Now Ready To Start My 1st Fishless Cycle

[kbod]

hi im now ready to start my fishless cycle ive got my test kit and bottle of amonia but thats as much as i no im panicking as im not sure i no what im doing ..........can someone plz point me in the right direction and keep me on track ?
thankyou xx

cycle chart added updated daily ...

my fishless cycle test readings and amount of amonia added (using homebase 9.5 % amonia )

tested tap water ph =0 ,amonia = 0, nitrate = 0 , nitrate =0

(day 1 ) 11am fri 24/4 - added 5ml amonia 9.5 % homebase stuff
(day 1) 7pm fri 24/4 - reading ph = 8.2 amonia = 5. nitraite = 0. nitrate =0.

(day 2) 7pm sat 25/4 -reading ph = 8.2 amonia =5. nitrite =0. nitrate = 0

(day 3) 7pm sun 26/4 -reading ph = 8.2 amonia= 4. nitrite =0.50 nitrate = 0

(day 4) 7pm mon 27/4 -reading ph = 8.2 amonia = 4. nitrite =0.50 nitrate= 5.0

(day 5) 7pm tue 28/4 -reading ph =7.8 amonia=2. nitrite=1.0 nitrate=10.

(day 6) 7pm wed 29/4 -reading ph=7.8 amonia=1.0 nitrite =2.0 nitrate=10.

(day 7) 7pm thur 30/4 -reading ph = 7.8 amonia=1.0 nitrite=5.0 nitrate=20.

(day 8) 10 am fri 1/5 -reading ph =7.8 amonia=0. nitrite=5.0 nitrate=20.
(day 8) 11am fri 1/5 ---added 5ml amonia 9.5% homebase stuff
(day 8) 7pm fri 1/5 - reading ph = 7.8 amonia=4. nitrite=5.0 nitrate=40.

(day 9) 7pm sat 2/5 - reading ph= 7.8 amonia=2. nitrite=2. nitrate=40.

(day 10) 7pm sun 3/5 - reading ph= 7.8 amonia=0.5 nitrite=1. nitrate=40.

(day 11) 10am mon 4/5 reading ph=7.8 amonia=0. nitrite=0 nitrate=40
(day 11) 11am mon 4/5 --added 3ml amonia 9.5% homebase stuff
(day 11) 7pm mon 4/5 reading ph=7.8 amonia=2. nitrite=5 nitrate=40

(day 12) 10am tue 5/5 reading ph=7.8 amonia=0.25 nitrite=2 nitrate=40 or 160
(day 12) 11am tue 5/5----added 3ml amonia 9.5% homebase stuff
(day 12) 7pm tue 5/5 reading ph 7.8 amonia=2. nitrite=2 nitrate 40 or 160

(day 13) 10am wed 6/6 reading ph=8.0 amonia=0 nitrite=1 nitrate=40 or 160
(day 13) 11am wed 6/6-----added amonia 3ml
(day 13) 7pm wed 6/6 reading ph =8.0 amonia= 1. nitrite = 1. nitrate=40

(day 14) 10am thur 7/6 reading ph 8.0 amonia =0.25 nitrite=1. nitrate= 40
(day 14) 11am thur 7/5---added 3ml amonia
(day 14) 7pm thur 7/5--ph =8. amonia=2. nitrite=1. nitrate= 40.

(day 15) 10am fri 8/5--ph=8 amonia=0.25 nitrite=1. nitrate=40
(day 15) 11am fri 8/5--added 3ml amonia
(day 15) 7pm fri 8/5--ph=8 amonia=2. nitrite=1. nitrate=40

(day 16 10am sat 9/5--ph=8 amonia=0.25 nitrite=1. nitrate=40
(day 16) 11am sat 9/5--added 3ml amonia
(day 16) 7pm sat 9/5--ph=8 amonia=2. nitrite=1. nitrate=40.

