Micks Fishless Cycle

[Mickfender]

At last on day 42 my nitrite has gone down to 0.1, from being off the scale for weeks. So does this mean i start to test for ammonia and nitrite every 12 hrs now?. After adding bicarb days ago my ph has been holding at between 8 and 8.5,so its looking good i think. Would this be a good time to add the plants and bogwood to tank,any comments appreciated,thanks Mick.

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, if your nitrite(NO2) drop to zero within 24-hours holds up for another couple of days then you can declare yourself having passed from the nitrite spike stage to the 3rd phase of fishless cycling. Start doing 12 hour tests in addition to 24 hour tests and you'll have better data to watch the N-Bacs processing the nitrite down faster over time.

Ammonia dropping to zero should be pretty consistent throughout this last phase, however sometimes it can stall a little near the end and surprise you that it seems to have gone backwards a bit. If that happens don't worry about it as it will go away. Much more common is the so-called "sticking problem" near the end of the 3rd phase where nitrite(NO2) has been getting cleared faster and faster but then seems to stick down around 0.25 or 0.50 or floats between those and 1.0 over a series of days. This can drive people nuts as they were just sure they were days away from getting in to their final qualifying week with both toxins clearing in 12 hours every day.

I'd hold out a few weeks longer on the plantings.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Mickfender]

Thanks for reply WD, looks like a little stall allready as my ammonia did not process in 24hrs, was still at 3ppm and the nitrite was 1.6ppm after 24 hrs, on day 44,so back to waiting again. Thanks Mick

 

[waterdrop]

Has your nitrate(NO3) shot way up? Sometimes when you reach the end of the nitrite spike phase, the N-Bacs have had a growth spurt and they produce a lot more nitrate. If you are dosing bicarb you might not have received the additional info from pH dropping. Sometimes this can be a good time to do a large gravel-clean-water change down to the substrate with subsequent recharge of ammonia and bicarb. Also, don't disturb your filter but be sure you don't have any blockages or anything, you want good flow and good disturbance of the surface water by your filter output.

~~waterdrop~~