Possible Newbie Fishless Cycling Boo-boo?

[lizc]

I think I may have made a bit of a mistake in the setup of my tank prior to starting fishless cycle.

Basically I only just twigged (d'oh) that there are carbon granules in the filter cartridge, (i set the tank up (dry) first according to manual before finding this site )

will it have been causing problems with my fishless cycle?
should i remove it now or will it now be saturated with bacteria anyway? (impression i got from reading info on filter media for newbies)...in which case...
...should i leave it in til the end of the fishless cycle, then clean it & put it away in a cupboard incase i ever need it to filter out meds etc


Technical info
Tank: Aqua One AquaStyle 510 (75L)
Filter: built into hood (trickle bar type), contais ceramic noodles, carbon/wool cartridges & sponges
Heater: 100W
Substrate etc: really fine gravel with rocks, artificial piece of wood & 1 small group of small plants

I'm on day 29 of my fishless cycle, I can bore you all with the readings upto date if needed, but it will take a while to type...so didn't want to put it in if i didn't need to!

API liquid test kit
Currently adding 3.2ml ammonia (9.5%) to give 4ppm, which is being reduced to 0 in <12hrs (since day 19),
Nitrite test drops still going purple straight away (but now almost blue after the 5min waiting period - is this relevant?)
Nitrate 5ppm when tested day 28
pH 7.9 when tested day 28
Water hardness: not got test but house has water softener.

erm...not sure what else you might need to know, but any advice/ opinions would be gratefully received

thanks in advance!

liz

 

[rdd1952]

The carbon will adsorb some ammonia but won't stop the cycling process. Carbon actually makes a good surface for bacteria to colonize but the problem lies in when you have to change it, thus throwing away your bacteria. Do you have other media in the filter besides the carbon? If so, then you could most likely get rid of it without problems. If not, then I would complete the process and then replace the carbon slowly with a different media.

 

[fatheadminnow]

I'm on day 29 of my fishless cycle, I can bore you all with the readings upto date if needed, but it will take a while to type...so didn't want to put it in if i didn't need to!

API liquid test kit
Currently adding 3.2ml ammonia (9.5%) to give 4ppm, which is being reduced to 0 in <12hrs (since day 19),
Nitrite test drops still going purple straight away (but now almost blue after the 5min waiting period - is this relevant?)
Nitrate 5ppm when tested day 28
pH 7.9 when tested day 28
Water hardness: not got test but house has water softener.

erm...not sure what else you might need to know, but any advice/ opinions would be gratefully received

thanks in advance!

liz

Agreed with RDD

It looks like you are at the half way stage of your cycle with ammonia being processed to 0 within 12 hours.

Soon the nitrifying bacteria will catch up and your nitrite will go to zero as well!
-FHM

 

[lizc]

The carbon will adsorb some ammonia but won't stop the cycling process. Carbon actually makes a good surface for bacteria to colonize but the problem lies in when you have to change it, thus throwing away your bacteria. Do you have other media in the filter besides the carbon? If so, then you could most likely get rid of it without problems. If not, then I would complete the process and then replace the carbon slowly with a different media.

thanks rdd1952,
filter also has lots of ceramic noodles, but i might play it safe anyway & only take out 1 of the carbon cartridges at a time.
liz

 

[lizc]

I'm on day 29 of my fishless cycle, I can bore you all with the readings upto date if needed, but it will take a while to type...so didn't want to put it in if i didn't need to!

API liquid test kit
Currently adding 3.2ml ammonia (9.5%) to give 4ppm, which is being reduced to 0 in <12hrs (since day 19),
Nitrite test drops still going purple straight away (but now almost blue after the 5min waiting period - is this relevant?)
Nitrate 5ppm when tested day 28
pH 7.9 when tested day 28
Water hardness: not got test but house has water softener.

erm...not sure what else you might need to know, but any advice/ opinions would be gratefully received

thanks in advance!

liz

Agreed with RDD

It looks like you are at the half way stage of your cycle with ammonia being processed to 0 within 12 hours.

Soon the nitrifying bacteria will catch up and your nitrite will go to zero as well!
-FHM

cheers FHM, its reassuring to know i'm slowly getting there with cycling, i did try adding some mature media from my other tank but i guess it didn't really work (it was only bunged in tank in a stocking as no space in filter -now i know why !)