(day 17) 10am sun 10/5--ph=8. amonia=0. nitrite=1. nitrate=40.
(day 17) 11am sun 10/5--added 3ml amonia
(day 17) 7pm sun 10.5--ph=8. aqmonia=2. nitrite=0.50 nitrate=40

(day 18) 10am mon 11/5--ph=8 amonia=0. nitrite=0.50 nitrate=40
(day 18) 11am mon 11/5--added 3ml amonia
(day 18) 7pm mon 11/5--ph=8. amonia=2. nitrite=0.50 nitrate=40


(day19) 10am tue 12/5 --- ph=8. amonia =0. nitrite=0.25
(day 19) 11am tue 12/5---aded 3ml amonia
(day 19) 7pm tue 12/5 ph=8. amonia =1. nitrate=40

(day 20) 10am wed 13/5--- ph =8. amonia=0. nitrite =0. nitrate=40.
(day 20) 11 am wed 13/5 ---added 3ml amonia
(day 20) 7pm wed 13/5--ph =8. amonia=0 nitrite=0. nitrate=40(day 21) 10am thur 14/5--ph=8. amonia=0. nitrate=0. nitrate=40

(day 21) 10am thur 14/5 ..ph8,amonia=0. nitrite=0. nitrate=0.
(day 21)11am thur 14/5--added 3ml amonia
(day 21) 7pm thur 14/5--ph =8. amonia=0. nitrite=0. nitrate=40

(day 22)10am fri 15/5 ph=7.8. amonia=0. nitrite=0 . nitrate=40.
(day 22) 11am added 3ml amonia
(day 22) 7pm fri 15/5 ph=7.8. amonia=0. nitrite=0. nitrate=40.

(day 23)10am sat 16/5 ph=7.8. amonia=0. nitrite=0. nitrate=40.

(day 24) 10am sun 17/5 ph=7,8. amonia=0. nitrite=0. nitrate=40.

evening big water change ....

(day 25)10am mon ph =7.8 amonia =0. nitrite=0. nitrate=40.

 

[mancin]

Did you read the fishless cycle thread?

 

[kbod]

yes but sorry im still lost ,

i got 9.5% bottle of amonia , if i make a mistake or put in too much wont my plants die ?

 

[waterdrop]

Get like a 2 gallon bucket or whatever you've got that's a measured 2 or 1 gallon, whatever and a paper and pencil and then use the ammonia calculator to see how much it -thinks- you should put in to get to 4-5ppm, but then put -less- than that (keep track of each amount you put in) and then test and add a little more, test again etc. until you find out exactly what milliliter amount should bring you up to 4 or 5ppm. Then of course multiply that for your tank water volume (subtracting some volume for sand, decorations etc.) and again try to come in a little low, write it down and then test a couple times as you tweak it up to 5ppm ammonia level. Your water needs to be contitioned of course, so the chlorine or chloramine won't kill the bacteria. Your filter needs to be running of course.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[kbod]

Get like a 2 gallon bucket or whatever you've got that's a measured 2 or 1 gallon, whatever and a paper and pencil and then use the ammonia calculator to see how much it -thinks- you should put in to get to 4-5ppm, but then put -less- than that (keep track of each amount you put in) and then test and add a little more, test again etc. until you find out exactly what milliliter amount should bring you up to 4 or 5ppm. Then of course multiply that for your tank water volume (subtracting some volume for sand, decorations etc.) and again try to come in a little low, write it down and then test a couple times as you tweak it up to 5ppm ammonia level. Your water needs to be contitioned of course, so the chlorine or chloramine won't kill the bacteria. Your filter needs to be running of course.

~~waterdrop~~

thanks i think ive worked out my 200litre -10 litres for dec etc ................so 190 litre needs 8.ml to reach 4ppm

then i have to get amonia to between 4-5 ,then drop to 0 ,then add back to 4-5 ,for a few times is this correct ?

and do i make it add to 4-5 daily by adding in one go daily or bit by bit weekly ?

 

[waterdrop]

No,no,no.. Lets take another try and break it down. So you told me your bottle of ammonia is marked as being 9.5% and that you had a 190 liter tank. The first logical thing you might expect would be that you go and plug 190 liters into the ammonia calculator with 9.5% and 5ppm also still set in the calculator, to find out how much ammonia to put in the tank. If you do that the calculator tells you "10ml."

