Question about my parameters in my first cycle

[ambrosia0428 8]

Hey! I'm new to this hobby and I started my first cycle 5 days ago in my 105L. I used active bacteria and have plants and the driftwood seems to be releasing some tannins too. I ghost fed it with fish flakes (I don't have easy access to ammonia nor do I like the idea much haha).
I'm using test strips (I know liquid tests are better, but I bought them when I didn't know as much and I don't really want to throw out perfectly good strips, when there are finished I'll buy the liquid one).

The thing is, I'm not seeing any ammonia or nitrite, only nitrate... Today is the first day I saw nitrite! I'll share the excel I'm making:

Please let me know how you would continue! Some people told me it's already cycled but I don't believe it could only take 4 days ngl

 

[Naughts30 102]

A tank doesn't cycle in 4 days without a transfer of bacteria in the form of established media/ substrate or Gloop.
What 'active bacteria' did you use? What are your source water readings (especially nitrate)?

 

[ambrosia0428 8]

A tank doesn't cycle in 4 days without a transfer of bacteria in the form of established media/ substrate or Gloop.
What 'active bacteria' did you use? What are your source water readings (especially nitrate)?

Source water as in, the tap water without dechlorinator?

 

[Essjay30 145]

If that's what you use to fill the tank, yes tap water.

 

[ambrosia0428 8]

If that's what you use to fill the tank, yes tap water.

Just tested it, no ammonia, nitrates nor nitrites. Slightly higher ph (bc of tannins in the tank I presume). It did show like 0.5 chlorine bc it's from the tap (in spain the maximum is 1).

 

[Naughts30 102]

OK, the absence of nitrate in the tap water is very good. Your reading of nitrate in the tank is most likely a false reading of nitrite as nitrates (no mistake on your part, it's inherent in the testing). Keep cycling until both ammonia and nitrite read zero on consecutive days.
I know you are not keen to use ammonia, but the use of fish food means no-one can estimate the amount of ammonia (in food) added, so extreme caution with the test results will be necessary.

 

[ambrosia0428 8]

OK, the absence of nitrate in the tap water is very good. Your reading of nitrate in the tank is most likely a false reading of nitrite as nitrates (no mistake on your part, it's inherent in the testing). Keep cycling until both ammonia and nitrite read zero on consecutive days.
I know you are not keen to use ammonia, but the use of fish food means no-one can estimate the amount of ammonia (in food) added, so extreme caution with the test results will be necessary.

Okay so going forward what'd be your recommendation without the use of ammonia? Should I ghost feed everyday a small picnh like I'll do when the fish are in? Or should I feed, wait until they decompose and then feed again? Everything while testing daily

 

[Naughts30 102]

Okay so going forward what'd be your recommendation without the use of ammonia? Should I ghost feed everyday a small picnh like I'll do when the fish are in? Or should I feed, wait until they decompose and then feed again? Everything while testing daily

Sorry, I can't recommend anything for using fish food to cycle, it's just not scientifically measurable.

 

[ambrosia0428 8]

Sorry, I can't recommend anything for using fish food to cycle, it's just not scientifically measurable.

Pure cleaning ammonia doesn't work right? XD

 

[MuddyWaters2 1]

If the ammonia has nothing else in it, it will work fine. Everyone in here will kill me for telling you this, but I cycled a tank (successfully, mind you) with pee. I think that's an old way to do it- anyway I read it somewhere and thought- how fun! It worked, but comes with whatever else is in the pee, so proceed at your own risk.

I would just test for ammonia every few days- from my experience, it takes a week or 2 for the ammonia to start showing up if you're using food. Then it takes days for nitrite to start showing up. I've read that the bacteria needed to break down nitrite into nitrate grow slower than the ammonia ones, so it'll take longer than you'd like for the nitrite to start going down once you see it.

Be careful that you doing get more than 6 or 8 ppm ammonia once you get it or it stalls out the cycle. smarter people than me here know why, but that's the one thing that happened with my "pee cycle." I got a little overzealous.

 

[Naughts30 102]

Mmmm..maybe? Can you post a photo of the bottle, showing what’s in it?

 

[gwand30 147]

If the ammonia has nothing else in it, it will work fine. Everyone in here will kill me for telling you this, but I cycled a tank (successfully, mind you) with pee. I think that's an old way to do it- anyway I read it somewhere and thought- how fun! It worked, but comes with whatever else is in the pee, so proceed at your own risk.

I would just test for ammonia every few days- from my experience, it takes a week or 2 for the ammonia to start showing up if you're using food. Then it takes days for nitrite to start showing up. I've read that the bacteria needed to break down nitrite into nitrate grow slower than the ammonia ones, so it'll take longer than you'd like for the nitrite to start going down once you see it.

Be careful that you doing get more than 6 or 8 ppm ammonia once you get it or it stalls out the cycle. smarter people than me here know why, but that's the one thing that happened with my "pee cycle." I got a little overzealous.

Did your tank water turn yellow?

 

[ambrosia0428 8]

If the ammonia has nothing else in it, it will work fine. Everyone in here will kill me for telling you this, but I cycled a tank (successfully, mind you) with pee. I think that's an old way to do it- anyway I read it somewhere and thought- how fun! It worked, but comes with whatever else is in the pee, so proceed at your own risk.

I would just test for ammonia every few days- from my experience, it takes a week or 2 for the ammonia to start showing up if you're using food. Then it takes days for nitrite to start showing up. I've read that the bacteria needed to break down nitrite into nitrate grow slower than the ammonia ones, so it'll take longer than you'd like for the nitrite to start going down once you see it.

Be careful that you doing get more than 6 or 8 ppm ammonia once you get it or it stalls out the cycle. smarter people than me here know why, but that's the one thing that happened with my "pee cycle." I got a little overzealous.

Looool that's so interesting!!! Love a good experiment! XD

I'll just stick with food and try to see the ammonia the next or following week hahahaha

 

[ambrosia0428 8]

Mmmm..maybe? Can you post a photo of the bottle, showing what’s in it?

Still haven't bought it, just say it in case I could look some at the store, I'll only get it if it says pure ammonia or ammonia and water in the back

 

[Essjay30 145]

The things to look out for are detergent, surfactant and perfume. If the ammonia contains any of those it can't be used. If you do manage to find pure ammonia, there's a step by step guide on here to follow; adding too much ammonia makes so much nitrite it stalls the cycle so our method was written so that nitrite can never get too high.

Cycling Your New Fresh Water Tank: Read This First!

Cycling Your First Fresh Water Tank What is Cycling and Why is it Important? Fish waste, and especially fish breathing, plus uneaten food and other organic matter breaking down in a tank all produce Ammonia. This can quickly become toxic to fish if it is allowed to build up to any measurable...

www.fishforums.net

Fishless cycling with ammonia means you know exactly how much ammonia you've added so you know you've grown enough bacteria for a tankful of fish. Using food to make ammonia means you cannot know how much ammonia has actually been added in total so you cannot know how many bacteria have grown. This means that you have to add fish a few at a time so you don't risk overwhelming the bacteria which have grown and end up doing a fish-in cycle.

If you want to use bottled bacteria, Tetra Safe Start is the product to use rather than Filter Active.