Ask Questions About Cycling

[eaglesaquarium]

Looks to be a good start. Be sure to thoroughly shake the reagent bottles, and wait the full 5 minutes before reading.
Also, take the reading in natural light whenever possible.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Love that Dr. Tim's stuff. You really can have a fully cycled tank quite fast as long as you follow his directions. A good clue to how well it works can be seen in your results. 1 ppm of ammonia makes 2.56 ppm of nitrite when there are no nitrite bacs established. You have the ammonia drop by 1 ppm which whould make 2.66 or so ppm of nitrite. But you have only .25 ppm.
 
The reason is that the Dr. Tim's contains nitrite bacs which are just waiting for lunch. So as soon as the ammonia is being turned to nitrite, the bacs are turning it to nitrate. Since the nitrite part of the cycle takes the longest, seeding those bacs really helps a lot.
 
Do not worry about having 0 nitrate yet. That test kit is the least accurate of all the ones we normally use. And it is least accurate in the 0 - 20 ppm range from what I have read. Most of the time my nitrate kits expire unused and I replace them in case. The best use for this kit is to determine the direction nitrates are moving more so than what their absolute level might be.

 

[Shahbazin]

Today (day 5) I've got the following readings:
 
ph 7.6
ammonia 1.0
nitrite 3.0
nitrate 5.0
 
This is good, yes? Is this the nitrite beginning to spike before things all start turning into nitrates?

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I believe it is...  Dont add anymore ammonia until you get double zeros (ammonia and nitrite).

 

[Shahbazin]

Update with a summary: I'm doing a fishless cycle on a 75 gal., using Dr. Tim's One & Only & ammonia, & by day 6 my ammonia went to .25 pp after putting in 2 ppm the day before & zero the next day - after that, it could zero that amount in 24 hours (I've read that the ammonia from Dr. T = 2 ppm if used 1 drop/gal.). I had nitrates by day 5, & nitrites appeared at .25 on day 3, climbed to 5.0 by day 6 (top of API Master chart). However, I thought nitrites were down a bit day 7, but wasn't sure, & nitrites haven't dropped since. Nitrate was up to 40 day 10, but almost looked a little lower day 12, & when I did a 50% water change day 13 & tested for nitrites before & an hour after, it still was 5 (which means I was originally reading off my chart, & am not sure I'm on it yet). I added 2 ppm ammonia (per Dr. T's instructions) on days, 1, 3, 6, 9 & 1 ppm on day 12 (ammonia zero on day 13). Yes, I think I put in too much ammonia, & originally should have waited for the nitrite to drop before adding any more, but some of those colors look real similar, & this is my first time doing this.
OK, after the 50% water change day 13, & changing out 65 of 75 gallons day 14, nitrite is now down to ... 1.0 ! At this point, do I wait until nitrite is down to zero before putting in more ammonia?

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I am not sure, but from your description you did not follow the directions for cycling using One and Only. You should have done about 3 ammonia additons only from start to finish. What you should have been doing was as follows:
 

Directions
Set-up your aquarium, filter and heater per the manufacturer’s directions. The One & Only Live Nitrifying Bacteria need a place to live so for best results your tank needs to have gravel or crushed coral on the tank bottom**. After set-up the water may be cloudy and cold so it is preferable to let the system run overnight before adding the One & Only just to make sure everything is ok. If you have a skimmer, UV and/or ozonizier it’s best to set them up and test the connections now before adding the One & Only. If you are going to use a filter sock you can install it now to remove particles from the water.
Before adding One & Only dose the tank with the correct amount of First Defense to remove chlorine and chloramines, which can harm the One & Only Live Bacteria, from the water. Wait 30 minutes after adding First Defense to add the One & Only.
Before adding One & Only you need to remove the filter sock and turn-off the UV, skimmer and ozonizier. These will stay out or off for 48 hours after adding One & Only.
To add One & Only shake the bottle well for a few seconds then pour the entire bottle into your tank. You can also add the One & Only to your sump or filter. Your aquarium water may become cloudy but do not worry it will clear in a short time. Add 1 drop (and one drop only*) of DrTim’s ammonium chloride per gallon of aquarium water. This is Day 1 in the chart below. We recommend NOT using household ammonia.
Wait 24 hrs and measure ammonia, nitrite and pH. Record on the chart below - this is day 2. On day 3 add another drop of ammonia per gallon of aquarium water. Measure and record water quality for 2 more days. On Day 6 add another drop of ammonium chloride per gallon of aquarium water. Measure water quality on Days 7 & 8 - in most cases at this point ammonia and nitrite will be zero or below 0.5. Congrats! Your tank is cycled - now you can add some fish and enjoy your aquarium! Follow the schedule on the chart below ending with your first biweekly 25% water change.
*Precautions - Do not add ammonia until you get a reading of 2 ppm NH3-N. Do not add ammonia everyday. If the pH drops below 7 perform a 25-30% water change taking the water from near the top of the water column. Do not disturb the substrate or remove the filter pad. If the ammonia or nitrite values are over 5 ppm NH3-N skip the next addition of ammonia drops.

from https/store.drtimsaquatics.com/assets/images/recipes/DrTims_Fishless_Cycling_Recipe_27Mar15.pdf
 
You can download it all at the link above.

 

[Shahbazin]

I was following that ( until day 9 - I was getting zero ammonia, but the nitrite was still high, not anywhere near zero like they said it should be (I wasn't sure if it was 5 or under, the colors are real close), so I figured the cycle wasn't done, so I thought I should keep going? In another part of the site it said if the nitrite was over 5, change the water, so that's where I'm at. Wait? More ammonia? What now? I've definitely messed up, I don't know how to fix it.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

There is no way to recover to a speedy cycle. So here is what you need to do now. Change as much water as you can and test about 15 minutes after you finished the refill. If you get any readings over .5 ppm for either ammonia or nitrate, do nothing until both numbers are .5 or less. When they are add 1 drop/gal and test in 24.
 
