Fishless Cycling 5 Days On

[stef_uk]

So,after setting up my 260l tank with treated water,plants,heater,airstone and a nice piece of bogwood i began my cycle.

Now five days on i have a tank at 90f,yellowy/brown water and no noticable changes in Ammonia.
I have no idea what plants they are as they were not labelled,the easiest way to describe them are 2 with thin stems and then broad leaves and 2 that look like something out of jack and the beanstalk.I did manage to get hold of some Java moss which is attached to a little arched plastic bridge.

I boiled and boiled my bogwood before putting it in the tank to get rid of any tannins in it so i'm not sure if the wood is the reason for the water colour or if it is the cycle starting.

I've just found a tiny snail in there living on the glass thermometer who seems quite happy and is now named Boris.

Am i just being impatient in expecting to see changes so soon or am i destined to give boris the luxury of a tank to himself for the rest of his life?!

Oh yeah,i was also thinking of putting a Co2 ladder system in the tank.Am i better waiting until the cycle is complete or will it make no difference if i put it in before?

Thanks again for your help.
Stef_uk

 

[Miss Wiggle]

the problem with fishless cycling is that it can be unpredictable, while I've never heard of it out and out not working and not delivering the end result, some people will find it takes only a week or two, some it'll take months with no discernable differences in what they have done.

personally i would give it a few days more, let it get to 7 days, if nothing has happened by then do a 30% water change and see if that kick starts it.

 

[loachman]

The water color is probably a result of the bogwood, especially if it's mopani wood (it'll likely be 2 toned, a tan and a darker brown color. it's often very twisted as well). It's prefectly fine for fish. The vast majority of tropicals won't care.

The average time for a fishless cycle is probably ~2 weeks (?). So I wouldn't worry about it not being done yet.

 

[GoldLenny]

Are you adding ammonia according to the fishless cycle instructions? Which link/page are you using for instructions.

Most will tell you not to add plants, etc., as the plants will consume some or all of the ammonia you are adding, which defeats the purpose of doing a fishless cycle. Further, if you are planning on maintaining a planted tank, you may not have to do a fishless cycled, depending on the bioload of fish you plan to introduce. A planted tank, with enough plants, will utilize all of the ammonia excreted by the fish before any nitrifying bacteria ever get a chance to.

As others have said, the brown water is a result of the driftwood leeching tannins into the water. This will lower the pH of your tank.

If you are going to have a planted tank with fish, then you can start running carbon or other more advanced chemical filtration like Purigen, which will remove the tannins from the water. PWC's (partial water changes) will also remove the tannins.

You need to decide which way you are going to go and let us know so we can help guide you better.

What are your test results for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, KH and GH. If you don't have them all, give us what you have.

 

[Rooster]

Fishless cycling could take a couple of MONTHS.... there are so many variables, but Id be surprised if you see anything measurable inside 2 weeks, so just test for nitrites every other day and keep adding the ammonia.
Do NOT add any CO2 until the tank has cycled... I'd not bother with the plants until then either, but hey ho ;-) You will need to add some plant food if they have any chance (there are no nutrients in the tank yet, they will "starve")

Dont worry about the yellowing of the water - its going to be your wood, but you will be doing a water change after the cycle anyway.

What filter are you using ?

 

[stef_uk]

Thanks for all the help.

Ive just gone over everything in the tank and heres how it stands with the API Master Test Kit

approx. 4 Ammonia (a little bit lighter than 4 but too dark to be 2)
0 Nitrite
5 nitrate
6.8 Ph
I've just bought a Kh test and if ive done it right it reads as 3 drops which is 53.7 on the conversion chart.
I dont have a gh test kit yet.

When i got the plants i bought some API root tabs and put them in at the same time.

I havent thought about fish yet but im playing with the idea of a Blue Crayfish and a friend has said i can have one of his parrot fish if i want it.

I'm using the TetraTec 1200 and have taken the carbon out of it.

Hope this helps

Stef_uk.

 

[rdd1952]

I don't know anything about the parrot fish but the blue crawfish isnt a good match for any small community fish. He will eventually catch them and eat them.

 

[Phishy25]

My 260L tank is also fishless cycling. My ammonia levels dropped in exactly one week and I am now on my second week and both nitrites and nitrates are off the charts.

So give it a few more days and hopefully you will see results like I have. Good luck

 

[GoldLenny]

Phishy,

Did you seed your new tank with gravel or filter media or something from a cycled tank? It's unusual for a fishless cycle to happen in a week or two without adding something from a cycled tank to jump start things.

 

[rdd1952]

My 260L tank is also fishless cycling. My ammonia levels dropped in exactly one week and I am now on my second week and both nitrites and nitrates are off the charts.

So give it a few more days and hopefully you will see results like I have. Good luck

Phishy,

Did you seed your new tank with gravel or filter media or something from a cycled tank? It's unusual for a fishless cycle to happen in a week or two without adding something from a cycled tank to jump start things.

Only her ammonia dropped in a week and her nitrite and nitrate are still off the chart so it seems to be going about textbook right now. It will probably take the 3rd week for the nitrite to drop. That has been about mine have always gone. I agree that a week for everything to cycle would be all but impossible without seed media.

 

[GoldLenny]

Best case scenario is a few weeks. Many fishless cycles take up to two months. I'm betting when Phishy replies that they did seed the tank. Even the nitrosomonas bacteria (the ammonia eaters) take more than a week to colonize enough to handle 5ppm per day except for in best case scenarios or when the tank is seeded. The nitrosospira and nitrospira (the nitrite eaters) take even longer to fully colonize.

 

[rdd1952]

I guess I've been lucky then as I've had 2 cycle the same way (ammonia drop in 6 or 7 days and nitrites in another 2 weeks) with no seed media. But as you say some seem to take forever. I actually had one that I tried to cycle that after 18 days the ammonia had not changed at all and there was no nitrite. it never did anything. It was actually an experiment with nothing in the tank. No plants, no gravel, nothing. Only water, airstones, filter (HOB) and heater. Needless to say the experiment didn't help what I was trying to do.

 

[Phishy25]

No my tank hasn't finished cycling yet! Just the ammonia levels have dropped and I need to add ammonia daily to keep the bacteria going. I haven't used any media to seed the filter. I want it completely disease free, plus I have never attempted a fishless cycle before and I'm really pleased with the results so far. I agree with the above, it's all going textbook at the mo.

I am following the pinned "add & wait method" exactly!

 

[stef_uk]

Just quick update,

Ammonia is definately on 2 now
Ph has settled at 7
Nitrate is still at 5
Nitrite is now at 0.25

So either the tank is cycling or the readings i took yesterday were off from this mornings!

Oh yeah, i'm doing the Add and wait method as well.