Fish-Less Cycle Diary

[PDSimon]

Good stuff!

 

[mata]

Missed the last 2 days of tests due to a death in the family, but I'm back on hte case! Chuffed to see that the Ph has stayed at 8.2 now for 4 days and the Ammonia has hit 0 finally for the first time. Was a bit of a funny result with the Nitrate result but anyway. A redose of Ammonia of 3.5ml to bring it up to 5ppm and thats me done for tonight, hopefully a drop again in Ammonia.

 

[PDSimon]

nitrate tests aren't good especially when fishless cycling....

sorry to hear of a death, hope all is well...

Glad to hear of the good cycling results tho.

 

[mata]

The last couple of days tests have been good. Looks like Ammonia is now dropping to 0 in 24 hours, but the Nitrite is still off the scale, should I do 75% to 100% water change to at least get it back on scale? Or will I leave it untill it reaches back on scale itself? Maybe even a 150% change.

Did a check after yesterdays test after I put Ammonia in I just wanted to check that I was putting it up to 5ppm, I guess I wasnt convinced of it dropping in 24 after the wait too get to 0 first time.

Also put my slate caves/constructions into the tank too looks awsome, cant wait to get plants to finish it off nicely. Will get a photo or two up soon.

The tanks looking a bit cloudy still and the sides of the tank need a bit of a clean too

 

[PDSimon]

Probably asked this before but are the lights just on for the picture? If not, lighting + ammonia = lots of algae, so beware!

Slate is practically inert so its ok in the tank the caves look good, what fish are you thinking of stocking?

Regarding the nitrites, its up to you but personally I waited AGES for nitrites to come down and it just took so long, I did a waterchange and it sped things up. People say waterchanges can stall the cycle but i've never experienced a stall from a temperature matched waterchange.

 

[mata]

Yea the lights are just on for the photo's, I had read about the algae problems so its cool.

I will be stocking 4-5 corys, 4-5 guppies and maybe a few others..tetras maybe. Depending on the stocking level of the tank, basically I want corys and the wife wants something that 'doesn't look boring' lol. I will probably have to order fish online, mainly because my LFS isn't actually a fish shop and really doesn't have much and if they do they don't look healthy/dead fish in tanks now and again.

Thanks I think in that case i will do a water change either tonight or tomorrow.

 

[mata]

Ok well Ammonia gone in 24hours again so that seems routine now. Did as close as I could 100% water change but still result for Nitrite is 5+ but I guess I should be closer to the scale now than before.

 

[PDSimon]

Apparently nitrites have the tendancy to stay closer to the substrate..and when concentrated its hard to get rid of them.

if its anything like my cycle it should start processing the nitrite much better now.

 

[mata]

Hadn't updated my results in a cuple of days now so here they are. Still in the nitrite spike, thats 20 days since it was below 5+ hopefully come to an end soon, might do another big water change soon if yous recomend.

Another worry I have is that my Ph is consistantly dropping all the time, its never really settled, had to put more bicarbonate into the tank to raise it from 7.2, which brough it back to 8.2 now its back to 7.8 yesterday. So will test tonight and see whats its at now. Is this likley to become stable after the cycle or will I possibly have problems with this in future?

Thanks again!

 

[PDSimon]

I had to use bicarb quite a bit too, nearly went through a whole tub. Now i've added fish the pH is stable. It is dropping a bit but that is expected from having such quick drops when cycling I think... I also have bogwood in my tank, along with my water with low buffering capacity means its going to go down some what.

 

[OldMan47]

The bicarb is not a problem for fish if it is just the amount you need to control pH in a cycle. There are forums where they would recommend bicarb on a tank with fish in it. I will not recommend that because I don't like the rapid increase in mineral content and pH that comes with a harsh chemical treatment like that. If you need to add a buffer after you are cycled, there are gentler ways to do it. Many fish keepers find that a cycled tank with fish in it is more stable than one that is cycling and the weekly water changes are enough to keep their pH at reasonable levels. We will just need to wait and see on that.

 

[mata]

Well over the last week my results haven't been kept up to date due to illness but back to 100% and things are looking very good.

The nitrite spike seems to be over and readings are now at 0 and still 0 after 12hours, Ammonia clear for 12 hours. So will now be doing my 12hour tests from now on. Will have to order plants soon I think and look at stocking properly.

First thoughts are: 4 Peppered Cories, 4/5 Male Guppies and possibly a pair of Bolivian Rams. I will be looking to order online, which are the best places? A major thing to consider is where I live (Western Isles) which is an Island off the North West Scotland. Also what are thoughs on other stocking ideas?

Plant wise, some Java Moss, Java Fern (would this grow off my slate if tied?) and some other low tech plants. I have a 15w T8 tube I think, don't want to go down Co2 route, would this be ok?

Thanks again all.

 

[OldMan47]

Java fern will grow fine tied to a piece of slate. Mine are mostly tied to bog wood but that is a decorating choice for them, not a necessity. Java moss grows just fine floating loose in the tank but can be tied wherever you please. I use both although the java moss needs much less light to thrive than even java fern. I have even grown it with just the indirect light from a north facing window 6 feet from the tank. In that tank it stayed nicely free of algae which is not the case in a well lit tank. Another option for very low light is Anubias nana. It also needs to be tied above the substrate but is an attractive plant that will flower fo you. The flower is not very impressive when the plant is submerged as we tend to do but it does happen. This is one of my Anubias blooms.

 

[mata]

Well its been a long time since updating this. I will have to input all the rest of my results but heres where i am now.... got my first three fish yesterday and will be getting more ordered soon as well as plants. Got 2 Dalmation mollies and a Fighting fish, not a perfect match but the wife really wanted the fighting fish and the mollies were in the same tank and looked very peacfull together. I watched the tank for a long time before deciding to go with it. So after buying them in Pets at home inverness they survived the long journey to where I live (including a ferry journey!) and went in the tank last night. All is well today and the fighting fish is actually looking very friendly with the mollies...will see how it goes anyway.

Going to order some live plants tonight and the will be ordering 4 corys aswell for the tank to finish it off for just now. Will add pics up later on.

 

[OldMan47]

I always keep my fighters with other fish. As long as the other fish are fairly peaceful, the betta will be fine. Cories and plants would indeed round out the stocking nicely. I don't recall the size of your tank but, if it is big enough, try to get at least 5 or 6 cories of all the same species.