Me Again!

[SteM]

Hi guys, I know I've been posting here a lot lately and prob getting sick of me now but quick question, how long does the cycle usually take? I had my tank running 3 weeks before I start adding ammonia and I got it to about 4ppm and next day it was down to about 0.5 topped it back up next day it was back to 0.5 and nitrates of 5, I've been away from home since Sunday but yesterday I had my mam add 10ml of ammonia and she'll be doing the same tomorrow, should it take much longer for the take to fully cycle? I also have added some plants ,

Thanks, ste

 

[Aquascaper]

Fishless cycles from start to fish with no bacterial help (mature media or additives) can take around 6 weeks on average IME.

 

[SteM]

Could some bacteria have gathered in filter in the 3 weeks it was running before the addition of ammonia? I've read it takes about a week to start seeing nitrites and I seem 5ppm within 2 days... So excited can't wait to start adding fish! Will be getting a lot more plants this weekend will this have any effect on the cycle? As in slow it down?

 

[Aquascaper]

Plants use up ammonia and mess things up a little but overall not an issue.

Some bacteria will have started to colonised the filter in the first 3 weeks which has given you a slight head start so to speak.

Once you are dosing 4ppm (possibly 5ppm if there's a lot of plants) ammonia and it's being processed to nitrates with no spike in nitrites within 12hrs for a few days continuously then you are 'cycled' and can add the fish.

 

[SteM]

Great, as I said I'm away from home Sunday to Friday but it gets does twice while I'm away this will be fine wont it? Then ill test water the 3 days I'm back and if it's doing what you say should I lower the dosage and dose it every day just to feed the bacteria or keep up with the 4-5ppm? ... I have 150 voucher for fish from lfs so I'm pretty excited to get that used

 

[snazy]

Could some bacteria have gathered in filter in the 3 weeks it was running before the addition of ammonia? I've read it takes about a week to start seeing nitrites and I seem 5ppm within 2 days... So excited can't wait to start adding fish! Will be getting a lot more plants this weekend will this have any effect on the cycle? As in slow it down?

In theory, there's always an ammount of ammonia in a tank which can be from dying micro algae, decaying matter like tiny pieces of driftwood, plant matter, etc.. It may not be high enough for you to detect on a home test, but sometimes is. The only problem is that if you wait on that amount of ammonia to cycle a tank, it make take months
Also, your tap water can have a small amount that is undetectable(I recently checked my water supply and it is supposed to have 0.02ppm ammonia). If the tap water was treated with chloramines, once it enters the tank, even with applied dechlorinator, it will break down eventually into chlorine and ammonia. The chlorine evaporates or gets detoxified by the dechlorinator. The ammonia is eventually released and then the bacteria creeps into your tank without your permission and cycles the tank to an extent to treat very low levels of ammonia and nitrItes. 3 weeks would be long enough for the process to have started and with the addition of more ammonia now you are technically breeding the bacteria to the amount needed to cope with a full stock tank. Happy breeding

 

[SteM]

Haha well I hope they breed fast cause I'm dying to get some fish in there! Appreciate that info aswell really helps understand the workings, hopefully when I go home Friday it has moved along in the stages