Nicolaisam-My Tank Is Cycling

[eaglesaquarium]

The cause of the drop is the high nitrates. In a tank with softer water, the crash happens more quickly, not because of the soft water, but because the water doesn't have the same buffering capacity as hard water. The addition of baking soda works two-fold. #1 - it raises the pH, #2 - it increases the buffering capacity (ability to maintain a stable pH) of the water.



A 50% water change will remove half of the nitrates, with will help to delay a future crash due to their elevated levels. It will also lower the nitrites and might help the N-bacs since the ones you are trying to cultivate prefer a lower concentration level. Finally, the addition of the baking soda will greatly help to forestall any future crashes. The pH may drop again, but it will be a more gradual drop-off than the last one. If it happens again, you can either do another water change, or you can merely add more baking soda. Remember though, adding more baking soda isn't a big deal, since the last thing you do as a part of the cycling process is a 100% water change (at least as close as you can get it to 100%), before adding fish in the next 12 - 48 hours.

 

[nicolaisam]

Ok,Thanks i see now.

the Nitrates are about 40ppm at the moment.

Will do another water change tommorow.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I don't think that is necessary. When I say high nitrates, I mean 80+ppm, and that is only high if your water's buffering capacity is low. Adding the baking soda will increase the buffering of the water. No need for a water change unless you see the pH crash again.

 

[BigbruiserAl]

You should stop dosing till 5ppm ammonia now and be aiming for about 3ppm every time it hits 0, Once the nitrite hits 0 resdose back to 5ppm

 

[nicolaisam]

Ok Thanks.

Just checked and it has cleared 5PPM of ammonia in 12 hrs

Ph is 7.4

Nitrite is over 5ppm

Nitrate 40ppm

Redosed with ammonia,back up to just over 3ppm

 

[BigbruiserAl]

Great so now we need to keep the bacteria alive now its formed, redose ammonia to 3ppm now and everytime it drops to 0 untill the Nitrite drops to 0 usally double the time of the ammonia drop as a rough estimate

 

[nicolaisam]

Ok,Could be another 4 weeks yet then.

Is it ok to leave the temperature at 29.5 or can i lower it?

Sorry about all the questions,this is the first time i have had to do fishless cycling

thanks

 

[BigbruiserAl]

Leave temps as is untill the whole cycle is complete. Just dont forget to turn down when adding live fish

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Good stuff...

 

[nicolaisam]

Thanks

Its been a week since i added some seeded media.

seems to be doing the trick.

would i be better to change some water to reduce the Nitrites?
Or is it ok at this high a level

 

[eaglesaquarium]

There are different schools of thought. One says that a water change can actually cause a cycle to pause while the bacteria get resettled. The other says that the N-bacs you are trying to cultivate prefer the lower levels of nitrites, while competing bacteria prefer higher concentrations.


I've done the water changes, and I don't think it hurt anything. Being able to see the nitrite levels increasing and decreasing is more interesting for me though. But I wouldn't advise one over the other though. The conventional wisdom says just to wait and to use the water change just in case a cycle stalls. But I believe that the stall happens because the nitrite levels are too high, the nitrate levels are too high and the pH crashes. But, I'm a newbie.

 

[BigbruiserAl]

No water change mate, you want to feed those N bacs so their good and strong, this was the reason for dosing less ammonia now so not as much Nitrites as being formed while were waiting for it to drop.

 

[nicolaisam]

Ok,thanks again

Will leave it and keep adding the reduced amount of Ammonia.

When the Nitrites start clearing after 12 hrs do you then up the Ammonia back up to 4/5 ppm until the bacteria can cope with reducing the nitrites produced by this in 12hrs.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

THat's the way it works. You could also start to increase the dose when the nitrites clear after 24 hours.

 

[nicolaisam]

Ammonia is back to 0

Do i need to do the Annonia every 12 hrs or 24hrs,it clears 3ppm in less than 12 hrs

Thanks