Been Fishless Cycling For 3 Weeks Now But!

[chubbs9]

as topic peeps,i have been doing the fishless cycle,i had a bit of media from my friends filter when i started to.
its all been going fine,i got down to my filter eating up between 3-5 ppm of ammonia every 12 hours or so,my nitrite was through the roof,now my nitrite has finally gone back to zero,after 3 weeks my ammonia reading has stayed at 1ppm for the last 24 hours and my nitrites have gone back to zero after 12 hours.so my question is,why is this

thanks in advance

chubbs

 

[chubbs9]

realised i had an air lock in my external filter,so wasnt filtering properly for 2 days.had a power cut .
but filter working ok again now.hopefully that was something to do with it?

chubbs

 

[4seasons]

as topic peeps,i have been doing the fishless cycle,i had a bit of media from my friends filter when i started to.
its all been going fine,i got down to my filter eating up between 3-5 ppm of ammonia every 12 hours or so,my nitrite was through the roof,now my nitrite has finally gone back to zero,after 3 weeks my ammonia reading has stayed at 1ppm for the last 24 hours and my nitrites have gone back to zero after 12 hours.so my question is,why is this

thanks in advance

chubbs

Check you PH. Often as you nitrates start climbing your PH will crash and stall your cycle. Happens easier the softer your water is.

 

[Easy]

as topic peeps,i have been doing the fishless cycle,i had a bit of media from my friends filter when i started to.
its all been going fine,i got down to my filter eating up between 3-5 ppm of ammonia every 12 hours or so,my nitrite was through the roof,now my nitrite has finally gone back to zero,after 3 weeks my ammonia reading has stayed at 1ppm for the last 24 hours and my nitrites have gone back to zero after 12 hours.so my question is,why is this

thanks in advance

chubbs

Check you PH. Often as you nitrates start climbing your PH will crash and stall your cycle. Happens easier the softer your water is.

Ah soooo that's why my ph is crashing. Good to know.

 

[chubbs9]

my ph is now 6.0,how do i hire it?

cheers

chubbs

 

[the_lock_man]

It depends on how much the hire charge is.......

But seriously, bicarbonate of soda is the way to go - add it bit by bit, and keep testing, until your pH is up around 8.0-8.2

 

[4seasons]

my ph is now 6.0,how do i hire it?

cheers

chubbs

You could do a large water change to get your nitrates lower and get you PH back up closer to your tap water PH. You can also us baking soda to raise PH. If your water is really soft you may fight the PH crash several times during your cycle. When PH drops to 6.5 or lower the cycle slows down and if it dips too low you can lose the bacteria that you are trying to grow.

 

[chubbs9]

i got some waterlife 7.2 buffer for now to see if that works.
if that fails i use bicarbonate of soda .any bicarbonate of soda work then???as in there will not be any with additives etc?
and when you say add a little at a time,how much is that?
my cycle is still working but slower.

cheers for all your help

chubbs

 

[Aqua Tom]

Chuck two teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda (not baking soda that is different) in the tank, it has a natural ph of 8 so will not raise the tank above that level, no matter how clumsy you are dosing. (good news for dodery old gits like me).

Tom

 

[chubbs9]

Chuck two teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda (not baking soda that is different) in the tank, it has a natural ph of 8 so will not raise the tank above that level, no matter how clumsy you are dosing. (good news for dodery old gits like me).

Tom

lol thanks matey,ill get some tomorrow
the waterlife stuff has worked for the mo though
cheers

chubbs9

 

[the_lock_man]

Chuck two teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda (not baking soda that is different) in the tank, it has a natural ph of 8 so will not raise the tank above that level, no matter how clumsy you are dosing. (good news for dodery old gits like me).

Tom

lol thanks matey,ill get some tomorrow
the waterlife stuff has worked for the mo though
cheers

chubbs9

I've never looked at the chemical stuff - the name of it implies that it will buffer your pH to 7.2 - the ideal pH for fishless cycling is 8.0-8.2, hence why the bicarb is best.

 

[4seasons]

Chuck two teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda (not baking soda that is different)

Are you sure about that? I am holding a box of baking soda in my hand right now that says,
Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate
Nothing else is listed.
I know baking powder is different but from my understanding baking soda is bicarbonate of soda.

 

[chubbs9]

Chuck two teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda (not baking soda that is different) in the tank, it has a natural ph of 8 so will not raise the tank above that level, no matter how clumsy you are dosing. (good news for dodery old gits like me).

Tom

lol thanks matey,ill get some tomorrow
the waterlife stuff has worked for the mo though
cheers

chubbs9

I've never looked at the chemical stuff - the name of it implies that it will buffer your pH to 7.2 - the ideal pH for fishless cycling is 8.0-8.2, hence why the bicarb is best.

ye got some bicarb today.was only using that other stuff as thats all i had in the house at the time,and just wanted to get my ph from 6.0

cheers

chubbs