Confused by cycle

Hi all

So 3 days ago I started to cycle my tank. I added 3ml of ammonia and confirmed the amount by testing the water which measure 3.0mg/l.
Here I am testing again and ammonia (nh3 & nh4) are now at 0mg/l, Nitrite is at 0.3mg/l & nitrate is at 25mg/l. I’ve read through the fishless cycle several times and I’m confused as to whether it’s time for me to add more ammonia or not... I’m really sorry I’m not getting it and having to bombard you with questions x

That was quick! It took 3 weeks for my ammonia to drop not 3 days. Did you use a bacterial starter or mature media?

I would add another 3 ppm ammonia and test tomorrow. If you did use a bacterial starter/mature media they can affect the way a cycle progresses so it may not fit in with the readings given in the fishless cycling method.

I went through all this a couple of months ago, I tried to follow the method on here perfectly but definitely made some mistakes! Everyone on here is SO helpful though. I read over the method over and over and struggled to get my head around it all as I'd never had fish before. In the end I was just making sure I knew the next step of what I was meant to be doing rather than trying to understand everything at once.

I'll let others advise on the cycle as I've only done it once but good luck!!

Essjay said:

That was quick! It took 3 weeks for my ammonia to drop not 3 days. Did you use a bacterial starter or mature media?

I would add another 3 ppm ammonia and test tomorrow. If you did use a bacterial starter/mature media they can affect the way a cycle progresses so it may not fit in with the readings given in the fishless cycling method.

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Hey Essjay
Thank you for your reply. I used a bacterial starter & also mature media as the tank I had bought was 2nd hand. I added another 4ml before you replied to get it back up to 3mg as 3ml didn’t cut it. I will test again tomorrow to see where I’m at. Does that mean my tank will be cycled much quicker? X

It probably does. The method on here is really for tanks with no mature media or bacterial starters. If you start off with a lot of bacteria, the ammonia eaters will very quickly remove the ammonia. If there are a lot of nitrite eaters, they'll be able to remove the nitrite as soon as it is made - when there's no mature media or bottled bacteria the nitrite eaters always lag behind as they can't start to grow till the ammonia eaters have made some nitrite. But if there are a lot there, they can get to work instantly there's some nitrite.


What is your tap water nitrate? If the tank nitrate is higher, it must have come from somewhere. Each 1 ppm ammonia you add is turned into 2.7 ppm nitrite and on to 3.6 ppm nitrate.

Essjay said:

It probably does. The method on here is really for tanks with no mature media or bacterial starters. If you start off with a lot of bacteria, the ammonia eaters will very quickly remove the ammonia. If there are a lot of nitrite eaters, they'll be able to remove the nitrite as soon as it is made - when there's no mature media or bottled bacteria the nitrite eaters always lag behind as they can't start to grow till the ammonia eaters have made some nitrite. But if there are a lot there, they can get to work instantly there's some nitrite.


What is your tap water nitrate? If the tank nitrate is higher, it must have come from somewhere. Each 1 ppm ammonia you add is turned into 2.7 ppm nitrite and on to 3.6 ppm nitrate.

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Blonde question do I check my water provider website or just test it? Yorkshire water for my area nitrate values are attached x

Your water quality report gives a value of 7.66 which does suggest your tank nitrate is quite a bit higher than tap nitrate, but I would still test it as then you'd be using exactly the same tester as you used for the tank water.

Essjay said:

Your water quality report gives a value of 7.66 which does suggest your tank nitrate is quite a bit higher than tap nitrate, but I would still test it as then you'd be using exactly the same tester as you used for the tank water.

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Fab, just need to put skididdlies to bed and then I will report back. That’s why I was confused as my results indicated the tank was cycled which I thought was impossible as it had been 3 days!

Here’s the results with flash and without. Nitrite in the 0.3mg range, ammonia now in the 1.5mg range was 3mg around lunch time. Nitrate seems to be between 12.5mg & 25mg tap water is sat between 0 and 12.5mg

Essjay said:

It probably does. The method on here is really for tanks with no mature media or bacterial starters. If you start off with a lot of bacteria, the ammonia eaters will very quickly remove the ammonia. If there are a lot of nitrite eaters, they'll be able to remove the nitrite as soon as it is made - when there's no mature media or bottled bacteria the nitrite eaters always lag behind as they can't start to grow till the ammonia eaters have made some nitrite. But if there are a lot there, they can get to work instantly there's some nitrite.


