Fishless cycling and nutrafin cycle

[Dorsal]

Well, I have my new tank It's about 50 gal, and has gravel, plants, Seccond hand rocks and a log, a fluval 404 filter and no fish!! A friend put some nutrafin cycle in the tank when we set it up 2 days ago. does this contain any anti-amonia chemicals? Can i use the fishless cyclin tecnique suggested here with this stuff in the tank, or should I drain the water??

I bought my amonia today too. It's pure, but only 4% by by volume. How many ml should I put in to get the right amount of amonia in the tank??

Thanks

 

[Dorsal]

The levels of everything were 0, which is pretty much what you would expect I guess

I have added 9ml of amonia solution, and the level is now in the 4-5 ppm range. We'll see what happens next

 

[modernhamlet]

You've got it right. Don't worry about the strength of the ammonia. Just keep the level at around 4-5ppm and the tank should cycle nicely.

Most people think that Cycle and other similar product are marginally effective at best and aren't worth the money.

What you need most now is a source of bacteria. Gravel or filter floss from an established tank would be ideal.

My 29g tank took 19 days to fishless cycle. Good luck with yours!

 

[thecichlidaddict]

You've got it right. Don't worry about the strength of the ammonia. Just keep the level at around 4-5ppm and the tank should cycle nicely.

You want to add enough ammonia to get to 4-5ppm, keeping track of exactly how much ammonia you used to do it. Then add that same amount every day regardless of what the ammonia ppm is. Once nitrites appear you can reduce the dosage by half.

 

[Dorsal]

Thanks people. I've got second hand aquarium rocks, a log, and plants, so Im hoping we can get a start from there

 

[Dorsal]

24 hours later, and there was only .5-1 ppm amonia left I added the same again, and it went back to 4-5 ppm. I wonder where it is going ?? Maybe into the filter??

anyway nitrites are vew low, but there is some colour in the test kit where I don't remember any colour last night. I wonder if something is happening ?? The plants are rocking on, and the moss on the rocks looks very healthy

 

[Dorsal]

Whooohooooo

My fishless cycle is working. Only 5 days after I started it, my nitrites are 3, and my nitrate is 80. I have cut the amonia back from 9ml to 4ml. my Amonia leve before treating the tank was 3.5 ppm, so I'll be looking forward to a nice drop in that by tomorrow night.

I intend to add fish some time later next week. I was thinking of doing a massive water change now, and then again a day or two before the fish arrive? Any thoughts on this?

And another question, can i add my de-chlorinator to the tank, and then add the tap water, or should I mix the tap water with the de-chlorinator, and then add it to the tank??

Thanks

 

[modernhamlet]

I know it's hard, but wait until both ammonia AND nitrites read at 0 less than 24 hours after adding your standard 1/2 dose. That way you know for certain that they are changing ammonia to nitrite to nitrate quickly and efficiently. Sounds like you're on your way, but try to be patient. The nitrite eating bacteria often take a bit longer than the ammonia eaters to get fully established. Once you've got ammonia=0 and nitrite=0 do as big a water change as feasible to get rid of the accumulated nitrates and you're ready for fish.

Good luck!

 

[Dorsal]

I know it's hard, but wait until both ammonia AND nitrites read at 0 less than 24 hours after adding your standard 1/2 dose. That way you know for certain that they are changing ammonia to nitrite to nitrate quickly and efficiently. Sounds like you're on your way, but try to be patient. The nitrite eating bacteria often take a bit longer than the ammonia eaters to get fully established. Once you've got ammonia=0 and nitrite=0 do as big a water change as feasible to get rid of the accumulated nitrates and you're ready for fish.

Good luck!

OK, I'll wait thanks

 

[Dorsal]

Well the good news is that Amonia is now down to 0 at the end of the 24H cycle.

However, my nitrites are still through the roof (3). How long does it normally take for them to reduce?

 

[pendragon]

An eternity. A watched kettle never boils.

In all seriousness, it normally takes longer to see nitrite drop than it did for ammonia. It will probably be a few days, but when you're cycling a tank it seems like *forever* no matter what. The nitrite-eating bacteria are just slower-building than the ammonia-eating ones are.

Just be patient. If you continue what you're doing, it's inevitable that the tank *will* cycle.

pendragon!

 

[swammy]

I hate repeating what others say, but seriously....ur better off waiting. I didn't wait, and Now i'm still trying to cycle my tank without killing my fish...and it's been running for a month!! Very difficult!! Anyways, good luck on your tank, and I hope all goes well with you. I know it will be worth the wait!!

 

[Dorsal]

I hate repeating what others say, but seriously....ur better off waiting. I didn't wait, and Now i'm still trying to cycle my tank without killing my fish...and it's been running for a month!! Very difficult!! Anyways, good luck on your tank, and I hope all goes well with you. I know it will be worth the wait!!

Thanks mate

As of last night, the amonia levels are absoltuely zero, but nitrites are through the roof. Obviously the amonia bacteria has kicked in, but the nitrite bacteria seems to be taking it's time. I will keep monitoring it every day. Hopefully it will break soon. I'd really like to fish it on Sunday, but if it's not right, it won't happen