Cycle Journal

[HayzH]

yes my tanks (1+2) clear Ammonia in 12 hrs now easy...and clears the Nitrite in 24 hrs....then spikes in 12 im stuck in a visious circle....my testing time used to be 9pm...then by the time i actually got the tanks tested at 5ppm i finally finished dosing at 11.30pm..... So i did a 9pm test last night to bring it forward again...so im now 9am/9pm. Tipically im out tonight, so wont be testing....chances are they wont be any different ANYWAY!
will get hubby to dose tanks (hopefully he wont c ock that up!

 

[CezzaXV]

Nitrite doesn't seem to have budged since 12 hours ago

 

[CezzaXV]

Wow, I just had a somewhat traumatic experience.

I decided I wanted to take my gravel out and replace it with sand. I reasoned that the time to do it was now as it's better to do it while I'm still cycling so any bacteria lost (though I'm told the amount that grows in the substrate is neglible) rather than when I'm done cycling and about to add fish. I already had a bucket of sand I'd washed yesterday. Combined it with a water change to make it easier for me and to bring my nitrate levels down.

Managed to get water all over the floor with the first bucket as my brain just decided to stop working and remove the siphon. Legs and arms thoroughly wet now after repeated trips to the bathroom for water. My sister wanted a bath so I was trying to hurry, and in my haste just chucked a bucket of water in the tank without dechlorinating it, and in a panic put in way more dechlorinator than I needed. I spent ages washing the sand out but the water is insanely cloudy anyway, I can only just see my heater light! It does seem to be settling down a bit now though and I'm sure my filter will clear it out soon enough. I put in some extra dechlorinator in the end for the whole tank. Can't see anything on the bottle that says not to overdose, so I reasoned it's better to put too much in than not enough.

I'll let you know when I can actually see into my tank whether it looks better with sand or not.

 

[HayzH]

oh dear....well i was out this evening..so left a note for hubby to dose my tanks...and exact milage(if thats a word)...i asked if he'd done it....nope!
So after a scolding...he pops off to dose the tanks....with the WRONG syringe!!! so my doses are probably sky high now, as well as an HOUR late!!
why do i bother ....i ask you!!!

 

[CezzaXV]

oh dear....well i was out this evening..so left a note for hubby to dose my tanks...and exact milage(if thats a word)...i asked if he'd done it....nope!
So after a scolding...he pops off to dose the tanks....with the WRONG syringe!!! so my doses are probably sky high now, as well as an HOUR late!!
why do i bother ....i ask you!!!

Men!

If someone asked me to do something important like that, I'd probably be worried for hours that I'd forget it until I set a reminder on my phone.

In other news, I'm probably gonna get a moonlight for my tank at some point. I like playing my PS3 in the dark, and couldn't help but feel how awesome a moon light would look in my tank at that time. Plus the daylight bulb gets a bit much on the eyes when it's dark out as it lights up the whole room.

 

[HayzH]

oh dear....well i was out this evening..so left a note for hubby to dose my tanks...and exact milage(if thats a word)...i asked if he'd done it....nope!
So after a scolding...he pops off to dose the tanks....with the WRONG syringe!!! so my doses are probably sky high now, as well as an HOUR late!!
why do i bother ....i ask you!!!

Men!

If someone asked me to do something important like that, I'd probably be worried for hours that I'd forget it until I set a reminder on my phone.

In other news, I'm probably gonna get a moonlight for my tank at some point. I like playing my PS3 in the dark, and couldn't help but feel how awesome a moon light would look in my tank at that time. Plus the daylight bulb gets a bit much on the eyes when it's dark out as it lights up the whole room.

i was told you can get day and night setting ones..let me know what its like...i quite fancy that!

 

[CezzaXV]

I've looked around and while you can get proper moonlight bulbs at the correct frequency and such, most moonlight bulbs are just blue.

Still, will be nice to have on in the evenings when I want to be all cosy and don't want my bright white daylight bulb on. I've seen you can buy dimmer plugs too which will be ideal for adjusting the light to exactly how I want it.

