My First Ever Fishless Cycle, Please Help, With Log!

[sjolliff]

Thanks for everyones help
the nutrafin plus is what you put in one to de-chlorinate the water, the cycle is supposed to speed up the cycle
my api master kit should come 2moz so i can test the levels
by 2moz it will be day 4 is this too late to see the ammonia go up then down?
also what are the acceptable levels for all so i can tell its ready for fish
will 2 weeks be enough?
cheers

 

[yasinullah]

Thanks for everyones help
the nutrafin plus is what you put in one to de-chlorinate the water, the cycle is supposed to speed up the cycle
my api master kit should come 2moz so i can test the levels
by 2moz it will be day 4 is this too late to see the ammonia go up then down?
also what are the acceptable levels for all so i can tell its ready for fish
will 2 weeks be enough?
cheers

my first drop of ammonia (4/5ppm > 1ppm took 8 days) though it can be anywhere between 1 - 2 weeks. There are mixed reviews on products such as cycle, I used tetra safestart, a similar product, its selling point also being that its contains "live" bacteria to allow the rapid introduction of fish, the tetra safestart did not work for me, as ammonia did not drop til day 8, so I'd have to agree against the use of products such as cycle, and suggest the fishless cycle, but perhaps it does help speed the the fishless cycling process somewhat.
I know fishless cycling seems daunting and long, but from what I've read here and everywhere else, its definitely the best way to start!

also nitrite readings will need to measured, as you need bacteria that will process these also, as they are harmful to fish, these bacteria take a little longer to become established during cycling

 

[mayurkirti]

by 2moz it will be day 4 is this too late to see the ammonia go up then down?
also what are the acceptable levels for all so i can tell its ready for fish
will 2 weeks be enough?
cheers

1. If you dont see any ammonia, test for nitrites and nitrates. If you any traces that means there was ammonia in the water and it has been processed to nitrites, or to nitrates in turn. If you dont see any of it, it will mean your cycle never started.
2. Acceptable levels are ideally zero.
3. Your only way to find out if 2 weeks is okay is to do the tests.

Even if you see nitrates in your tank you will have to add some more Cycle and then do the 12 hour tests until you see the ammonia processed into nitrates, because you dont know if the bacteria is still alive. if this happens in less than 4 hours, then you are all set.

 

[yasinullah]

by 2moz it will be day 4 is this too late to see the ammonia go up then down?
also what are the acceptable levels for all so i can tell its ready for fish
will 2 weeks be enough?
cheers

Even if you see nitrates in your tank you will have to add some more Cycle and then do the 12 hour tests until you see the ammonia processed into nitrates, because you dont know if the bacteria is still alive. if this happens in less than 4 hours, then you are all set.

the general rule is that you must be able to process 4/5ppm of ammonia in 12 hours to 0ppm, and also the nitrite that results must be processed in 12 hours to 0ppm.

Unfortunately even if the cycle bottle contains live bacteria, they won't survive for long (for no more than 24hours? i think) without "food" which is ammonia. So as mentioned by ellena, you need to be dosing with ammonia. Otherwise your ammonia and nitrite readings will remain negative, as no ammonia has been added to begin with. Did u add ammonia?

 

[sjolliff]

No i dint add any ammonia, but when i added the cycle it also said add a bit of food which i did
so if i buy and add ammonia of about 4-5ppm then in 12 hours later that should be down to 0

 

[yasinullah]

No i dint add any ammonia, but when i added the cycle it also said add a bit of food which i did
so if i buy and add ammonia of about 4-5ppm then in 12 hours later that should be down to 0

unfortunately probably not, as its unlikely that the cycle product will work, it will take a good while for the bacteria to populate in your filter system. It takes
1 - 2 weeks to simply bring down the initial 4/5ppm of ammonia to 0ppm. Refer to the first post here : http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=113861

What you want is for the appropriate bacteria to become established in the filter, and be able to process all of 4/5ppm of ammonia in 12 hours. And be able to process all nitrites produced in 12 hours. I believe this can take 1 - 2 months.

Hopefully the link above explains the process of fishless cycling better than I am.

Take a look at some of the fishless cycle threads in this sub-forum

 

[sjolliff]

No i dint add any ammonia, but when i added the cycle it also said add a bit of food which i did
so if i buy and add ammonia of about 4-5ppm then in 12 hours later that should be down to 0

unfortunately probably not, as its unlikely that the cycle product will work, it will take a good while for the bacteria to populate in your filter system. It takes
1 - 2 weeks to simply bring down the initial 4/5ppm of ammonia to 0ppm. Refer to the first post here : [URL="http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=113861"]http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=113861[/URL]

What you want is for the appropriate bacteria to become established in the filter, and be able to process all of 4/5ppm of ammonia in 12 hours. And be able to process all nitrites produced in 12 hours. I believe this can take 1 - 2 months.

Hopefully the link above explains the process of fishless cycling better than I am.

Take a look at some of the fishless cycle threads in this sub-forum

ok just to clear thing up sp 4-5ppm of ammonia should be a 0 in 12 hours, then nitrates to 0 in the next 12 hours or the same time as the ammonia?
when the test kit comes and i test for ammonia and nitrates, will the kits reading show the drop?

 

[yasinullah]

with the api master test kit you've ordered you can test the pH, nitrates, nitrites, and ammonia, and so yes you can monitor the levels of these.

the link to the thread I posted above contains all the info you need, if you have decided to do a fishless cycle, you'll also need to get hold of some ammonia, i believe there's some further info in that thread about where you can source ammonia.

