Sam's Fishless Cycle

[sam_ward0611]

Hi there,

Just a bit of background info before i get into how things are going. I bought a 19 ltr tank for my boy a week ago. Being very naive I thought we'd just get a goldfish, put it in the tank, feed it, clean it and that would be that. How wrong was I!!! Obviously I didnt have a clue! I'm so glad my friend saw my facebook status and asked me to give her a ring. After speaking to her and coming to realise that my little fish project could have been a total disaster we decided we'd like to keep a tropical fish and a couple of shrimp.

So, this friday (05.08.11) I went to the local pet shop and got myself a heater and an ammonia test kit and a few other pieces I needed. My friend also gave me nitrite and nitrate testing kits and some ammonia but most importantly she gave me some mature media for my filter which i took home straight away and got into my tank with my heater.
Temp at 28c, I then added my ammonia. I added 0.2mls then tested

Ammonia : approx 6.0ppm (It wasnt quite as dark as 8.0 but not light enough to match 4.0)

Yesterday (06.08.11) Temp at 28c, I tested ammonia again.

Ammonia : 3.0ppm

At this point Im very excited that it has halved, something is happening.

Got some advice from friend to increase the temp to 30c to help bacteria and next time I add ammonia to half it. 0.2mls a bit much for my tank size. I used the calculator on the forum and it is!! Learning all the time.

07.08.11
So this morning I woke up and all i can think about is testing again, so I did...

Ammonia :2.0ppm
Happy happy happy, its still coming down

Thought it be a good idea to test for nitrite too as I read in a previous log to do this because Im using mature media but...

Nitrite : 0ppm so far

not stressing about it, still early days.

08.08.11
Came home from work, very excited about testing

Ammonia: 1.0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm

Still happy that my ammonia is decreasing, should i be getting an increase in nitrite now??

Just done a test for nitrate
nitrate: 5.0ppm

Thanks guys, just to let you all know that we did a ph test that came out at 7.5.

Here's an update on my cycle

12.08.11
Ammonia: 1.0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5.0

13.08.11
Ammonia: 1.0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5.0

14.08.11
Ammonia: 1.0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5.0

15.08.11
Ammonia: 0.5
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5.0

16.08.11
Ammonia: 0.5
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5.0

17.08.11
Ammonia: 0.5
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5.0

18.08.11
Ammonia: 0.5
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5.0

19.08.11
Ammonia: 0.5
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5.0

20.08.11
Ammonia: 0.5
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5.0

21.08.11
Ammonia: 0.5
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5.0

For a whole week Ive had no change in any of my readings. Any suggestions please??? Should I be re dosing now or should I wait until my ammonia reaches 0? Thanks guys

22.08.11

Ammonia: 0.5
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5.0

23.08.11

Ammonia: 0.5
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5.0

24.08.11

Ammonia: 0.5
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5.0

25.08.11

Ammonia: 0.5
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5.0
Also tested ph again today which was 8.0.
Noticed a build up of some sort of slimy residue on my heater today. Maybe some Algae? Doesn't seem to have any colour. I feel stupid for asking what it may be but the only way ill learn i suppose. Any ideas anyone??

 

[fluttermoth]

That's great you got good advice from your friend

Good luck with your cycle; hopefully it'll go quite quicky.

Any ideas what you're going to have? Your tank is quite small; I'd recommend two or three male Endler's or guppies, or a betta and a couple of shrimp; that's whay my son has and it works very well; a bigger tank would give you more options though; any way you can udgrade? The mature media can always be moved again.

 

[coldcazzie]

I think she's already eyeing up bigger/more tanks flutter!

Levels look good for early days Sam fishless cycling is much easier than fish-in. Can't imagine you'd want to be having to do 90% water changes every day for the next couple of months, on top of everything else you got going on at the mo. (well, who would?!) With you having all mature media things should go nice and quick for you, and then you can take little man to pick out Maverick

 

[fluttermoth]

All sounds good then

 

[sam_ward0611]

Yes fluttermoth, we're wanting a betta and a couple of amano shrimp, my son will love them . As Caz has already said i am thinking about a bigger tank. We just haven't got a lot of space at the moment but it is something i will definitely want. I'm really hoping cycling will go well. Shall keep posting and if you have any advice on the way i would really appreciate it

 

[sam_ward0611]

Yes fluttermoth, we're wanting a betta and a couple of amano shrimp, my son will love them . As Caz has already said i am thinking about a bigger tank. We just haven't got a lot of space at the moment but it is something i will definitely want. I'm really hoping cycling will go well. Shall keep posting and if you have any advice on the way i would really appreciate it

 

[sam_ward0611]

Just updated my log. Anyone got any advice on cycling please feel free to tell me

 

[coldcazzie]

Good that the ammonia is dropping.

Have you tried testing nitrate? It might be that you skip the nitrite bit. Test your nitrate, if you get a reading I wouldn't worry about it. Just make sure you shake the hell out of bottle 2! If you can whack it on the wall or table or something a few times that'd be good too - it has been sat in the garage for a while so it'll need a good shake to loosen any bits that may have settled.

It is possible that the bit of media I gave you had lots of nitrite-eating bacteria on it, but not as much ammonia-eating bacteria. We've had it the other way before now where the ammonia phase has gone very quickly but the nitrite phase has dragged out, so it's feasible it could be the other way.

 

[sam_ward0611]

Apologies for no post yesterday not been too well.
09.08.11
Ammonia : 1.0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 5.0ppm

10.08.11
Ammonia: 1.0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 5.0ppm

 

[sam_ward0611]

Another day gone and no changes, any suggestions to why this is happening? My ammonia was coming down nicely but no sign of nitrite, nitrate has stayed at 5.0ppm

11.08.11
Ammonia: 1.0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 5.0ppm

 

[Tizer]

if you have mature media in there, nitrite may be being processed as quickly as its being produced.

 

[sam_ward0611]

if you have mature media in there, nitrite may be being processed as quickly as its being produced.

Thanks Tizer, my friend who gave me the media told me that might be the case, but id expect my nitrate to go up if that was happening??

 

[Tizer]

I've found nitrate to be a slow creeper, but i do have plants which help my tank a little. I would just keep going as you are for a few weeks, part of the fun of creating a new tank comes from researching other things and driving around the shops looking at fish. The last thing you want to do is rush into it and end up with a fish in cycle (which isnt so bad if you can dedciate the time to a daily water change every day).

 

[sam_ward0611]

I've found nitrate to be a slow creeper, but i do have plants which help my tank a little. I would just keep going as you are for a few weeks, part of the fun of creating a new tank comes from researching other things and driving around the shops looking at fish. The last thing you want to do is rush into it and end up with a fish in cycle (which isnt so bad if you can dedciate the time to a daily water change every day).

Thank you for the encouragement, I guess Im just being impatient

 

[Blubble37]

you'll get there eventually lol XD