Fishless Cycle...erm Oops!

[Frost]

Hello.

Okay, so i filled my tank with water, got it to 80-85'f and got my filter and airpump working. The come the part to add the amonia.

Well. I didnt have a dropper, so i used a medicine measurer to add amonia to my tank, I started with 2.5ml of Jeyes Amonia stuff. And then did an API test master test for amonia. I read it at about 0.25 - 0.50 ish ( i didnt read until afterwards that you need to leave it for 5 mins before reading it). So i thought i need a whole lot more amonia in the tank. I've now got 10ml of jeyes in my tank and i can literally see the test water changing to an extremely dark green colour as i type this. It's pretty much on par with 8ppm (the bottom of the chart); does it get any darker if its over 8ppm? or is that the darkest the liquid goes?

What do you suggest i do? Leave it for a week, and see if it eventually starts going down?

Thanks for any advice!

Frost

 

[Maxta]

You using the add and wait method or add daily?

Id do a water change and start again.

 

[Frost]

You using the add and wait method or add daily?

I'm trying to do the add and wait method. .

Id do a water change and start again.

Is it not possible for the bacteria to start to breed with such a high amount of amonia then?

 

[BigIan]

just do a partial water change, to bring it down to 5-6 ppm

as thats the darkest the test will go it may well be over 8ppm

 

[Maxta]

You using the add and wait method or add daily?

I'm trying to do the add and wait method. .

Id do a water change and start again.

Is it not possible for the bacteria to start to breed with such a high amount of amonia then?

I guess it is possible for them to breed, im no expert so someone correct me if im wrong. Its just the fact that it will take longer to get down to ~1 which is when you add your next dose, and if youre like me and impatient, it gets annoying just waiting and hoping lol. Then once it starts processing faster you just add more back upto 3-4 each time.

At least thats what im doing. However i think my water change yesterday slowed my cycle down. I added ammonia to 2 ppm at 6pm yesterday, at 11pm it was at 1 ppm, this morning it was at 0.50 ppm, and this afternoon it was the same. Hopefully its gone down further tonight though.

Oh and keep a note of all your readings, and produce a nice excel line chart - easier for people to interpret!!

 

[OohFeeshy]

It's entirely up to you- while leaving it at that level will take longer, it will also mean more bacteria will build up.

 

[mark.w.jones]

You really need to get hold of a pipette / dropper. Miles more accurate than a measuring cup. Just buy yourself a fish med of some description. It's always worth having some in stock incase you get problems in the future. You'll find a medicine dropper in the vast majority of them. That way you can add your ammonia in drops.

It needs raising up to 5ppm every time it drops down near to 0ppm. Eventually, this may mean adding ammonia twice a day.

 

[Frost]

Thanks a lot for the help folks. I've had a nightmare this evening trying to get this Cycle started.

I've been swapping water in and out of the tank over and over and over again to try and get a half decent reading with the test kit (must have done about 10 Amonia tests!). I think at last the amonia is down between 7.5 and 8. Thats going to have to do.

Also, i bought some aqua-safe 500ml. It seems from changing the water so many times today i've used over 1/4 of the bottle in a day and this isnt cheap stuff. Is it vital to use aqua-safe?

Thanks a bunch!

Frost

 

[rdd1952]

just do a partial water change, to bring it down to 5-6 ppm

I agree. Not necessarily because it's too high for the bacteria to form but so you will know exactly where you started (right now you could be a 8, 10 12 ppm, who knows). Probably a 25 to 30 percent WC will get you back to the 4-5 ppm range. If it doesn't then you really did have it up there. You could always do 50% just to make sure.

Best way to figure out how much to add is to use a 5 gallon bucket. If it takes 10 drops to raise 5 gallon to 4 ppm, then multiply it out to see what you need for the full tank.

 

[Frost]

Probably a 25 to 30 percent WC will get you back to the 4-5 ppm range. If it doesn't then you really did have it up there. You could always do 50% just to make sure.

Seems like ive done about 150% water change just to get it to about 7-8ppm.

I took 50% out, the refilled back to full. Tested - still over 8ppm.
took another 50% out and refilled back to full. Testes - still over 8ppm
took abouter 50% out and refilled back to full and the reading is roughly 7-8ppm so i called it a night. (how frustrating that all was!)

Cheers

 

[rdd1952]

If you have it back to a readable number (not totally green and off the chart), then I wouldn't worry about changing any more. The bacteria will develop. The main reason for know where you start is to be able to see when ammonia starts to drop and when you should start testing for nitrite.