Just Started My First Fishless Cycle

[joshybjoshy]

looks like things going good and the nitrite is being processed a lot faster now hopefully it will be ready for twice a day testing from monday

 

[fatheadminnow]

looks like things going good and the nitrite is being processed a lot faster now hopefully it will be ready for twice a day testing from monday

Glad to hear things are going good for you!

-FHM

 

[joshybjoshy]

Time to start testing twice a day!!!

 

[joshybjoshy]

if my ammonia is at 0ppm tomorrow morning do i need to add the ammonia then or am i just checking that it is processing it in 12 hours i think this could be the reason that some peoples seem to go really slow i have noticed oneonion is adding 4ppm at the 12 hour mark and the nitrates are taking ages to go down surely only 5ppm is needed a day at the 24 hour mark and just wait for the nitrite to go down to 0ppm at the 12 hour mark

can someone advise what i need to be doing at the 12 hour mark?

 

[OldMan47]

At 12 hours you just test to see how you are doing. Once a day ammonia dosing is plenty.

 

[joshybjoshy]

sounds good i think thats what people are having problems with ive gone through a few of the cycling posts and people are adding 4ppm at the 12 hour mark which is why it is taking 2 months to complete maybe something needs to gbe changed with instructions on the link just to say only check it at the 12 hour mark. its my bday on wednesday so hopefully it will be done for then so i can get some fishys!

 

[fatheadminnow]

if my ammonia is at 0ppm tomorrow morning do i need to add the ammonia then or am i just checking that it is processing it in 12 hours i think this could be the reason that some peoples seem to go really slow i have noticed oneonion is adding 4ppm at the 12 hour mark and the nitrates are taking ages to go down surely only 5ppm is needed a day at the 24 hour mark and just wait for the nitrite to go down to 0ppm at the 12 hour mark

can someone advise what i need to be doing at the 12 hour mark?

Yup, just check at the 12 hour mark but ONLY add at the 24 hour mark.

Once your ammonia and nitrite are at 0 ppm at the 12 hour mark, then continue with the cycle for one more week. This is called the "qualification" week, and during this week someitmes nitrite might have a slight spike, which is better to happen without fish in the tank.

Also, when both ammonia and nitrite are at 0 ppm at the 12 hour mark, this means that you have colonized enough bacteria in your filter to safely handle a full stocking of fish for your size tank.

Once the "qualification" week is up, then do a 90% water change and you will be ready to add fish!

-FHM

 

[joshybjoshy]

zeros at the 12 hour mark

i know people say about the bacteria starts are no good but i think the API one has helped my cycle along but also my tank was second hand and still has the hold substrate in when i cycled my tank

 

[joshybjoshy]

12 hour mark again all zeros

 

[fatheadminnow]

zeros at the 12 hour mark

i know people say about the bacteria starts are no good but i think the API one has helped my cycle along but also my tank was second hand and still has the hold substrate in when i cycled my tank

The Stress Zyme would of had no effect on your tank, biologically.

The fact that you already had bacteria in your filter is the reason your tank cycled so fast. In the right conditions, these bacteria can double in size (population) every 15-20 hours or so.

-FHM

 

[waterdrop]

Agree with FHM. Having some of the correct two species of bacteria (via any sort of old stuff from a mature tank) is bound to be a much more powerful accelerator of a cycle than most other things. Having some dead organic matter from a shelved bottle (which is what 95% of our bottled bacteria cases seem to be) has not been found to help, once you take out the coincidences from the cases. Sometimes it actually confuses the case for some beginners in that its sort of like adding a lot of rotting leaves and having them turn into excess ammonia (via the heterotrophic bacteria) at some random point later in time.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[joshybjoshy]

ah rite

i have done the 90% water change and turned the heat down now

 

[joshybjoshy]

i am well annoyed i went to my LFS today and i told them about my fishless cycle and they said that they wouldnt sell me nay more than 6 fish to start with as doing what i have done will have made no difference and this is coming from the place that sold me that API filter start and told me if i wanted malawis that i should put that in leave it a week and come and get 15 fish!!!

Looks like A5 aquatics is going to get my business when the tanks ready

 

[OldMan47]

I suppose that even a fish shop is not up to date on fishless cycling Joshybjoshy. It is not something that you will find in the text books or any of the information usually given to a fish shop. It is something that has evolved over the last 10 or 15 years and is mostly only found on line, not in books. Before that everyone did fish-in cycles and accepted huge fish losses by starting a tank your size with about 6 fish. It seems your LFS needs to get caught up with the times but that does not make them a bad place to get fish. Many of us here would have given you much the same advice 15 or 20 years ago and we do keep good healthy stocks of fish, just as we did then. The difference is that we have learned and moved forward.

 

[joshybjoshy]

thanks old man i did try to explain it to them but they didn't want to listen i think he was more interested in the 5 day money back offer they have and i wouldnt get it if i had more than 6.