New Tank, Nitrite Spike, No Nitrates..

[The Taffy Apple]

Good morning all, my name is Terry from South Wales amd i'm hoping someone can help me in my little current problem i am having..

I have a 30l, plant free, fresh water tank...i have been 'cycling' this tank for 8 days now, using flake fish food.

I have lost 2 sets of fish a couple of months ago, mostly due to inexperience and impatience...so by reading this website and forums (great find!) i chose to cycle with fish flake food rather than using household ammonia.

My past 8 days reading are as below...
day 1
Ammonia 0.25
nitrIte 0
nitrAte 0
PH 7.6

day 2
Ammonia 0.25
nitrIte 0.25
nitrAte 2.5
PH 7.2 (and remained at 7.2 for the next 7 days up until now)

day 3
Ammonia 0.25
nitrIte 2.0
nitrAte 5.0

day 4
Ammonia 0.25
nitrIte 1.0
nitrAte 5.0

day 5
Ammonia 0.25
nitrIte 0.25
nitrAte 0

day 6
Ammonia 0.25
nitrIte 2.0
nitrAte 5.0

day 7
Ammonia 0.25
nitrIte 2.0
nitrAte 2.5

day 8 (last night- Nov 2nd)
Ammonia 0.25
nitrIte 2.0
nitrAte 2.5

Now then, from reading 'the cycling process' on this, and other forums/websites, i am expecting to see NitrAtes at some point, but when..? Would i be correct in saying i have seen my NitrItes spike?

Any help is highly appreciated, as i want to get it correct this time round without causing any harm or stress to the fish i eventually want in my tank...

Many thanks,
terry.

 

[RustedKnight]

I'm afraid I'm unable to help Terry, Just glad to see another welsh member here. I'm from the southwest (carms).

Here's hoping you get cycled soon, and get some fish in.

 

[kporteo]

When fishless cycling, your ammonia levels should be reading at 4ppm, this level gives enough 'goodness' for your Abacs to feed on and start to thrive, im guessing that your Nitrite levels could be a break down product of your flake decomposition.

K

ps, can i ask, why did you chose to use flake rather than ammonia?

 

[The Taffy Apple]

When fishless cycling, your ammonia levels should be reading at 4ppm, this level gives enough 'goodness' for your Abacs to feed on and start to thrive, im guessing that your Nitrite levels could be a break down product of your flake decomposition.

K

ps, can i ask, why did you chose to use flake rather than ammonia?

Thanks for the quick reply Kporteo...i have no real reason as to why i chose food instead of Ammonia, but i read somewhere that they are both as good for cycling a fishless tank. I have been adding quite alot of the stuff daily, but cant seem to get the Ammonia reading upto the desired 4ppm required. Maybe i should drain, clean and start again..?

 

[gbailey141]

Hi there. I wouldn't start again but just try and get some pure ammonia from somewhere like Boots. Then just dose as suggested in an earlier post and things should start to move along nicely.

Good luck and welcome.

Gav

 

[The Taffy Apple]

Hi there. I wouldn't start again but just try and get some pure ammonia from somewhere like Boots. Then just dose as suggested in an earlier post and things should start to move along nicely.

Good luck and welcome.

Gav

Thank you Gav... i am out and about today so i shall pick some up...but will it be ok to simply carry on as i ma and use the household Ammonia instead of the flaked fish food?

 

[kporteo]

yeah, ammonia is ammonia no matter where it comes from!
K

 

[gbailey141]

yeah, ammonia is ammonia no matter where it comes from!
K

Exactly as K said. Keep us posted with your cycle and make sure you get a proper testing kit. The API Master Kit is one of the most popular and is more accurate than test strips.

Gav

 

[The Taffy Apple]

yeah, ammonia is ammonia no matter where it comes from!
K

Exactly as K said. Keep us posted with your cycle and make sure you get a proper testing kit. The API Master Kit is one of the most popular and is more accurate than test strips.

