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After adding 4tsp of buffer last night, this morning the KH has risen to 10 which, i think is ok(think 8 is recommended amount).

Hi, its the API test kit. I have crushed coral sand and plenty of ocean rock. After adding 4tsp of the buffer i managed to raise the KH by 4, therefore i have added another 4 tsp to hopefully raise it to 10KH which i think should be fine.

Evening all, After finally completing my fishless cycling i have just tested water hardness. I added some cichlid lake salt and malawi buffer, pH 8.0 GH 24 thats how many drops it took to change colour, KH 6 thats how many drops it took to change colour. A bit worried about the KH, should i...

Cheers guys, can't wait for the weekend. Bit nervous though, hope all goes well and the lfs have still got the fish(cichlids) that i want. :good: P.S thanks BTT for the birthday wish :hyper:

Evening all, This has probably been asked before(probably by myself) but, after adding 4.0ppm of Ammonia each morning at 7.00am i have retested at 7.00pm and for 3 days the ammonia and nitrite reading have both been 0. :hyper: If this continues until weekend, can i add the fish :unsure: If...

trickle filters are really good filters but they should have a layer of fine filter material on top. This is used to trap most of the gunk from the tank and helps keep the rest of the materials clean. Carbon should be used last if you want to use it. However, as mentioned by stormy it will...

Evening all, I am currently 28 days into my fishless cycling. My question is WHEN/HOW and HOW OFTEN do i clean the filter? It's a trickle filter with Ceramic noodles, Black sponges then Carbon Cartridges. The carbon cartridges sit on the top and are currently a darker colour than when first...

HI all, I have been fishless cycling now for 26 days (as some of you may know). Am processing about 4.0ppm of Ammonia within 12 hours Nitrites processing within 24HOURS for the past 2 days. Am i ready for fish, only i thought i had to process BOTH within 12 HOURS but, after reading other...

Cycling is going ok, thanks. Ammonia going within 12 hours. For the 1ST time yesterday morning Nitrite was 0 :hyper: BUT it is taking 24 hours for Nitrite to process down to 0. Presume this is ok and will eventual take under 12 hours!! SUNDAY 04/05/08 8:00am Ammonia 0 Nitrite 0 Brought...

Just added another 20kg of rock. What do you think now? Cant add any more for fear of it going through the floor boards :crazy:

Brilliant replies, thanks so much. Great to know i could add a few more fish if i wanted. Tank is no where near the window, but have had the light on ALL day till bedtime. Presume the fish will get rid of some of the algae, when i have finished cycling!! Would it be a good idea to take out...

Didnt add any more ammonia last night. Monday 28th April, 7:30am Brought Ammonia up to 1.0ppm Nitrite 0.25 18:00pm Ammonia 0 Nitrite 1.0ppm I will not add any more Ammonia till tomorow morning, before work. Cheers for all the help so far. :good:

Cheers, the rock does look good BUT i have had an explosion of algae in the past few days. Will have to take it out and give it a good clean before adding the fish! Took me ages to clean it in the first place. I put it outside and used a Power Wash on it, came up good but got wet through doing...

Results now 20:00 Ammonia 0 Nitrite 1.0ppm Nitrate 40ppm pH 7.8 What do you think? Shall i bump the ammonia back up to 2.0ppm, or wait till tomorow morning? Bearing in mind i added Ammonia this morning.

AT LAST ammonia has processed in under 12 hours, Nitrite finally dropped to 0.25ppm Fetched Ammonia up to 2.0ppm, this morning at 9:30. Going to check it again in a minute, see whats happened. Fingers crossed!!

Thanks everybody, feel a lot better now. Cheers darrel69 for getting the picture up, will try myself in future, now i have the idiots guide :blush: Tank measures 98X60X47cm 215 litres. I was thinking of Mbuna, Labidochromis Caeruleus 1male 3 female Pseudotropheus Saulosi 1male 3 female...

What do you think of my tank set-up, do i need more rocks for Mbuna? http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn175/danon74/tank.jpg Sorry about that. Cant seem to get my damn photos on here!!!!!!

Tested Ammonia this morning at 7.00 reading was 0. Thats 9 hours since Ammonia was last added. Changed 25% of water today at 15:30. At 17:00 Ammonia is still 0, obviously because i didnt add any this morning. BUT Nitrite is still off the chart. Sorry to soung STUPID but shall i now just add...

