Rio Cycyling

[Asteria]

Day #1 added the dosage of ammonia. Waited 30 mins and tested.
Water tested for 3ppm ammonia.

Ph -7.6
High range ph - 7.4
Water temperature - 24°c
Mature media has been added to the new filter.

I think I'm going to have to get a new heater. My temperature seems to be dropping

 

[Asteria]

I have a quick question.
Does it matter on the time I test my tank? Should I test it at the same time as I added the first dose?
As I'm working tomorrow until Saturday I won't have he time to test it at lunch time when I added the first dose

 

[Gruntle]

For the first few days I don't think it's going to matter. It might take a week or more before your ammonia starts dropping noticeably. But if you're time-poor then when you start adding the second and third doses, you might want to pick a time that you know you'll be around for (first thing in the morning, last thing at night).

 

[Asteria]

Thank you. Well I should be able to test it late afternoon with my shifts this week. I'll just have to wait and see what I'm on next week.

 

[Asteria]

Day 3 testing

Ammonia 2-3ppm
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 10ppm (comes out the tap water at this)
Ph 7.6
High range 8.0 (is this change due to my coral sand and my tank settling?)

 

[Asteria]

So I've tested my tank today. Hoping for nitrites... well

Ammonia 0.25 ppm
Nitrites 0ppm
Temp 24 still
Ph hasn't changed and nitrates still the same


What is going on!

Shall I add another dose?
Wait ?

 

[Gruntle]

Retest your nitrates. Shake the living daylights out of the second bottle of nitrate tester (if it's an API master kit, the reagent is a powder that settles out of the mix quite quickly). The bottle says shake for 30 seconds, I say bang it on the table top a few times and shake it for a minute or more.
 
Because you have mature media in your filter there's a chance that there was enough bacteria to pretty much cycle your tank (the bacteria colony doubles in size quite quickly, you may have been lucky to get a decent colony instantly).

 

[Asteria]

I dropped the nitrate bottle.on the floor a few times. We have marble flooring and shake each bottle upside down for a good minute. 
I even wait for about 20 mins for them to develop. 
but I'll test it again. 
 
Hopefully this has happened. I put in about 5 sponges that where mature media. 

 

[Asteria]

So I've tested it again today . 
 
Ammonia - around .25 - .5 
Nitrite - 0 
Nitrate - 10ppm 

 

[Asteria]

If any wants to have a nosy. This is the readings for my local water supply in my area. Tested for this year 
 
http/waterquality.anglianwater.com/mergedreport.aspx

 

[Gruntle]

I'm a bit stumped. If your ammonia has dropped your nitrites should have risen. If your nitrites have risen and dropped (since they're at zero), your nitrate should have risen.
 
The ammonia has to have gone somewhere...
 
Do you have live plants in the tank?

 

[Asteria]

Yeah this is what I thought also.
However I checked the nitrate test a few minutes later and it was redder than it has been reading between 20 ppm and 40ppm. 
I always forget to wait for it to develop. 
But my nitrites and still definitely zero. 
 
I do have a few live plants yes 

 

[Asteria]

I do believe my tank has cycled itself.
But my ammonia isn't budging seems like my tap water contains .25ppm of ammonia.
Anyone know of any decolorinators that also help remove ammonia?

 

[jag51186]

Depending on what type of and how many plants you have in there, I would think they could utilize that much ammonia, so you wouldn't have to worry about it too too much. But I'm no expert, my ammonia flitted between 0 and 0.25 while I did a fish-in-cycle with a heavily planted tank. I never got above 0.25, and did a water change anytime I saw any flashing.

 

[Asteria]

There was only a few little plants. 
I added quite a bit of mature media and it seems to have done the trick. 
0 ammonia for the past two days now 
And 
0 Nitrites 
40ppm of nitrate 
 
All in all my tank has cycled YAy!