Gav

Many thanks to all who have replied...i bought some household Ammonia today (yes, from Boots, lol) and will start using that.

Could you possibly take a moment to answer a couple of questions i have...?
1/ My NitrItes were reading 0ppm in todays test (using API chemical test kit) yet my NitrAte and Ammonia have not changed. Strange. What could be the meaning behind this reading?
2/ I intend to start using the household ammonia tomorrow, keeping a thorough log as i go...but would you suggest doing a full/part water change before i do?
3/ And finally, what amount of Ammonia should i be adding to begin with (30L tank)..?

Once again, thank you for help, time and advice..
Terry.

 

[Aqua Tom]

3/ And finally, what amount of Ammonia should i be adding to begin with (30L tank)..?

Once again, thank you for help, time and advice..
Terry.

Here is our calculator, the Ammonia dose one is at the bottom, just put in your litres & it tells you.


Simples

 

[Skins]

Hello Terry,
Before you dose your aquarium with H/H ammonia raise the temp to 29c, it will also pay to keep an eye on your pH level(7.2), much lower and it will slow or even holt the process. If it gets any lower then you can raise it by adding baking soda. I'm currently doing a fishless cycle and have raised my pH from 7.4 to 8.2. If you need any advise on dosing baking soda there are lots of experienced members who will help.

Good luck, Skins

 

[waterdrop]

You're in good hands here and getting good advice. Yes, just go straight on in to the ammonia dosing - the initial fishfood pre-cycling will have been a good thing. Your real cycle is not really started yet. Don't expect to see any serious nitrate(NO3) until later in the process.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[The Taffy Apple]

You're in good hands here and getting good advice. Yes, just go straight on in to the ammonia dosing - the initial fishfood pre-cycling will have been a good thing. Your real cycle is not really started yet. Don't expect to see any serious nitrate(NO3) until later in the process.

~~waterdrop~~

Highly appreciative of the help so far... many, many thanks ...

I bought the said household ammonia and added a little last night..seems i put too much in (i now know 1.5ml is sufficient) and a 75% water change was carried out today...nitrItes were up at 2ppm this morning before i changed the water.

It's been running now, with added anti-chlorine/chloramine, for a few hours... readings are;
Ammonia 4-6
NitrIte 0.5
nitrAte 0
PH 7.2

By reading another post on here, would i be correct in carrying our regular Ammonioa tests until i see it drop? I'm thinking 5ppm or there about would be sufficient, but even for such a small (30L) volume that i currently have?

All of the results from the previous 9 days have gone into a rather posh diary that Mrs. Apple bought me (ok, 'borrowed' from work!) and i have also drawn graphs containg all specs of my water chemistry...it takes me back to the early 90's when all i was interested in was the bunsen burners..!

Anyway, thanks for taking the time to reply and read what i got to say.
Terry.

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, that's correct. At this stage you're mostly watching to see when there are going to be enough A-Bacs to process a significant amount of the ammonia making the drop in ammonia concentration visible to you. This can take up to 2 or even 3 weeks but you have a little head start so we'll hope for sooner. You can also occasionally check nitrite(NO2) and pH so that you have some data about what's happening with them. You are watching to see if nitite goes up. You are watching to see if pH goes down.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[The Taffy Apple]

Yes, that's correct. At this stage you're mostly watching to see when there are going to be enough A-Bacs to process a significant amount of the ammonia making the drop in ammonia concentration visible to you. This can take up to 2 or even 3 weeks but you have a little head start so we'll hope for sooner. You can also occasionally check nitrite(NO2) and pH so that you have some data about what's happening with them. You are watching to see if nitite goes up. You are watching to see if pH goes down.

~~waterdrop~~

Great news... since i've been adding ammonia (1ml at a time) i have seen a significant change.

4ppm of ammonia is now disappearing within 12-15 hours sufficiently.although my nitrItes are still very high and my PH has gone down to 6.8. my nitrAtes (NEVER registered them before!) have also gone through the roof...!

Many thanks for you continued help,

A very happy and satisfied Terry !