Thanks waterdrop, THINK ive got it now. Will try and do the tests at same time each day, within a 12 hour period. Will do a small water change tomorow of 25%, just to see if i can get the Nitrite reading on the chart, instead of sky high.

OK so i have just added 1ppm of ammonia and will check tomorow morning if it has gone down to 0. Will do a water change tomorow, how much? 25%, 50%. Come this far dont want to mess up now!!

If anyone can help it would be much appreciated, if i have to add more Ammonia, i want to add it soon so i can test 12 hours later, tomorow before work.

Wednesday 23rd April, Ammonia 0 Nitrite off the chart Added more Ammonia, now 4.0ppm Thursday 24th April Ammonia 0 Nitrite off the chart I think my cycling is going ok and felt really comfortable, until i read the topic 'thought you might like to know' by Lionessn3cubs. Backtropical has...

Thanks for the advice, i too worked it out at 276 litres. Measurements are correct, they were provided with the tank so, dont know why it is different. I managed to get about 190 litres in but, that is with 25kg off coral sand and 25kg off ocean rock.

Any thoughts/advice on the above species? Or the KH, please.

Sorry about the spelling, bit late last night! Tank measures 98X60X47cm and 215 litres, realise this is just above the minimum size so hope to God it is ok. With coral sand and plenty off ocean rock. Because of this i have opted for the slightly less aggresive Mbuna. Still cycling at the...

HI, I am currently researching fish for my aquarium and THINK i am going to go for the Lake Malawi Bhuna species. My tap water PH is only 6.8 but, after adding coral sand and ocean rock it has climbed to 8.0, which is good. BUT my GH is 10 and KH only 4. Think that GH is ok, is it? But do i...

Hi Hawkins, Most people on here seem to recommend the api test kits. I bought the api master test kit which tests PH, high PH, Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate. Got mine from pets at home, about £20. Have used mine EVERY day since starting the fishless cycle.

I know i should have done this at the start but, after seeing everyone elses thought i would show my results for criticism/advice. I have been keeping a log so here goes!! TANK Aqua One 980 98X60X47cm 215 litres volume Filter flow rate 1000l/hr Thursday 10th April, Coral Sand 25kg Ocean Rock...

Thanks for the help. Shall i just leave it until i have finished cycling the tank then?

I am currently 11 days into my fishless cycle and everything seems to be going ok. Ammonia keeps dropping, keep bumping it back up. Nitrites still off the chart. BUT i have noticed bright green blotches have appeared on the substrate (coral sand), also on my nice white coral rock. Is this...

Hi stormy78, I too started my fishless cycle on Sunday. My results are almost identical to yours except today my Ammonia reading is at 0 and Nitrite is off the chart. Added some more Ammonia to fetch it up to 4.0ppm, so will see what happens. Keep with it and possible tomorow you will see...

Cheers :good:

Thanks for the reasurance. Can you get a test card that has the inbetween numbers ie 3, 5, 6, 7 etc Surely it is just guess work finding the inbetween colour and number. How can you bump it up to 5.0ppm when there is no colour on the chart for that reading.

Hi, Just this minute checked the Ammonia level it is about 4.0ppm. Very hard to tell because the colour chart goes 0 0.25 0.50 1.0 2.0 4.0 8.0 If this is ok then do i what till Ammonia drops to about 0, then add some more to fetch it up to 5.0ppm again?

Even better, Thanks

Started my fish-less cycle on Friday 11th April Added ammonia to 5.0ppm This has remained the same since, BUT, today i am getting a Nitrite reading of 2.0ppm and a Nitrate reading of 10ppm. Is this normal or has something gone seriously wrong, its only been 4 days!!!

Thanks for the advice, thats put my mind at rest. Yes they will be juvies so, will look at another filter later on. Just hope i can get my head around this fish less cycling!!!!!

After much thought i have decided on a Malawi Mbuna tank set-up. I am currently only 4 days into my fish-less cycle so it will be a while yet before any fish are added. Spending the time trying to do some research on different fish etc. My tank is 98 by 60 by 47cm and 215litres volume. The...

Thanks Oldman, there were no labels, just came in a 25kg bag. I poured boiling water over it and soaked it for about 8 hours. It has bumped the PH up, from 6.8 to 7.8 which is fine as i want to keep Cichlids. Thanks again.

Hi, just bought 25kilo of ocean rock. Can i just power wash it or do i have to soak in water before adding to the tank?