the same amount of de-chlorniated tap water. i feed them hikari micro wafers once a day, sometimes two if im bored. anything i've missed??

Do you do your readings prior to doing your water changes? If so, what have they been?

You're not even doing a 10% water change. You should be doing much more than that. I do 25 - 50% per week. And my tank is cycled.

Do you siphon out water from the botttom of the tank, cleaning some of your gravel? Silly question, I know. But I've heard of some people just scooping out water from the top of their tank. Not the same.
[/quote]
well im no good at math but isnt 10 percent 3 gallons? if my tank is 33 gallons then how many gallons do i need to take out to make 20-25... i tried to figure it out but just got a headache. when i siphon i run it all along hte bottom and watch the poop float up in the tube....shoudl i be leaving it there maybe..

 

[Christine1014]

No, don't leave it in there. That will make the ammonia levels way too high. Changing the water really doesn't do anything for the cycle (you don't do any water changes in a fishless cycle until you're ready to add fish) it just makes things better for the fish. But it won't slow down the cycle either, as the beneficial bacteria live on the filter media, not in the water.

 

[Just_Another_One]

B)-->QUOTE(Lynda B @ Jun 19 2007, 12:08 PM) [snapback]1659161[/snapback]

ok well the temp was set at 24 up untill last week then i raised it to 28... every 2 or 3 days i siphon out 4-6 gallons of water then re-add the same amount of de-chlorniated tap water. i feed them hikari micro wafers once a day, sometimes two if im bored. anything i've missed??

Do you do your readings prior to doing your water changes? If so, what have they been?


[/quote]
well i just did a reading . i got a faint faint pink for nitrite which means aorund .1 , and in between 0.6 and 1.2 for ammonia i did a water change this morning a few hours ago, im using a liquid master test kit from hagen.