It's not too expensive to set up, which surprised me. You can get a cheap one on ebay for £10-15, or an Interpet one for £23. Will probably pay out for the interpet one, as I've had bad experience with chinese electronics from eBay in the past. My first ever MP3 player was a chinese one from eBay and it was great. Lasted me years before it broke, and even then it was my fault. Ordered a few more MP3 players and other electronic bits from chinese sellers since then, and it's just been diabolical. Most things don't last more than a few months, and not sure I trust a chinese seller now to sell me something that goes around and/or in water!

 

[CezzaXV]

Not sure if I got 0.5 or 1ppm of ammonia this morning, but even if it is 1ppm and it's not processing as much as it was before that water change, I'm relieved. I was paranoid I would have done something wrong and come back in the morning to find the ammonia hadn't budged, the bacteria had all died and I had to start my cycle all over again! Phew!

 

[HayzH]

looking good...
well my cycle is as confused as i am!! with its overdose!!

 

[CezzaXV]

I'm confused about my cycle now too. My nitrite just doesn't seem to be shifting. Having said that, I'm adding 4ppm of ammonia a day, which is 10.8ppm of nitrite. I could be shifting loads of nitrite a day but as my test only goes up to 5ppm I wouldnt know it. Anyway, I decided to half dose ammonia again to 2ppm until I get another 0 on nitrite, just to set my mind at rest. I think I'm just getting disheartened as when I got my first 0 on ammonia, I got that every day, but right now I'm getting the same test results every day and nothing seems to be happening. I'm sure my nitrite is dropping, I just can't measure it.

Hopefully I'm getting close now.

 

[HayzH]

I'm confused about my cycle now too. My nitrite just doesn't seem to be shifting. Having said that, I'm adding 4ppm of ammonia a day, which is 10.8ppm of nitrite. I could be shifting loads of nitrite a day but as my test only goes up to 5ppm I wouldnt know it. Anyway, I decided to half dose ammonia again to 2ppm until I get another 0 on nitrite, just to set my mind at rest. I think I'm just getting disheartened as when I got my first 0 on ammonia, I got that every day, but right now I'm getting the same test results every day and nothing seems to be happening. I'm sure my nitrite is dropping, I just can't measure it.

Hopefully I'm getting close now.

i think you should stick to plan...if you see my log...tank 1 and 2 have been spiking for ages, even tank 2 with another w/c due to ph plummeting.
they say this stage takes twice as long as the first....think mines over that now...im really losing heart now
noone is saying im doing wrong or right....
paitence really isnt my thing!! argh

 

[CezzaXV]

I thought I was through that phase when I got my 0, but I guess not.

I just tested my nitrate though, and it's red today whereas it was orange yesterday, so at least I know something's happening.

Its getting really annoying now. For the last several days my test results have been in the morning 0.5ppm ammonia, nitrite off the scale, and in the evening 0ppm ammonia and nitrite still off the scale. It's so difficult to stay patient when nothing seems to be happening.


There is plenty of nitrite in there though. It was off the scale tonight BEFORE I put ammonia in, so I think a half dose on this one occasion won't hurt. Will review the situation tomorrow.

We WILL get there in the end! What fish are you planning on getting?

 

[HayzH]

in tank 1 i want neons, plattys, and a centre piece
tank 2 i want bigger fish maybe to breed eventually
tank 3 is my hospital tank, but it will be in sons room with a few mollies in.

you?

 

[CezzaXV]

Going for a betta (they've got some really gorgeous ones on bettaboys.co.uk so will probably get one there), some neons and some cories. I've heard neons can get nippy with bettas, but I'm gonna keep a close eye on them. I've got two friends who successfully keep neons with a betta so fingers crossed.

Ooh, I thought you might like to see this!

They're not day numbers along the bottom. Excel won't let me do it that way as I take multiple readings a day. Also, I WISH that most recent drop in nitrite was natural, but sadly it was just a water change. The nitrite is mostly estimated though and isn't staying the same all the time, but any time I get off the scale readings I put it as 10.

 

[CezzaXV]

Argh, I managed to break TWO test tubes in the space of about 5 seconds this morning! Not happy!

I think it's gonna have to be plastic ones for me from now on.