My 92G Journal

[BIG BAD BARRY]

Great contrast between the sand and the tank colour.
Its gonna be a great looking setup!

 

[nophtosh]

In case anybody is actually interested in what i've got going here there's not much to report. I've started my cycle and here are the stats:

*API Master Test Kit*
Day 1: PH - 7.5, Ammonia 4-5ppm
Day 2: PH - 7.5, Ammonia 2-3ppm --added ammonia
Day 3: PH - 7.4, Ammonia 4ppm, Nitrite .5-1ppm
Day 4: Ammonia 4ppm, Nitrite .5-1ppm
Day 5: PH - 7.5, Ammonia 2pm, Nitrite 1ppm
Day 6: Ammonia 1ppm --added ammonia
Day 7: Ammonia 4ppm, Nitrite 5ppm
Day 8: Ammonia 2-3ppm, Nitrite 5ppm

The quick ammonia drop on day 2 may have been because I added some seed media to the filter?

 

[waterdrop]

Looks like your mature media bacteria are alive and well!

~~waterdrop~~

 

[nophtosh]

Other than doing water testing, not much else has been happening. I introduced about 30 MTS and they seem to be doing alright

Water Stats:

Day 9: Ammonia - 1-2, Nitrite - 5+ added ammonia
Day 10: Ammonia - 3, Nitrite - 5+, Nitrate 20-40
Day 11: Ammonia - 2, Nitrite - 5+ added ammonia
Day 12: Ammonia - 1-2, Nitrite - 5+, Nitrate - 20-40
Day 13: Ammonia - .25, Nitrite - 5+ added ammonia
Day 14: Ammonia - 0-.25, Nitrite - 5+, Nitrate looks like 10-20...don't know how that's possible

Any guesses on how much longer my cycle should approximately take? I know that the Nitrite levels will take "about twice as long" to return to 0...so am I looking at another 2 weeks?

Should I be concerned about this:

The thing on the upper right is my mopani. I noticed this brown spot had appeared which I didn't notice yesterday. Not sure if I want to stir or dig it up or what.

Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[moochy13]

is there wood under the spot ?

 

[nophtosh]

No, just close. I'm thinking that maybe a snail died down there or something.

 

[nophtosh]

double posted..sorry

 

[waterdrop]

As to the question of how much longer your fishless cycle might take, the truth is that it just varies wildly between different geographical water supplies (some let lots more bacteria through than others) and by the tanks and equipment people have and the actions that people take. Since its easier to have some sort of rough scale in your head I sometimes think of it as 2 weeks for the first phase (the one you're already past,) 2 weeks for the second phase (the "nitrite spike" phase and 2 weeks for the 3rd phase after the nitrite spike is over and you're trying to get to your qualifying week. That makes 6 weeks altogether and many fishless cycles will be faster than that, making you happy. But a significant number can be slower even than that, but still come out fine despite testing your patience so much.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[nophtosh]

As to the question of how much longer your fishless cycle might take, the truth is that it just varies wildly between different geographical water supplies (some let lots more bacteria through than others) and by the tanks and equipment people have and the actions that people take. Since its easier to have some sort of rough scale in your head I sometimes think of it as 2 weeks for the first phase (the one you're already past,) 2 weeks for the second phase (the "nitrite spike" phase and 2 weeks for the 3rd phase after the nitrite spike is over and you're trying to get to your qualifying week. That makes 6 weeks altogether and many fishless cycles will be faster than that, making you happy. But a significant number can be slower even than that, but still come out fine despite testing your patience so much.

~~waterdrop~~

Thanks for that..and a test of patience for sure! I'm itching to get something into the tank other than the snails already

 

[nophtosh]

Got an interesting surprise when I came home the other day..somebody though it would be a good idea to put fish in the tank and "nobody" put them there surprise, surprise. The fish look like danios and there are 5 of them so I suppose that I'll just finish my cycle fish-in. I'll update water parameters later. I suppose the only change for now is to start doing big water changes to keep things under control and to stop adding Ammonia.

 

[nophtosh]

I promise that I've just been busy and haven't made updating this a priority of late. Sorry..for anybody who might have been following this.

As for my water parameters, I stopped adding Ammonia once the fish were added though it looked like i was coming towards the end of my cycle anyway (thankfully). I started adding fish (a few at a time after the 29th.

3/22 - Ammonia = .25, Nitrite= 5+
3/23 - Ammonia = 0, Nitrite= 5+
3/24 - Ammonia = 0-.25, Nitrite=5+, Nitrate=20
3/27 - Ammonia = 0, Nitrite= 5+, Nitrate=40
3/29 - Ammonia = 0, Nitrite= 0, Nitrate=20
3/30 - Ammonia = 0, Nitrite= 0, Nitrate=20
3/31 - Ammonia = 0, Nitrite= 0, Nitrate=20
4/5 - Ammonia = .25, Nitrite= 0, Nitrate-20-40
4/9 - Ammonia = 0-.25, Nitrite= 0, Nitrate=20
4/14 - Ammonia = .25, Nitrite= 0, Nitrate=20
4/21 - Ammonia = .25, Nitrite= 0, Nitrate=20-40

Now I'm curious, do I just not have enough bio media to deal with the ammonia? I'm using the API Master and the test looks slightly green and definitely not completely yellow.
Should I be concerned that my Nitrates aren't building up? I started doing 30% water changes every 5-7 days (usually every 7) and I suppose I just assumed that I'd see a quicker build-up. Early on, I do a few 75% changes to help make planting and things like that easier. I've got it relatively lightly planted with some Anubias, Java Moss, Anacharis, and Hornwort (yes, I realize it's supposed to float but I think it looks nice when I weight it).
I'll add some pictures when I get them hosted and I'll compile my stock list too when I have a few more minutes.

Thanks as always for looking. I appreciate your encouragement and comments.