The Long Wait

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Mbuna Dave

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Hi.

I am in the middle of my fishless cycle,i started about twelve days ago but three days in my filter was switched off by accident so i carried on and now it has been going for 9 days from that point.

The ammonia is still high and reading the same as when i started,i was expecting the ammonia to drop,if not completely then maybe a small but significant amount.

Am i being tooimpatient or is this normal thing to wait this long for the first drop.

My tank is a 57 gallon.

Dave.
 
How high was the ammonia when you first started? Was it measureable or was it off the chart high? Are you adding more ammonia every day or only to begin? It is odd that you wouldn't have seen some drop by now unless there was a very large amount to begin with. I've never used the method where you add ammonia daily so I don't know how long it takes for a noticable drop with that method. Obviously, with adding 5 or 6 ppm daily, the ammonia would definitely go off the chart and even when it does start dropping, you won't be able to tell until it gets back on the chart. Do you have any nitrite present yet? If so, then some of the ammonia is being processed. Did you use dechlorinator? If not, chloramine is possibly preventing the bacteria from forming. Also, what temperature is the water and do you have an air pump and air stone to add extra oxygen? Sorry for all the questions.
 
Hi rdd.

My temp is 79F
My tank is a Juwel vision 260 so the filter/pump/heater is all combined in one unit.

The ammonia test read 8ppm when i first put it in the tank and i havent added any since.Not a drop.
It could have been possible that i added a little too much maybe but that would have been at the very beginning.

I used Ammo lock with built in de-chlorinator/chloramine,that too was only used at the first stage of setup.

I have it fully planted and i am using sand with a layer of Seachems substrate on the bottom should you need to know that.

I have an air adapter to the filter out stream but i have it set so there is only a very small set of bubbles coming out of it.Just enough to add a few bubbles floating on top of the water.

Dave.

Just done a Nitrite test and it reads 5.0 ppm.The highest number on the chart.
 
It sounds like you are making progress since your nitrite is off the chart or at least at 5 ppm. It is probably taking longer because the temperature is too low. Higher temps invites or encourages bacteria growth so it is best to turn the heat up to 85F to 90F for a fishless cycle. Just remember to turn it back down a day before you add fish so the water can get to the proper temp before putting them in. The airstone is to replenish the oxygen that will be driven out by the higher temperature. I know it isn't good for the plants as it drives the CO2 out but the plants will survive.
 
Thanks again rdd.

I have increased the temp in the tank and allowed a few more bubbles from the pump to airate the water.

I`ll keep you posted as to how i am doing.

Thanks once again.

Dave.
 
Update.

The temp is now 86F and i have seen the first drop in ammonia levels.It now reads between 1 and 2 ppm.So good news.
The nitrite levels are reading 5 ppm.

So its looking better than yesterday.Phew. :)
 
Thaat's great. the higher temperature may have been the trigger. Sounds like the ammonia part is about over. Now for the nitrite to drop.
 
The ammonia dropped right off so i added some more.
Like you said,i just need to sit on the nitrite and then its all systems go.

Thanks for your help rdd,much appreciated. :)
 
You're very welcome. I'm glad things are starting to move along.
 
Rejoice,my ammonia and nitrites finally dropped to zero so on friday i syphoned off about 80% of the water and added new using Ammolock to de-chlorinate the water.I also dropped the temp to about 76 F.

I did a test on saturday and the ammonia and nitrites were back up,any reasons why this should have happened,i also did a test today and the ammonia has dropped a little but the nitrites are still high.

Very puzzled.

dave. :(
 
Did you add ammonia back to the water after you did the water change? If not, I don't know where the ammonia could have come from unless it's from something rotting in the tank such as dead plants or left over flakes if you used any of those as an ammonia source. I'm not a big fan of Ammo-loc as it will give a false reading on ammonia. It locks it into a non-toxic form until it can be broken down. That means you will still see ammonia present but it shouldn't be toxic. I don't want to see anything and be wondering whether I have toxins in the tank or not.
 
Hi rdd.

Yes,i added ammonia after i did the syphon which was about tea time on friday,just enough to register about 2/4ppm.I also added a flora boost from Interpet for the plants but nothing else.

I have just done a re-test and its reads:

Ammonia: 1ppm
Nitrite: 2ppm

I have bought a few fish as you can see from my sig,a bit hasty maybe?
 
Start doing daily water changes to get the ammonia and nitrite levels down. The ammonia is probably a false reading since you use ammo lock. It most likely is ammonium and isn't toxic. You may have jumped the gun a little on the end of your cycling. Once the nitrite drops, you should still add ammonia daily until there is enough bacteria to process 2 to 4 ppm of ammonia back to 0 ammonia and nitrite in 12 hours or less. If you add it at night at say 7 and you have 0 reading the next morning at 7, you are completely cycled.
 

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