Is My Fishless Cycle Complete?

[Johnjo569]

Hi everybody,

Just joined this forum so a big hello to everybody!

I have been doing a fishless cycle for 10 days and was wondering if it is complete or not? A little background might help.......

I was given a baby biorb by my dad before Xmas as he was getting a new tank. He had emptied it out, cleaned the filter under the tap and put the lava rock which fills the base of the tank and is supposed to hold the bioload, in a bag. It was in there for over a week. When I set the tank up I noticed the rock was still wet so I was hopeful it might still contain some bacteria. I set everything up put de chlor water in, heater to 29 degrees and started to add pure ammonia to 4ppm. All water etc was tested before and after using master test kit. My readings have been the same every day... 4ppm ammonia processed in 24 hrs to 0, never had any nitrite readings except when I put the first lot of water in the tank which was 0.25 but it disappeared in 24hrs. Nitrate readings go sky high 80-160ppm once ammonia is processed. Did a part water change to bring nitrate down to 20ppm re fed ammonia 4ppm 24 hrs later it was 0, nitrite 0 (as usual) plus nitrates up to 80ppm. My question is am I cycled even though I have not seen any indication of nitrite?

Sorry for the long post!

John

 

[CezzaXV]

I'm inclined to say yes if the nitrates have been rising as well.

What I would do is test say every 2 hours after redosing ammonia and see if you get any nitrite then.

 

[Prime Ordeal]

I definitely think you're cycled but that nitrate rise (60ppm from a 4ppm ammonia dose) is impossible. Test your tap water to see if you have nitrate in it. If there isn't then you have a substantial amount of organic material decaying in your tank somewhere - probably in the rock. It may be a combination of both though, nitrate in the tapwater and nitrate from organic decomposition. That'll cause you problems as you want to keep it under 40ppm at all times ideally.

 

[Johnjo569]

Thanks for the replies.

I fed approx 3ppm at 7pm last night and when i checked before work this morning it was 0 so it does seem like it is cycling the ammonia well. I will check a couple of hours after tonight's dose to see if i can register the illusive nitrites!

I have no idea what is going on with my nitrate level, it does seem to go through the roof very quickly. When i get home i will check the tap water nitrate level again but from memory (not that great) i think it is low as i tested it before i started any cycling. I will also do 75% water change and get down to 10-20ppm add ammonia and see if there is a large increase tomorrow. If it does increase significantly then maybe i need to clean the rocks in tank water and give it another week of testing. I have noticed that my PH has started to drop a little lately (6.5 yesterday), i am keeping it at around 7.5 with the aid of some bicard. The tap water PH is 6.5. Is this unusual?
If the nitrate level seems stable i may go the LFS on Saturday and get a couple of Ember tetras as i plan on having 5-6 of these in my tank with a couple of Cherry Shrimps. Should i introduce them all at the same time or say 2 fish and 1 shrimp a week?

 

[Prime Ordeal]

Having pH 6.5 isn't that unusual but it may cause problems for you. You're doing the right thing adding bicarb while you're cycling (getting it to 8 would be better) but once you're cycled you either have to constantly redose to maintain the pH level you want (not really desirable) or you can add something like crushed coral or coral sand to the filter or substrate to give a more consistent (and stable) increase in pH. Or you let the tank stay at the tap water pH of 6.5 but then you'd have to make regular water changes to ensure that the pH doesn't drop substantially and risk a ph crash which would stall your filter and probably wipe out your stock.

 

[Johnjo569]

Thanks Prime Ordeal, where can you get crushed coral from and how do you know how much coral to add to get a stable PH of say 7.0? Is it something you add and no matter how much you put in it only rises to a certain PH or do you have to measure and monitor the amount. Also do you have to top it up on a regular basis or is it a once only addition?

Sorry for the questions but i have never used a coral supplement before.