L_Plates - Fishless Cycle Log - Complete

[L_Plates]

Set Up
Juwel Rio 240
Size: 121 x 41 x 55 cm
Volume: 240 litres
Lighting system: Twin T5 High Lites
Filter System: Compact H
Pump: 1000 lph
Powerheads: 2 x 900 Hydor Koralia Nano's
Heater/stat: 200 watts
Temp: 28 degrees c.

Tap water parameters:
Straight from tap:
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 0ppm
PH: 7.4
PH High: 7.8

Daily Tests
Day 1, 3rd April 2011 - 17:00: Ammonia: 4ppm
Day 2, 4th April 2011 - 17:00: Ammonia: 1ppm, Nitrite: 0ppm, Nitrates: 0ppm
Day 3, 5th April 2011 - 17:00: Ammonia: 1ppm
Day 4, 6th April 2011 - 19.00: Ammonia: 1ppm
Day 5, 7th April 2011 - 19.00: Ammonia: 1ppm, Nitrite: 0ppm, Nitrates: 1ppm (slightly orange)
Day 6, 8th April 2011 - 19.00: Ammonia: 1ppm
Day 7, 9th April 2011 - 19.00: Ammonia: 1ppm
Day 8, 10th April 2011 - 19.00: Ammonia: 1ppm, Nitrite: 0ppm, Nitrates: 1ppm (slightly orange)
Day 9, 11th April 2011 - 18:00: Ammonia: 1ppm
Day 10, 12th April 2011 - 19:00: Ammonia: 0.50ppm *Redosed to 5ppm*
Day 11, 13th April 2011 - 19.20: Ammonia: 5ppm, Nitrite: 0ppm, Nitrates: 1ppm (slightly orange)
Day 12, 14th April 2011 - 19.00: Ammonia: 5ppm
Day 13, 15th April 2011 - 18.30: Ammonia: 5ppm
Day 14, 16th April 2011 - 19.30: Ammonia: 5ppm, PH Low: 7.6, PH High: 7.8 (Added Bogwood)
Day 15, 17th April 2011 - 17:50: Ammonia: 5ppm (Added 2 small Plants)
Day 16, 18th April 2011 - 18:30: Ammonia: 2ppm, Nitrite: Off the Scale, Nitrates: 5ppm
Day 17, 19th April 2011 - 17:30: Ammonia: 0.25ppm, PH: 7.6, Nitrite: Off the Scale, Nitrates: 20-40ppm, Redosed ammonia to 3ppm
Day 18, 20th April 2011 - 18:30: Ammonia: 0ppm, PH: 7.6, Nitrite: Off the Scale, Nitrates: 20-40ppm, Redosed ammonia to 3ppm
Day 19, 21st April 2011 - 18:30: Ammonia: 0ppm, PH: 7.6, Nitrite: Off the Scale, Nitrates: 20-40ppm, Redosed ammonia to 3ppm
Day 20, 22nd April 2011 - 18:30: Ammonia: 0ppm, PH: 7.6, Nitrite: Off the Scale, Nitrates: 80 - 160ppm, Redosed ammonia to 3ppm
Day 21, 23rd April 2011 - 18:30: Ammonia: 0ppm, PH: 7.6, Nitrite: Off the Scale, Nitrates: 5ppm, Redosed ammonia to 3ppm
Day 22, 24th April 2011 - 18:30: Ammonia: 0ppm, PH: 7.6, Nitrite: Off the Scale, Nitrates: 5ppm, Redosed ammonia to 3ppm
Day 23, 25th April 2011 - 16:00: Ammonia: 0ppm, PH: 7.6, Nitrite: Off the Scale, Nitrates: 5ppm, Redosed ammonia to 3ppm
Day 24, 26th April 2011 - 16:30: Ammonia: 0ppm, PH: 7.6, Nitrite: Off the Scale, Nitrates: 5ppm, Redosed ammonia to 3ppm
Day 25, 27th April 2011 - 18:30: Ammonia: 0ppm, PH: 7.6, Nitrite: Off the Scale, Nitrates: 5ppm, Redosed ammonia to 3ppm
Day 26, 28th April 2011 - 18:30: Ammonia: 0ppm, PH: 7.6, Nitrite: Off the Scale, Nitrates: 20ppm, Redosed ammonia to 3ppm
Day 27, 29th April 2011 - 18:30: Ammonia: 0ppm, PH: 7.6, Nitrite: Off the Scale, Nitrates: 20ppm, Redosed ammonia to 3ppm
Day 28, 30th April 2011 - 18:30: Ammonia: 0ppm, PH: 7.6, Nitrite: Off the Scale, Nitrates: 20ppm, Redosed ammonia to 3ppm

Day 29, 1st May 2011 - 17:30: Ammonia: 0ppm, PH: 7.6, Nitrite: Off the Scale, Nitrates: 20ppm, Redosed ammonia to 3ppm
Day 30, 2nd May 2011 - 17:30: Ammonia: 0ppm, PH: 7.6, Nitrite: Off the Scale, Nitrates: 20ppm, Redosed ammonia to 3ppm
Day 31, 3rd May 2011 - 17:30: Ammonia: 0ppm, PH: 7.6, Nitrite: 2.00, Nitrates: 80ppm, Redosed ammonia to 3ppm
Day 32, 4th May 2011 - 19:00: Ammonia: 0ppm, PH: 7.6, Nitrite: 0, Nitrates: 80ppm Redosed ammonia to 4ppm

12 Hour Tests Begin
Day 33, 5th May 2011 - 07:00: Ammonia: 0ppm, Nitrite: 1
Day 33, 5th May 2011 - 19:00: Nitrite: 0ppm, Nitrates: 80ppm Redosed ammonia to 4ppm

