Cycle Journal

[CezzaXV]

My heater doesn't even have a setting like that. You can turn it up and down, but there's no dial to set it to X degrees. Takes a bit of trial and error to get it to the correct temperature, but once you've got it right you don't need to change it, so not a big deal.

I've pretty much decided what fish I'm getting now (1 male betta, 6 neon tetra and 6 cories (probably panda, not 100% sure yet)), but I'm doing pretty well on resisting. I know getting them now would be bad in the long term, and I don't even have anything in my tank at the moment apart from gravel. The company I ordered my bogwood from back along are on holiday until the 19th so I won't get it til next week, and I'm not buying any plants until I'm done cycling and can put them in my tank.

As a side note, test kit STILL not turned up. I sent the seller two messages but no reply. I can't file a claim on Amazon yet though because technically the delivery timeframe doesn't run out til Monday. Even if it does turn up, I'm gonna raise some hell. In the end I bought a kit from my LFS (at a cost of £35...ouch...but I wasn't willing to sit there with my tank doing nothing any longer. If not for the delay I might already have had fish by now). It's horrible to think that if I hadn't done that, I'd still be waiting. Sod's law, it couldn't happen with my thermometer or any of the other things I ordered for my tank that were important but not at all urgent, it HAD to be the one item which was both expensive and crucial to being able to cycle my tank.

 

[CezzaXV]

Just been to that new fish shop. It's a bit of something of nothing really, but being tucked away on an industrial estate I wasn't expecting much. Bought a few little bits, and had a look at their fish. Their neons seem to be really active which is good, so I'm thinking I'll get my neons there when the time comes.

 

[CezzaXV]

Finally got a pic up!

This picture was taken before I put water in it. I've got a plain blue background now (I don't know if it's just my imagination, but the water looks so much cleaner with it lol!), and I'm considering upping the ratio of sand to gravel, partly because I think it'll look nicer, partly because I'm going to be keeping cories. But at least you can get a general idea now!

 

[CezzaXV]

I got another reading of 0 for ammonia today! I couldn't believe it! I knew it would be quicker the second time around, but I had no idea it'd be so soon! Is this normal?

 

[Overload]

Does not surprise me, bacteria colonies grow exponentially, so the more you have the faster they grow. It why the Nitrite reading spike really high (often off the scale of the test kits) then drop really fast.
One thing I would recommend is only dosing back to 2ppm of ammonia until you get your first zero for Nitrite, then slowly bring the dose back to 4 or 5pmm

 

[CezzaXV]

Getting impatient now. My ammonia is easily processed within 24 hours (not started 12 hour testing yet, so it may be quicker than that), but the nitrites are spiking. I know this is good, but at least with the ammonia I could see it getting less and less each day. It's kinda depressing having the same test results every day.

 

[HayzH]

Getting impatient now. My ammonia is easily processed within 24 hours (not started 12 hour testing yet, so it may be quicker than that), but the nitrites are spiking. I know this is good, but at least with the ammonia I could see it getting less and less each day. It's kinda depressing having the same test results every day.

tell me about it.....my 3 are having a wobbly atm.... Tank 3 has just started showing Nitrites now (on Day 7).....its like having triplets!!!

 

[Overload]

Lol hayley thats what comes of cycling 3 tanks at once!

 

[HayzH]

Lol hayley thats what comes of cycling 3 tanks at once!

yeah with only 4 test tubes......its no mean feat i can tell you!!....when i want something i dig my teeth in and will NEVER let go!! x

 

[CezzaXV]

Don't know if it's just my imagination, but my nitrite test didn't go immediately off the scale last night. Can't wait to test it again tonight to see if it's actually going down!

Lol hayley thats what comes of cycling 3 tanks at once!

yeah with only 4 test tubes......its no mean feat i can tell you!!....when i want something i dig my teeth in and will NEVER let go!! x

I've broken three of mine and I'm waiting for the new ones I ordered to turn up. I'm trying to cycle a tank with one tube! Makes testing long and tedious

 

[CezzaXV]

I got my first 0 on nitrite tonight! PARTY!

 

[HayzH]

.. mines all over the place

 

[CezzaXV]

To be fair, I only got my first 0 today. There's still time for it to be all over the place yet lol.

You'll get there soon enough, I'm sure.

 

[HayzH]

To be fair, I only got my first 0 today. There's still time for it to be all over the place yet lol.

You'll get there soon enough, I'm sure.

i will.....and the party will be at mine!!

 

[CezzaXV]

Bah, I don't like this 12 hour testing malarkey. I like the fun of reading twice a day instead of just once (I get really excited lol, I'm such a nerd), but I do it at 8AM and 8PM, meaning that I have to wait a whole two hours after I get home from work before I can test! It's not as exciting getting home and having to wait...

I have noticed my ammonia getting quicker though. Ended up doing a test mid afternoon yesterday as I wanted to do a water change and replace my substrate. Yesterday, 16 hours after dosing the previous night, I got 0.5 on ammonia. I got 0.5 this morning after only 12 hours

So, the ammonia is almost there now, it's just the nitrite that's holding me up.