What is your tap water nitrate? If the tank nitrate is higher, it must have come from somewhere. Each 1 ppm ammonia you add is turned into 2.7 ppm nitrite and on to 3.6 ppm nitrate.

Click to expand...

All tests done

It looks as though the mature media and bacterial starters are doing their job - there is obviously nitrate being made in the tank by the bacteria.

Test ammonia and nitrite tomorrow at roughly the same as you added today's ammonia. If they are both zero, the tank is cycled. If one or other is not zero, wait until ammonia is under 0.25 AND nitrite is under 1, then add another 3 ppm dose of ammonia and test after 24 hours.

Essjay said:

It looks as though the mature media and bacterial starters are doing their job - there is obviously nitrate being made in the tank by the bacteria.

Test ammonia and nitrite tomorrow at roughly the same as you added today's ammonia. If they are both zero, the tank is cycled. If one or other is not zero, wait until ammonia is under 0.25 AND nitrite is under 1, then add another 3 ppm dose of ammonia and test after 24 hours.

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Oh my days that’s quick! Do I dose every day until I get fish? Purely because there’s so many to choose from and I don’t know what or go goes with who etc etc ? too fast lol!

hi

some of the bacteria starters can have some fish straight away ( 1 or 2 dependent on size) will tell you on the bottle.


if you can read it, just lots of red and yellow blocks to me

where in yorkshire are you?

With a fishless cycle using the method on here, you theoretically can add all the fish you want on the same day. But I would rather add a bit less than this. Some species do better in a mature tank - one that has been running a few months after the cycle is complete - and it is better to wait to add these.

If you don't get fish as soon as the cycle is complete, add a 1 ppm dose every 3 or 4 days to feed the bacteria. If it's a while, I would add 3 ppm a day or two before you go fish shopping to confirm that you still get zeros 24 hours later. Don't forget to do a big water change to remove all the nitrate that's been made the day before or even earlier in shopping day (make sure the water's at the right temperature if it's just before you go)

Essjay said:

With a fishless cycle using the method on here, you theoretically can add all the fish you want on the same day. But I would rather add a bit less than this. Some species do better in a mature tank - one that has been running a few months after the cycle is complete - and it is better to wait to add these.

If you don't get fish as soon as the cycle is complete, add a 1 ppm dose every 3 or 4 days to feed the bacteria. If it's a while, I would add 3 ppm a day or two before you go fish shopping to confirm that you still get zeros 24 hours later. Don't forget to do a big water change to remove all the nitrate that's been made the day before or even earlier in shopping day (make sure the water's at the right temperature if it's just before you go)

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Thank you I’m going to test later today... I must admit I am going to leave it a couple of weeks before I add fish as I’m dubious as it has only been 4 days...

How many fish would you add as a starting point. I really don’t want to get it wrong. I would love some shrimp in there if possible & anything colourful. Easy to look after as being new I don’t want anything too advanced.

my ph is 7.5 my local water is classed as slightly hard: I haven’t tested it as I was duped into spending £50 on the 4 separate testing kits I have already which only covers ph, ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. I do have some 6 in 1 testing strips coming however I’ve heard these aren’t very reliable. I have a Juwel 180 led. I roughly worked out that I added 135 litres of water however this is a blonde guess by the amount of 10l buckets I added which were around 3/4 full.

With regards to water changes I believe it’s advised to do it weekly to start with. How much should I be removing? Do I add the water conditioner to the buckets of new water or can I add it straight to the tank

cdelly said:

hi

some of the bacteria starters can have some fish straight away ( 1 or 2 dependent on size) will tell you on the bottle.

Fish Compatibility Charts - Freshwater, Marine Charts

Fish Compatibility Charts - Freshwater and Marine Charts, brought to you by Aquarium Industries to help you with what fish are compatible with each other.

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if you can read it, just lots of red and yellow blocks to me

where in yorkshire are you?

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Hi thank you I’ve had a look and get the gist of it. I’m in Leeds ?