Day 34, 6th May 2011 - 07:00: Ammonia: 0ppm, Nitrite: 1
Day 34, 6th May 2011 - 19:00: Nitrite: 0ppm, Nitrates: 80ppm Redosed ammonia to 4ppm

Day 35, 7th May 2011 - 07:00: Ammonia: 0ppm, Nitrite: 0.25
Day 35, 7th May 2011 - 19:00: Nitrite: 0ppm, Redosed ammonia to 4ppm

Day 36, 8th May 2011 - 07:00: Ammonia: 0ppm, Nitrite: 0
Day 36, 8th May 2011 - 19:00: Redosed ammonia to 4ppm

Day 37, 9th May 2011 - 07:00: Ammonia: 0ppm, Nitrite: 0
Day 37, 9th May 2011 - 19:00: Redosed ammonia to 4ppm

Day 38, 10th May 2011 - 07:00: Ammonia: 0ppm, Nitrite: 0
Day 38, 10th May 2011 - 19:00: Redosed ammonia to 4ppm

Day 39, 11th May 2011 - 07:00: Ammonia: 0ppm, Nitrite: 0
Day 39, 11th May 2011 - 19:00: Redosed ammonia to 4ppm

Day 40, 12th May 2011 - 07:00: Ammonia: 0ppm, Nitrite: 0
Day 40, 12th May 2011 - 19:00: Redosed ammonia to 4ppm

This will be my last dosing as its fish on Saturday. Cycle Complete

Fish: 18 Copper Harlequins, 12 Five Banded Barbs, 5 Peppered Cory, 5 Rams, 6 Hillstream Loaches, 1 Molly, 3 Cardinal Tetras, 3 Platinum Tetras, 3 Glowlight Tetras, 4 Assassin Snails

Plants: Aponogeton crispus 'Red', Echinodorus x barthii, Taxiphyllum barbieri, Sagittaria platyphylla, Eleocharis parvula, Sagittaria subulata, Bacopa australis, Echinodorus bleheri (bleherae), Alternanthera reineckii 'Purple' (lilacina), Anubias, Java Fern, Echinodorus x barthii.

Co2: Fire Extinguisher 2kg. Diffused via glass diffuser.

Images Of Tank

15 May 2011

18th May 2011

6th June 2011

Five Banded Barbs.

German Blue Rams

21st June 2011

5 July 2011

14th July 2011

Latest Member to the Family, THE BOSS - Male GBR

29 July 2011

 

[BigbruiserAl]

up that temp to 29c mate while fishless cycling

 

[L_Plates]

Heater turned up, thanks BBA

 

[waterdrop]

That's a lotta light. Don't run it except when you need to work in the tank during fishless cycling. WD

 

[L_Plates]

Thanks Lights are off as off last night.

Is this to much light for the aquarium full stop ? 1 Day bulb and a Nature. One thing i dont like is there is no choice to have only one light on its either both or none.

LP

 

[L_Plates]

I plan on adding bogwood to my tank with plants and a bit of slate.

Would you recommend adding the bogwood and slate during the cycle or after ?

I was planning to leave out plants till after to avoid to much algae growth.

Thanks
LP

 

[BigbruiserAl]

bogwood can effect your ph, if it the ph drops to much it will stall the cycle. You could risk it it might be fine but imo not worth itit

 

[L_Plates]

Fair point, that last thing I want to do is stall the cycle. Im happy to wait as it will allow me to get everything soaked ready.

Cheers BBA

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, agree. Probably just putting the slate in would be ideal from the standpoint of the fishless cycle. At the same time you can soak the bogwood in a plastic storage box of water in the yard to help remove some of the tannins and to fully soak it for better sinking after the fishless cycle.

Arriving in the right light brightness range to me seems to take a bit of study (some of the planted people may have dealt with enough T5-HO tubes to just know it by heart) because unfortunately the hobby got off on the wrong foot measuring light output based on the efficiency of the older common T8 and T12 classic fluorescent tubes. Based on those tubes you wanted to get yourself into the right range based on whether you were injecting CO2 or not. With CO2 you often wanted to get in the 2 to 3 watts/USgallon range, whereas without CO2 injection you wanted to get in the 1 to 2 watts/USgallon range. This is still true, however the increased emphasis on energy efficiency in the world has brought out the poor choice of using the efficiency of a particular technology as a measure, because efficiencies of lighting devices have begun to change more rapidly. Obviously, a more efficient T5-"high-output" (HO) is going to give off more photons for less wattage input, so the old rule-of-thumb range becomes wrong. How much it changes it is not something I have a feel for but the planted folks may (obviously you use a lower wattage to reach the same place.) (Perhaps something like 0.75 watts/USgallon would work for non-CO2..that sort of thing.) You are right, it's nice to be able to control each tube individually, but more important is just that you get a lamp timer and be able to produce regular hours overall, once the cycle is over and you are growing plants and have fish of course.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[L_Plates]

Thanks for the information waterdrop, I was not planning on using CO2 as I am not going to be plant heavy. But im new to this type of tank idea.

I will go and have a read in the plant section.

Again thanks for the reply.

LP

 

[L_Plates]

Just tested for ammonia and it is at 1ppm after the first 24hr into the cycle ! Tested again in case of an error and its correct 1ppm.

Nitrite and Nitrates at 0ppm

LP

 

[L_Plates]

If I remember correctly I wait until Ammonia is 0ppm before adding more Ammonia back in ?

 

[Skins]

If I remember correctly I wait until Ammonia is 0ppm before adding more Ammonia back in ?

Imo when it drops to 0.25ppm or lower thats when you can re-dose.

Keith.

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, I agree, that's fine. WD

 

[L_Plates]

Cheers i will wait for a further drop. Im just surprised it had dropped at all.

Maybe natural chemicals in the pea gravel ?