New And Attempting A Cycle

[Gabbott]

Hello everyone,
So I stumbled upon this site because I got the idea to get two 10 gallon aquariums for my daughters' bedrooms. Being that I'm one that has to research every project, now I'm here

Now I'm thinking about setting up a 55 gallon tank in the living room also.

Anyway, I've got one of the 10 gallon tanks setup now and am beginning the cycling process. I went out and got some ammonia (with no additives). I have an ammonia API liquid test kit. So initally I added 7 drops of ammonia to the tank. After about a half hour I tested the levels. The reading came out to about 1.75-2.0 ppm. So I added 2 more drops to see how that affected levels. Waited another half hour, this time my reading came out to between 0.25-0.5 ppm. Thought that was odd, added another 2 drops and came out with the same readings.

OK, so what the heck is going on? The first reading when I initially added the 7 drops was much higher. Am I not waiting long enough before doing a reading?

 

[OldMan47]

Welcome to the forum Gabbot. I am glad to see you here and already reading up on cycling. That can save you lots of trouble later.
In a 10 gallon, I start with a half teaspoon at least and then measure an hour later. The time lets the ammonia mix into the water well. The amount it will take can be calculated, but I never trust the calcs anyway, so I do an add and test approach. Make sure you are following the instructions, including the right development time, on the test kit. Once you see the effect of the first addition, you can adjust how much you add to get the desired result. It is a case of simple ratios. The hardest part about the calculators is guessing how much water there actually is in the tank. I know my 10 gallon only took about 8 1/2 to fill when I had no gravel or decor in it to complicate things.

 

[LauraFrog]

Okay, something's wrong. I have seen several causes of problems like this.

- What are you putting in the water besides ammonia? Some water treatments neutralise both chlorine and ammonia. If you are using one of these you will need to change all the water and use just plain chlorine neutraliser while cycling. A pain in the *** but otherwise the tank wil never cycle. Water treatments like API Stress Zyme and Stress Coat, as well as almost anything marketed as 'water ager', will remove ammonia. It won't deal with the ammonia produced by a stocked tank and is not a substitute for cycling, but it will sure hold up your fishless cycle.

- What sort of filter does the tank have and what's in it? Some tanks that are sold with complete filters installed contain zeolite. This looks like crumbled rock or gravel and is pale cream or greyish-white in colour. It is usually put in a netting bag somewhere in the filter. It is ammonia absorber, zeolite. Take it out and add the ammonia again and things should work. It is used to try and keep newbies' fish alive during a fish in cycle but it is unstable. It becomes saturated and releases ammonia back, often with no warning. There is no reason to use it at all in a cycled tank. It is generally used in tanks where no filter can be placed (ie with tiny fry or fussy bettas) or where biological filtration won't work (really, really soft acid water like chocolate gouramis.)

 

[Gabbott]

It does seem that something is neutralizing the ammonia. I cant seem to get it to read over 0.5 ppm now.

The filter is a brand new Marineland Penguin 100 which is running with the bio-wheel and filter that came with it.

I filled the tank 2 days ago. Only additive I added to the water was right after I filled it and is something called Start Right w/Allantoin which is supposedly a natural skin protectant. It is a water conditioner that is supposed to remove chlorine and chloramine. I added 1 teaspoon as directed by the bottle. Could this be my problem?