This should put you at the equivalent of day 7 or 8 in the above.
 
One of the problems with Dr. Tim's directions in terms of test readings is that he uses the nitrogen scale which is what most of the scientific community uses. However, our hobby test kits use a different scale - the total ion scale. This is like miles vs kilometers or C vs F for temp. The different scales can be converted to each other. The firs number (the one without the -N is the total ion scale and the _n is the nitrogen scale:
 
NH3 = NH3-N x 1.21589
NH4 = NH4-N x 1.28786
NO2 = NO2-N x 3.28443
NO3 = NO3-N x 4.42664
 
Ammonia is mostly in the NH4 form and it has become "common" practice to use 1.3 x the -N to get the total ion number (1.28 is likely better). But when Dr Tim says do not let ammonia or nitrite get above 5 ppm -N, we hobbyists need to convert this to the scale commonly used in most hobby kits. This means that 5 ppm Ammonia-N = 6.4 ppm on a hobby kit, and 5 ppm Nitrite-N = 16.4 ppm ( the API kit or most other kits do not read that high).

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Dr. Hovanec recently published a revised set of instructions for cycling using his bacteria and ammonium chloride which is much clearer than the one's it replaces. Interestingly, he has increased the 2nd ammonia addition so it is equal to the first dose.
It is available here https/store.drtimsaquatics.com/assets/images/recipes/DrTims_Fishless_Cycling_Recipe_27Mar15.pdf
 
The dose he uses is 1 drop par gallon of his ammonium chloride which is intended to produce 2 ppm of NH3-N. Note that -N, it means using the nitrogen scale. On and API kit for total ammonia this should read as about 2.6 ppm.
 
One general observation here. I like to tell people to rely on the ammonia calculator here to insure one adds the right amount of ammonia. Shabazin has been trying to figure where between the 2 and 4 ppm level the color he see might be. This is a very common problem. Almost all us us have it at some time when using some of the test kits. The advantage of Dr. Tim's ammonium chloride is it is formulated to give 2 ppm NH3-N per gal. for ever drop added. We can use this to cycle a tank without having to use his bacteria according to the directions here in most cases because there is little difference between 2.6 and 3 ppm of ammonia when it comes to making a tank ready for fish.
 
I also use this product to feed my small biof-arm along with a bag of crushed coral and weekly water changes.

 

[msncookie]

Greetings -- just need a quick sanity check for 120 gallon freshwater setup.  I am following the instructions to the letter and things seems to be happening very fast:
 
Day 1: Dosed #1 @ 30ml (test came out ~4ppm)
Day 2: wait
Day 3: wait
Day 4: test: Ammonia: 2ppm, Nitrite 5+
Day 5: wait
Day 6: test: Ammonia: <0.25.  Dosed #2 @ 25ml (1st dose seemed a little strong).  Got about 3ppm.
Day 7: wait
Day 8: test: Ammonia: 0, Nitrite 5+, Nitrate 10-20.
 
So it's only Day 8 and ammonia is dropping fast.  I planted moderate-heavy from the get-go and I used eco-complete substrate.  No "bio" additives.
 
I presume stick to the article, which means if I get another 0 Ammonia in 2 days then it's time for the "snack".  Does this look OK?
 
Thank you for a great article.  For Canadian readers, I'm using the typical "Old Country" ammonia from Canadian Tire.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Looks good.  

 

[msncookie]

Getting near the finish line for the cycle (ammonia & nitrite dropping to 0 in just over a day) and I just did dose #6.  However, I'm noticing a couple anomalies:
 
- brown algae looking stuff on the back glass
- water surface now has a smokey looking "slick" appearance, despite tons of surface agitation from two filters.
 
If it matters, I do have a considerable amount of pre-soaked driftwood in this tank (including the white fungal stuff growing on it which I read is normal).  The tannins are also getting pretty intense since I haven't done a water change since starting the cycle.  The tank is also reasonably planted.
 
Does anyone know if the two issues above are normal for ammonia cycling and should I just stick it out until the cycle is complete?
 
Thank you much.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

The brown algae stuff is 'diatoms' which are extremely common in new set-ups.  Nothing to worry about.  These can be easily scraped off at the conclusion of the process.
 
 
The film is also normal for not having completed water changes.  If it bothers you, you can simply lay a bit of paper towel on the surface and remove a good deal of it rather easily.

 

[msncookie]

Fantastic.  Thanks for the assurance.  This is my first time not cycling the "old fashioned" way.

 

[carmstrong]

Good Morning Fish Keepers, how are we all today?
 
I have a question regarding my cycling process, 
 
I have a 36gal (113L) tank in the fish-less cycling process right now and I took a reading this morning. 
I started the process on July 12th, dosed with ammonia to 3ppm (looked closer to 4ppm) and waited..
I have two established tanks (15gal & 10gal) and used "gunk" as well as decorations from both tanks to kick start the cycling process.
 
I checked Ammonia (1ppm) and Nitrite (0ppm) and snack dosed to 3ppm on July 14th
I re-read the cycling process (its been a while) and realized I shouldn't have dosed.. so I've let the tank sit since the 14th of July just checking for Ammonia and Nitrite occasionally.
 
July 17th Ammonia was 1ppm, Nitrite 0ppm
 
July 18th Still reading 0ppm on Nitrite.. however Ammonia is now 0.5ppm
 
Should I just keep waiting, or should I full dose to 3ppm again?
 
 
Any ideas?
 
Thanks in advance!