My Fishless Cycle Has Begun! :)

[mishka83]

Very happy with today's results:

Ammonia - 0 (re-dosed to 4ppm)
Nitrite - 0.50
Nitrate - 10
pH - 6.8

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, very nice little writeup up there by Gelt, brings up some good points:

It's sometimes overlooked that any filter box that is external is -adding- to the volume of water available to your fish but without adding to the stocking limit (assuming the beginning aquarist somehow learns to take that aspect seriously, which many do not.) In fact a "refugium" or "sump" filter, either one, would be an extreme example of this, where the volume might even come close to doubling (ie. two tanks connected by hoses and pumps but the fish only live in one.)

A big external filter or large HOB box is a miniature example of this. There is some extra water volume, thus lowering the overall stocking of the system a little. It's always good to remember that mother nature typically provides millions of gallons of fresh water for each little fish and that same little fish might be provided with an acre of marsh somewhere acting as a filter!

Ah well, back to the fishless cycle here. Am not seeing anything wrong. One thing to watch for is that with mature media you sometimes do not see hardly any or not nearly as much of a nitrite spike type of signature. So just be aware that can happen and remember the gold standard is the qualifying week of 12-hour double zero readings, regardless of what sort of process pattern we've seen in the weeks before.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[mishka83]

Things were going great, up until now!!

My pH level has crashed to 6 or below and the Ammonia level hasn't dropped at all in 12 hours.

I've carried out a 90% water change and the pH is now at 6.8, i've re-dosed ammonia to 4ppm.

How can i raise the pH?

 

[KittyKat]

Bicarbonate of soda, go easy on it though, it doesn't always have an immediate effect. Dosing instructions are in beginner's resource, I think.

 

[BIG BAD BARRY]

If you use bicarb then 1 teaspoon per 50L. This needs to mixed in thoroughly and test at 12 and 24hrs to verify and then add carefully to get desired ph.

 

[mishka83]

I tried the bicarb, the pH was 7.4 yesterday, this morning it's back to 6.8, by tomorrow it will probably be back to 6 or below

How do you keep it stable? Mine just keeps going back to acidic!!

Ammonia is zero every 12 hours (might be less but thats when it's tested), Nitrite is still between 0.3 and 0.5, has never raised above 0.5 but has never zeroed either.

Starting to get annoyed now.

 

[waterdrop]

Having a large buildup of nitrates occur and having your pH crash are all -good- things! They are a sure sign that any biofilter is coming to life in a big way. In your case it means that your purchase of the big Eheim with the mature media already in it has made the transition from someone else's tank to your tank and most of the bacteria have lived.

This means you have jumpstarted your fishless cycle from the very beginning of what might very well have been a 70 day process down to something that is only taking a few weeks and even more important than that you have stumbled on a serious hobbyist forum and are doing this at all, compared to the vast majority of visitors to fish shops who are just basically putting fish in with their own waste and know next to nothing of the process.

It is time to enjoy how interesting this process is and stay in control of the impatience of childhood. Your skill with biofiltration is improving right before your eyes. If I were you I would consider using some of that energy to do a big down to the gravel water change on the weekend (to get most of the nitrites and nitrates out) and then recharge the bicarb and ammonia after refilling with conditioned temp-matched water. Your mature media is clearly in the final stages of getting up to the 4-5ppm matching level and it will be a great filter!

~~waterdrop~~
edit: spelling

 

[mishka83]

Having a large buildup of nitrates occur and having your pH crash are all -good- things! They are a sure sign that any biofilter is coming to life in a big way. In your case it means that your purchase of the big Eheim with the mature media already in it has made the transition to someone else's tank to your tank and most of the bacteria have lived.

This means you have jumpstarted your fishless cycle from the very beginning of what might very well have been a 70 day process down to something that is only taking a few weeks and even more important than that you have stumbled on a serious hobbyist forum and are doing this at all, compared to the vast majority of visitors to fish shops who are just basically putting fish in with their own waste and know next to nothing of the process.

It is time to enjoy how interesting this process is and stay in control of the impatience of childhood. Your skill with biofiltration is improving right before your eyes. If I were you I would consider using some of that energy to do a big down to the gravel water change on the weekend (to get most of the nitrites and nitrates out) and then recharge the bicarb and ammonia after refilling with conditioned temp-matched water. Your mature media is clearly in the final stages of getting up to the 4-5ppm matching level and it will be a great filter!

~~waterdrop~~

Thanks so much, that's really encouraging.

Should i be doing a weekly water change? I put Ammonia in every morning and before bed, it's always at zero when i re-dose it.

I'm on the lookout for a bigger tank already!! lol

 

[mishka83]

Today's results are the same as yesterday: Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0.5, pH 6.8

I'm getting a Juwel Vision 180 in 2 weeks so will be transferring and usign the same filter for that - mucho excited!!!

 

[waterdrop]

the weekly water change maintenance habit is for after you have fish, not during fishless cycling - water changes during a fishless cycle are a judgement call

 

[mishka83]

Today the nitrite has raised to 0.7.

Getting my new tank tomorrow, woo hoo!!

 

[OldMan47]

If you are at the beginning of your nitrite spike, you still have quite a way to go, Mishka. By staying on top of your pH with bicarb, you can encourage the cycle to proceed at a faster rate and not stall on you. There is really no limit to how much bicarb can be added to a fishless cycle. Bicarb will only raise pH to about 8 to 8.2 regardless of how much you use. If you are seeing your pH drift lower rather quickly after adding some bicarb, try adding twice as much. That should give you enough buffering to last for several days and make your life a bit easier. Whatever you have done during the cycle will be removed by the huge end of cycle water change anyway.