My whole last post was just to tell you not to trust that. The problem is that the "9.5%" marked on the bottle is sometimes (not always, but sometimes) wrong. Also, the real water volume of your tank is hard to really know because of the extra things in it like substrate and decorations and exaggerations of tank size by the manufacturer to begin with!

So you do this little "testing" thing in a bucket to just help you decide whether the trust the calculator amount or not. A simpler variation of it would be to just say "ok, its says 10ml, I'll try 6ml and test, add 2 more and test, etc" in the tank itself. The important thing is to try and hit that 5ppm when you add ammonia to the tank. Its a lot simpler than all these words make it seem, lol.

OK, next! In fishless cycling what you want to do is choose a time of day that will become your "add mark," the time when you add ammonia -if- its ok to add ammonia. People typically choose evening or morning, the reason being that you want it to be a time of day when 12 hours later you will also be home and available to test the water. So for instance, if you can test at 8am before going out for the day, you could choose 8pm as your "add mark." So you dose the tank with the 9ml of ammonia (or whatever it worked out to be) at 8pm and then 12 hours later at 8am, you can test ammonia and nitrite and pH and put them in your log entry as a "12 hour test." Then at 8pm that night, you test ammonia, nitrite(NO2) and pH again and put them in as a "24 hour test." Now during the first weeks of cycling you don't actually need the 12 hour tests (unless you are curious) but later on in cycling when there is more nitrite activity you will want this.

OK, next! So you've chosen your time of day (your "add mark") and you add ammonia to the tank for the very first time and test and are happy that its at about 4ppm or 5ppm according to your test kit. Now this very first time it typically takes DAYS for the ammonia to go down to zero. There are some people for whom it takes as much as two weeks (!) ..This is the first test of your patience! In the Add and Wait method you just wait, you wait until it goes all the way down to zero.

Let's say at 3pm on the 4th day you happened to take a random test and ammonia was zero ppm. Your add mark time you've decided is 8pm. So you just wait until 8pm and that's when you again add ammonia to bring it up to 5ppm. Then lets say in another day and half your 8am test says zero ammonia. Well, you again wait until 8pm and add ammonia. You always wait for that 24hour mark to add ammonia and you only add it if ammonia went all the way to zero sometime in the previous 24 hours.

OK, I know that looks like a lot of text, but just think of it as your "reference" and go back and read it if you need to and I hope it helps a little.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[kbod]

think im getting there lol x

tap water test ph = 7.8 ,amonia = 0 , nitrite = 0 , nitrate = 0.

today fri 23/3 at 11am i added 5ml of amonia to tank .

took readings tonight amonia = 5 ppm , but ph has gone up to 8.2 ppm.

is that ok ? ,
do i test daily for ph and amonia at 1st ? as there wont be any nitrites or nitrates yet anyway

 

[waterdrop]

think im getting there lol x

tap water test ph = 7.8 ,amonia = 0 , nitrite = 0 , nitrate = 0.

today fri 23/3 at 11am i added 5ml of amonia to tank .

took readings tonight amonia = 5 ppm , but ph has gone up to 8.2 ppm.

is that ok ? ,
do i test daily for ph and amonia at 1st ? as there wont be any nitrites or nitrates yet anyway

Fantastic! Your tap water sounds great! You've been careful it sounds and hit the correct 5ppm mark of ammonia dosing for your aquarium. And you're exactly right, you don't need to test for nitrites(NO2) or nitrates(NO3) for a while because all the matters for the beginning period is the rate of ammonia drop.

The pH your tank water went to, pH=8.2, is quite optimal for the fastest growth of the 2 species of bacteria we want to grow, so you're currently doing great in that department. So for now you want to be testing ammonia and pH once a day, at your same time of day when you will plan to be adding ammonia in the future when ammonia drops to zero. It can take days or even up to two weeks for the first 5ppm of ammonia to drop all the way to zero ppm, but that's normal. If you make your "add mark" be 8pm, for example, then you could test (this is much later, weeks away from now) at 8am for your 12 hour tests which will be important near the end of fishless cycling.

Be sure on each line in your logbook to note Day xx (day x of fishless cycling), date, time, tank temp, water clarity, ammonia, pH, (later... NO2, NO3), actions/observations. It will be this record that will allow you to look back and see trends in your water chemistry and other things and this can be the most useful part of it all in the long run.

