Ask Questions About Cycling

[CraigMason]

 how much ammonia should I add to my aquarium it was set up last Thursday I used nutrafin cycle and declorinator to treat the water

 

[fluttermoth]

We have a calculator you can use, here; http/www.fishforums.net/aquarium-calculator.htm

 

[crytocara]

Hey guys new guy on forum.I wish to keep my filter alive off the tank while I decorate and upgrade to a bigger tank after. Can I run the filter on a water butt and feed the bacteria with aquarium safe ammonia?

 

[Jeremy180]

Hey guys new guy on forum.I wish to keep my filter alive off the tank while I decorate and upgrade to a bigger tank after. Can I run the filter on a water butt and feed the bacteria with aquarium safe ammonia?

Assuming that you mean bucket, here.
The main thing I would worry about here is getting the dosage wrong in such a small amount of water.
Less than 1 ppm isn't enough, while anything over 4 ppm can potentially harm the bacteria.

 

[Tbreds53]

Hello..Im new to the Hobby. I was given a 29 gal tank along with 2 fish Convict cichlids..I was told to hust use prime, some API quick start and put the fish in..Now..im paying the price..on a good note fish look healthy..eating fine..Ive been told by everyone to oerform multiple water changes...and ive been told by many leave the tank alone and ket it cycle..My API test show no ammonia, ph is 7.8
BUT...my nitrite will not come down..it is off the chart purple...Please..what can i do.Thanks

 

[rodders666]

Is this still checked?
On the calculator for ammonia it says % of ammonia in solution, how do I know that?
I have Kleen Off (Jeyes) Ammonia.

Thanks.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Is this still checked?
On the calculator for ammonia it says % of ammonia in solution, how do I know that?
I have Kleen Off (Jeyes) Ammonia.

Thanks.

 
It should say it on the bottle.

 

[rodders666]

Thank you eaglesaquarium, if it did though I wouldn't have needed to ask. I'll see if it says on the website. Thanks.

 

[fluttermoth]

In the past, Jeyes Kleen Off has always been 9.5%.

 

[rodders666]

Thank you, fluttermouth. The only thing that seems to have changed is the label so I'll double check on the website and if not listed I'll take it as 9.5%. Thanks again.

 

[fluttermoth]

You're welcome

TBH, the % doesn't matter that much; you could always add your ammonia 1ml at a time until you get the tank to somewhere between 2 and 4ppm. The exact number isn't as critical as being able to tell when the level has dropped, as long as you don't keep it over about 5ppm

 

[StellarisBen]

Hi there!

I'm working to restore my tank after over a year of only filters/heater + water (no fish).

I've tested the water a day after a water change and have got some rather weird results:

ph = 7.5/7.6 (safe/normal?)
ammonia = just over 0 ppm
nitrite = 0ppm
nitrate = between 0+5ppm

What's worried me is that my Nitrate levels seem to be very low, even though there should be a lot of 'left over' bacteri from when I did have fish in the tank previously, as well as plants.

Any pointers you can give me?

Thanks!

 

[Essjay]

If the tank has had no fish for over a year I doubt there will be any bacteria left alive because without fish to produce ammonia they will have had no food. No ammonia = no nitrate being made.

If there are plants in the tank they will have used any nitrate made by the last fish as fertiliser.


You will need to cycle this tank again if you want to restock with fish. If the plants are still growing really well, they may be enough to use ammonia made by new fish but I would still add ammonia to check whether you have enough plants or not.

 

[StellarisBen]

Thanks for the reply, have some ammonia on the way and will follow the linked guide - many thanks

 

[djohnson1974]

Helllo All,

I am new to fish keeping and new to the forum. I am in the process of setting up a new 125l jewel rio tank and need some advice please.

I set the tank up with water and substrate and let it run for a week to make sure everything was working then introduced 4 guppies and 2 platys to carry out a cycle.

I've checked the water everyday with an API master kit and carried out a 10% pwc every other day. I am feeding every other day too.

I have introduced some river cobbles to the tank and added a cirax basket to the filter system over the course of the 2 weeks.

My issue is that the test readings have remained static giving the readings as shown on the attached image so I'm not even sure my cycle has started.

What should I do next? Advice greatly appreciated.