355858's Freshwater Fishless Cycle

Yeah it's amazingly slow! I can't get hold of any mature media anywhere! It would help quite alot.. Nevermind
 
I hear you honey, but just think, when its all done and dusted 6 weeks from now, you'll be watching your tank and fishies swimmin everywhere. chill, it'll happen, eventually. x
 
Hi Honey. well hows it going today with your tank? Is it shifting yet? x
 
Don't you wish we had a magic bacteria watcher machine that could read the bacteria like an MRI and translate into live bacterial television where we could see them building the biofilms? :lol:
 
Don't you wish we had a magic bacteria watcher machine that could read the bacteria like an MRI and translate into live bacterial television where we could see them building the biofilms? :lol:


Wud be nice, at this rate it will be next Christmas before it's cycled :p lol I just dunno why it's taking so long wish I cud get some mature media somewhere :(
 
Yes, very unusual to wait 2 weeks for any sign of the first drop from 4ppm in a tank with perfect pH and temperature. The boots ammonia should be the right stuff, lots have used it and as far as I know, people don't have trouble with the Juwel built-in filter. Its true though that we've see a couple of cases that took 3 weeks (for the first drop) and even one that took four! But in all those cases there finally came a day when ammonia dropped (and usually it was sudden and it more or less immediately began dropping all 4ppm within 24 hours.) Then some nitrite(NO2) began to appear.

~~waterdrop~~
 
is it possible that im doing something wrong? as now at day 17 without a change.. no visible contaminations!?
 
Yes, it might be just a super-slow first drop but its starting to look pretty weird. Let me just think out loud again...

So you've got this new 63L/17G tank with built in filter. We've been over the media, right? Nothing strange, just biomedia like sponge and/or ceramics and filter floss or pads? You've had it on all along, right? There's nothing in the tank except some sand or gravel, right? We already know your pH and temp have been just fine. The boots ammonia did not foam when shaken, right, and its plain and clear? You filled the tank with tapwater, right? You haven't added any other chemicals or objects other than treating the water with stresscoat conditioner, right? You haven't cleaned the filter or added unconditioned water, right? You're using a liquid test kit, right?

If we get to 21 days and it hasn't changed then I think we should do something. One thought would be to get a small bottle of prime and do a complete water change and use the Prime instead of stresscoat. I made this switch once during a fishless cycle based on what I remember as a few mildly negative comments about stresscoat, but I can't find the reference anymore. I take it the MM search in your Norfolk UK area never turned up any donors, I guess?

~~waterdrop~~
 
My tanks been setup and running at the same temperature etc for 18 days, the tank has aquarium sand which i cleaned thoroughly and was filled with tap water and i added some stresscoat and stress zyme, the only thing i can think of is i have a juwel aquarium bacjground inside my tank which i attached with a sealant which i got from my aquatic centre it said allow 48 hrs to set and i gave it 72 hrs i have added a platic plant a few small rocks and and plastic piece of wood ( looks authentic) all were soaked then scrubbed where possible then had boiled water tipped over them, the ammonia is boots own brand and doesnt appear to foam and is clear.. I am using an API freshwater master test kit. I just dont know what im doing wrong!?

Also i cudnt get hold of any mature filter media in my area unfortunately
 
Well if I wanted to get paranoid and stress I might worry about the stresscoat, the plastic background, the sealer for the background, the plasic objects, the rocks, on and on but the truth is lots of people have these things and they rarely are ever the cause of problems.

The much more common thing is just that we really do see people who happen to have source water that appears to be quite free of the autotrophic bacteria we want and they just have a long start-off wait. After all, we're seeing reports from all over the world so I just can't be too surprised that sometimes the water will start off with not many of these and one will wait longer. Shy of finding any MM, another thought would be to see whether you could buy any cheap bunch plants at the LFS (a mom&pop store with the plants in a tank with or just like the fish tanks would be best) with the idea that you'd throw them away later (or whenever they started rotting if that happened) as even though there's not really support for it I've always felt it might bring in a few of the autotrophs along with it to a tank where they seem absent. If nothing else, it would be a bit of psychological entertainment as I agree you don't seem to be doing anything wrong...

~~waterdrop~~
 
Although it is quite unusual, the tank that starts with no bacteria present to be built into a prospering viable bacterial colony is possible. In almost any situation, there are enough bacteria present in the normal water supply to give us a small starter. Some places that have been useful in situations outside the norm are the traces of bacteria that come in on things like real plants. These are not a good source of bacteria, but if yiou have none to build, they are better than nothing. There is also a thread here on TFF of people willing to donate mature media to give you a good jump start. I have a link to that thread in my signature area called Donors.
 
Hi guys still no change in the water after 26 days so im guessing start again?? Should i immediately get some plants in the tank??
 

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