Next, once you've got all you need, you should probably create your own thread of you cycling diary, and the much more knowledgeable members of the forum can help direct you as you go through the cycling process, and answer any queries you might have

ok just to clear thing up sp 4-5ppm of ammonia should be a 0 in 12 hours, then nitrates to 0 in the next 12 hours or the same time as the ammonia?
when the test kit comes and i test for ammonia and nitrates, will the kits reading show the drop?

ok the whole 12 hour things is your end aim, thats what you want to achieve at the end of the line, and this will generally be a month or 2 into the cycling process, and basically if you added 4/5ppm of ammonia at 8AM, at 8PM you should have 0 ammonia and 0 nitrites (so at teh same time)

 

[sjolliff]

Hi
Goy my testing kit today
Day 1 set all tank up used nutrafin plus to de-chlorinate water then added nutrafin cycle and nutrafin max flake food, as guided in the book
turn on and left to run
Also the nutrafin cycle says add another dose at the 7th day then leave for anothe week 2 intotal

Day 2 NO TEST
Day 3 NO TEST
Day 4 API FULL TEST as follows

Temp 29-29.2c

PH LEVEL 7.1

Ammonia 0.0ppm

Nitrites 0.3ppm

Nitrates 4-4.5ppm

Tank looks alot clearer as the time goes on sunday-monday looked really cloudy
Can any anyone tell me if this sounds ok or weather the cycle has not started yet?
thanks in advance steve

 

[mayurkirti]

That amount of nitrates does not look enough. You need to add ammonia and let it cycle at the same time test the water. If you know for sure that "Cycle" actually adds ammonia to your tank, then go ahead and add it. If not, then find something else that will add ammonia into your tank. This is what will follow:

1. Test the water after adding ammonia. You will add a little and test ammonia in water until you see the ammonia is 5ppm.
2. Wait 24 hours and test the water again. If you still find ammonia at the same level that means your cycle has not even started.
3. If you see ammonia has dropped to zero, then test for nitrites. If you see no nitrites that means your cycle is complete. If you see high level of nitrite that means the second set of bacteria that processes nitrites has not colonized yet.
4. If there is still nitrites, then you will have to wait until it drops to zero, at the same time keep on adding ammonia into the tank at 24 hour marks to make sure that there is enough ammonia to keep on feeding the ammonia processing bacteria.

And remember, patience is the key here.

Cheers!

 

[yasinullah]

Hi
Goy my testing kit today
Day 1 set all tank up used nutrafin plus to de-chlorinate water then added nutrafin cycle and nutrafin max flake food, as guided in the book
turn on and left to run
Also the nutrafin cycle says add another dose at the 7th day then leave for anothe week 2 intotal

Day 2 NO TEST
Day 3 NO TEST
Day 4 API FULL TEST as follows

Temp 29-29.2c

PH LEVEL 7.1

Ammonia 0.0ppm

Nitrites 0.3ppm

Nitrates 4-4.5ppm

Tank looks alot clearer as the time goes on sunday-monday looked really cloudy
Can any anyone tell me if this sounds ok or weather the cycle has not started yet?
thanks in advance steve

I see in your other thread that you've got hold of some ammonia, if you haven't already its probably best to stop using the flake food, as I've read that its not best as you cannot work out exactly how much ammonia that will produce as it decays. As for the Nutrafin cycle, I'm not too sure on that one.

My tank also got quite cloudy at first and it does rapidly clear, a bacterial? bloom I think, common to new tank setups. I still have some white marks on the glass though!

What you should think about doing, is either using this or a new thread, to post your daily tests (test every 24hours until ammonia drops to 0ppm, then start doing 12 hour tests), as you have done above, but probs best to put it in the very 1st post of the thread so it can be easily followed and so that more advanced members can help you if you have any problems during the cycling process.

 

[sjolliff]

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[sjolliff]

Thanks for the advice im starting with the ammonia tonight, i only used the flake food on the first day to start things off.
ill ammend this thread and start a daily log
thanks everyone for your help

 

[sjolliff]

After some great advice from members on here im now starting a dialy log.
Day 1, set up, with nutrafin plus,cycle and flake food, no test
Day 2 no test
Day 3 no test
Day 4 Api testing kit delivered, PH 7.1 Ammonia 0.0ppm Nitrites 0.3ppm Nitrates 4-4.5ppm Temp 29-29.2c
Day 5 PH 7.2 Ammonia 0.0ppm Nitrites 0.2ppm Nitrates 3.0ppm Temp 29.7c
added ammonia waiting to do test to see how many ppm are in there after using the calculator

 

[sjolliff]

After some great advice from members on here im now starting a dialy log.
Day 1, set up, with nutrafin plus,cycle and flake food, no test
Day 2 no test
Day 3 no test
Day 4 Api testing kit delivered, PH 7.1 Ammonia 0.0ppm Nitrites 0.3ppm Nitrates 4-4.5ppm Temp 29-29.2c
Day 5 PH 7.2 Ammonia 0.0ppm Nitrites 0.2ppm Nitrates 3.0ppm Temp 29.7c
added ammonia waiting to do test to see how many ppm are in there after using the calculator

Just test for ammonia after 1 hour i added the amount shown by the calculator and its reading nearer the last colour which is 8ppm but its not as dark so i would say about 7ishppm
should i change some water or leave it???