Your first milestone to be looking for is when that first 5ppm dose has dropped all the way to zero. At that point you wait until the time within 24 hours that you are calling your "add mark" (ie. 7am, 7pm, whatever works for your daily schedule, meaning you'll be home at those 12 and 24 hour marks) and add ammonia again, test it 20min later and make sure its 5ppm (these first 3 days or so you want to verify that your x milliliter amount seems to work right each time, so later you can just add it with confidence.)

Your next milestone will be one day when 5ppm drops to zero within 24 hours and you get to add again the very next day. After it accomplishes that a few days you can start also testing for NO2 to see what's happening with that!

~~waterdrop~~

 

[kbod]

whoopie and thanks waterdrop for the positive comments and help ,glad its starting off right .
i had heard that everyday you top it back up to 5ppm ,but you say let it drop to 0 then add again ....what is the difference with these methods thanks x

 

[Kris T]

Fantastic advice here, and nice and clear too! Thanks, waterdrop. My new 200 litre tank arrives on Monday, the substrate a few days later...so my fishless cycling will be starting pretty soon too!

Should I put plants, rock, wood etc in there before I start cycling? Is it okay to add stuff during the fishless cycling? Or am I better off just having my substrate in there until the cycle is complete?

 

[waterdrop]

whoopie and thanks waterdrop for the positive comments and help ,glad its starting off right .
i had heard that everyday you top it back up to 5ppm ,but you say let it drop to 0 then add again ....what is the difference with these methods thanks x

When you hear people say you top it up everyday they are just "generalizing" because there are a lot of days like that during most of the cycle. You only add ammonia if you tested zero ppm sometime during the previous 24 hours since you last added and no matter when during the 24 hours you discover the zero, you always add the 5ppm at the same time of day (your "add mark.") Some beginners fear this will starve the bacteria but it won't at all. The most common confusion is adding more ammonia right when it tests zero.

Kris T wrote:

Should I put plants, rock, wood etc in there before I start cycling? Is it okay to add stuff during the fishless cycling? Or am I better off just having my substrate in there until the cycle is complete?

Actually, a very efficient way to fishless cycle is to put in only substrate, filter and heater and then cover the tank with a towel or whatever during fishless cycling. This will cut way down on the large amount of messy algae that's typical. Light plus ammonia usually can't help but create a lot of algae and this way your rocks/decorations/plants won't be covered when you do the big water change and get fish. Otherwise, though, its totally up to you and we can discuss it more, there are little other bits to discuss...

Bye for now! ~~waterdrop~~
ps. its great you guys are reading other threads, I always encourage that, you can learn tons from past threads

 

[Kris T]

That makes good sense to do the cycle with just the substrate in there. It'll also give me some time to plan exactly what I'm going to put in the tank! Thanks for the towel tip too. Anything to prevent the dreaded algae!

 

[waterdrop]

There are many whose family situations make it hard to do the cycling in the dark thing. Often there may be kids or spouses who are already freaked out that you are not bringing home fish the same day as the tank and when they then hear its not even going to have plants and wood for 2 months but be covered the freak out even more, lol.

By the way, I suppose there are some unanticipated things you have to watch with a covering: that it doesn't slip partically into the water and draw water out of the tank, that it doesn't touch something that might get hot or that it might slip and get into a filter mechanism, all that sort of practical stuff.

The possibility of obtaining "mature media" (a donation of muddy sponge or other media) from a fellow hobbyist or other source should always be in the back of one's mind when fishless cycling. Its usually a rare lucky situation, first to happen to be near enough to anyone willing to do it and secondly that they have some to give, but if you manage it, it can shorten the fishless cycling process because it jumpstarts you at millions of bacterial cells instead of you waiting through the muliplication from a very few cells to get to the millions. Its good to know about but also good not to fret about it as given time you will always reach the same result.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[kbod]

water re- tested today results show ph 8.2, amonia 4 maybe 5 , nitrite has now started to move and is 0.50 ,
is everything ok still ?

i dint test nitrate as no use yet ...

 

[waterdrop]