Cycling My Tank :0

[coco*butter]

StillDay 11
12 hour check
Amonnia= 0.50ppm
N02= 1.0ppm {Nitrite}
N03= 40ppm {Nitrate}

 

[coco*butter]

Day 12
25 hour check
Amonnia= 0.ppm
N02= 0.0ppm {Nitrite}
N03= 20ppm {Nitrate}

Added Ammonia 7ml at 10:00am

 

[coco*butter]

Still Day 12
12 hour check
Amonnia= 0.ppm
N02= 1.0ppm {Nitrite}
N03= 40ppm {Nitrate}


Ok do I add ammonia since it drop 0 at 12 hours or Do I still add at 24 hours?

 

[waterdrop]

Still add at 24 hours (always!) ... let those N-Bacs munch on the excess NO2 for a while!

 

[coco*butter]

Day 13
25 hour check
Amonnia= 0.ppm
N02= .0ppm {Nitrite}
N03= 20-40ppm {Nitrate}


Added Ammonia 7ml 10:00am

 

[coco*butter]

Still Day 13
12 hour check
Amonnia= 0.0ppm
N02= 0.25ppm {Nitrite}
N03= 20-40ppm {Nitrate}

 

[waterdrop]

Y'know coco, I was sitting here looking at your post this morning and for the first time I noticed the "Amrid" listed with your filter in your sig. Looked back also and noticed that your ammonia dropped to 1.0 the very first day after you raised it to 4.0 even though you didn't have any mature media. Started to get a sickening feeling we -missed- something important possibly.. now I don't really know, so don't get worried right away.. but maybe we can get some help from the members ??

What does the Amrid look like? Am I right is assuming this was a bag/packet of something that came with the filter, perhaps an Aquaclear product.... OK, DARN, I found it, even found a like seeming to confirm that its just their brand of... ZEOLITE! How much of this stuff is in your filter? This is a -chemical- ammonia remover, which would explain the immediate ammo drop you got right at the beginning and would explain why you keep getting numbers that look so positive so early in the game so to speak.

I've got to run in a bit but I'd like the other members to confirm and I think we need to get that Zeolite out of there, replacing it with some normal biomedia! The zeolite removes the ammonia that's needed to feed the bacteria and have them grow! It basically stops the fishless cycling process before it ever gets started.

Now it may be that the zeolite hasn't been able to remove -all- the ammonia, so our 2 weeks won't be completely wasted, as there may still be a small colony of bacteria started, but we need to get the zeolite out of there so the bacteria will see higher levels of ammonia, produce more nitrite and get the nitrite-eaters going.

'course, hope the note in your sig is for this tank, I didn't even look very closely...

~~waterdrop~~

 

[coco*butter]

Day 14
24 hour check
Amonnia= 0.0ppm
N02= 0.0ppm {Nitrite}
N03= 20-40ppm {Nitrate}

Added Ammonia 7ml at 10:30am

Dear Waterdrop This is the only products they sell in all the fish store in the area even big shops. It's on the piture box of any media you buy. No where here could i get bioMax, only online. Which I use when I make huge orders $$. I think the name Amrid say it all Ammonia Rid, take away ammonia
This is what say's: Amrid
Zeolite in specially sized bags for removal of "Ammonia". For use with freshwater only. 11-1/8 oz. <That the size I have.
I think we all miss that and I didnt put up my sig until my third day. But I did put it for that reason, to see if all look ok to you guys. Anyway I will remove it and go it some floss or any other bio balls.

Another note, just in case, I have a filter running through out the house, those biigggg filter to clean the water, a water softern system where u add salt or potassium and I also have in r/o under the sink for drinking purposes. All the water from the house is filtered and the drink one is filter and goes through the R/O. I hope this make sense.
I still put the reading as Tap in one of my beggining comments if you see. Anyway let me know and Thank you, wont tell hubby LOL
Will have to start over
Thank you

 

[coco*butter]

Day 14
Removed Amrid at 12:00pm- Havent added any other bio-media

 

[coco*butter]

Day 15
25 hour check
Amonnia= 0.ppm
N02= .25ppm {Nitrite}
N03= 40ppm {Nitrate}


Added Ammonia 7ml 12:00pm

 

[coco*butter]

Day 16
24 hour check
Amonnia= 0.ppm
N02= .25ppm {Nitrite}
N03= 40ppm {Nitrate}


Added Ammonia 7ml 12:00pm

I dont know If the Amrid is still active since I remove it yesterday at 12pm because the reading are the same.

 

[coco*butter]

Still Day 16
12 hour check
Amonnia= 0.ppm
N02= 1.0ppm {Nitrite}
N03= -40ppm {Nitrate}

 

[waterdrop]

OK, this was tough to have to do but you've done the right thing in my opinion.

Removing the Amrid will do 2 things:
1) it will set you back because some of the bacteria would have been "on it."
2) it will get you going in the right direction because now there will be ammonia for the bacteria to eat and develop

House water:
Hopefully OM47 will come along and repeat his recent lecture about house water softener sytstems. If not I'll try to do searches or maybe another member can link that thread for us, was a recent one here in our beginners section I believe...

Basically, house softener systems are bad because they need two salt ions per every one ion in the water they are matching up against and you end up with too many of the wrong kinds of salts for fish. We may need to see whether there is a way to tap off the water prior to it getting into that system or some other alternative...

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Dogson]

Knowing how painful Cycling is as I'm going through it (not the menstrual cycle), i'm gutted to read that you had this 'amrid' in your tank! Well spotted Waterdrop!
What a bummer but good luck with the remainder of your cycle

 

[coco*butter]

Hello everyone and thank you for your advice! I have a hose outside of my house that I use to water my grass and garden, that the one that doesnt go through the system so it straight from the city water. That is the one I use to fill up my tank with my python hose.
Anyhow is my R/O water still good?
Thanks again