Tanking Cycling

[HurleyInferno]

So i've been cycling my tank for a few days now, the ammonia i added to get up to 5 ppm was down to 1 ppm today after about two days. So i tested the nitrite and it came out as 0 ppm. Now i have already added more ammonia to get the ammonia reading back up and feed the bacteria, but is it weird that there is no nitrite reading yet?

 

[HurleyInferno]

So i've been cycling my tank for a few days now, the ammonia i added to get up to 5 ppm was down to 1 ppm today after about two days. So i tested the nitrite and it came out as 0 ppm. Now i have already added more ammonia to get the ammonia reading back up and feed the bacteria, but is it weird that there is no nitrite reading yet?

nobody?

 

[rdd1952]

What type filter media are you using and is your tank planted? In a medium to heavily planted tank, it's definitely possible that the plants could us the ammonia in it's original state rather than it being processed into nitrite. There are also some types of media that remove ammonia rather than allowing it to be processed.

 

[flash22]

deleted

 

[HurleyInferno]

What type filter media are you using and is your tank planted? In a medium to heavily planted tank, it's definitely possible that the plants could us the ammonia in it's original state rather than it being processed into nitrite. There are also some types of media that remove ammonia rather than allowing it to be processed.

Whisper Filter with a Bio Bag. No real plants, just fakes

 

[rdd1952]

Are you using carbon in your filter? If so, it an remove the ammonia as that's what it's prime purpose is, to remove chemicals.

 

[HurleyInferno]

Are you using carbon in your filter? If so, it an remove the ammonia as that's what it's prime purpose is, to remove chemicals.

the bio bag contains activated carbon

 

[rdd1952]

I would get a different type media such as ceramic rings. Carbon is a decent media but as I said, it is saturated in anywhere from 1 to 7 days and isn't doing anything from that point on. The bacteria will colonize on it but ceramic in much better. I actually us this product and haven't used carbon for a couple years. It's just too much trouble.

 

[HurleyInferno]

I would get a different type media such as ceramic rings. Carbon is a decent media but as I said, it is saturated in anywhere from 1 to 7 days and isn't doing anything from that point on. The bacteria will colonize on it but ceramic in much better. I actually us this product and haven't used carbon for a couple years. It's just too much trouble.

would using that require a different filter? cuz i have the whisper filter right now

 

[Musho3210]

carbon doesnt absorb ammonia, if it did they wouldnt have invented zeolite if it it did then most tanks wouldnt get the ammonia-nitrite-nitrate spikes.

When i first started tanks and didnt know about forums etc, i did a fish cycle, changed carbon once every 2 weeks, only thing that got rid of my ammonia was my constant water changes....

 

[rdd1952]

I'm not sure how much ammonia carbon will absorb but carbon is a chemical filter so it is going to try to pull what ever chemicals it can from the water. Maybe it isn't a factor. I certainly don't have proof that it is. But if you only changed your carbon every 2 weeks, you can't really say that it wasn't pulling the ammonia from the water until it was saturated. How do you know that it wasn't fully saturated almost immediately and that's the reason it wasn't pulling the ammonia out? Maybe it is great for removing ammonia for up to about 24 hours but just becomes saturated so fast that it needs changing daily.

As for that particula media, I have whisper 10s on my betta tanks and I use about a dozen small pieces in those filter packs. I never throw them away either. When the filter bag becomes too tattered to function properly, I simply pour the ceramic media from the old bag into the new one and put it back in. That way, I'm keeping the vast majority of my bacteria when I have to change filter bags. With carbon, you are throwing almost your entire bacteria colony away everytime you change carbon.

 

[Musho3210]

Well maybe it didnt because it became fully saturated, but i dont have any proof that it was or wasnt fully saturated. Carbon is a heavily debated topic and i think people who say it becomes fully saturated within an hour are wrong. Carbon doesnt remove all chemicals, i have used carbon in my saltwater tank and if it removed all chemicals, my corals wouldnt be thriving and my fish would probably be dead.

Is there any proof that carbon becomes fully saturated once it touches the water? There probably is but do you mind showing me, since IME there is no proof, you just guess.

 

[rdd1952]

Here is one that says it does. See second paragraph at top of page 2:

"Activated carbon to remove organics and other absorbable chemicals, including ammonia."

And this is better one. It not only says that it removes ammonia, it also shows how absorption by both carbon and zeolite decrease significantly after only 4 hours, indicating that saturation comes quickly.

 

[Musho3210]

Thank you, well you learn something new everyday, maybe my carbon was so cruddy that it didnt even absorb anything, well i got it for free and you get what you pay for i guess.

There is a question i have with the second one, it talks about activated carbon WITH nitrifying bacteria, so is the activated carbon absorbing the ammonia or is the bacteria on the carbon absorbing it? Well i havent finished reading it so maybe it explains it later on.

 

[HurleyInferno]

Finally! i've got a measly Nitrite reading of .25! we're on our way yay!