Fishless Cycling-day 12-questions!

[itsmedeanna64]

Good Morning, I am on day 12 of fishless cycling my 29 gal tank. My temp is 80 degrees, I have 2 live plants that I put in on day 3 and along with them came a handful of baby hitch hiker snails. I have been getting a couple of snails out a day.....so I have been testing every morning and this morning (day 12) here are my readings:
Ammonia-2.0
nitrates-0
nitrites-0
ph-6.6

So, is there anything I should do for now? When should I do a water change and when? Will my ammonia get higher then fall on its on? Should I worry about the ph? I would appreciate some info...Before now I've just had small goldfish in bowls. This is the 1st time I am doing the whole cycling thing and I'm going in blind!

 

[rdd1952]

Something isn't right. If your ammonia was higher and has dropped, you should have nitrites and possibly nitrates too. Turn the temperature up. It should be in the mid to upper 80s (possibly lower 90s) for cycling. You also need an air stone or some means of extra aeration. Are you adding ammonia daily or did you just add it once to start? What was the highest ammonia reading you had at the beginning? Check the thread in my signature. It should answer all your questions on fishless cycling.

PS: I see that your group is "Validating". You will need to go to the email that you received when you registered and click the link to validate or you will only be able to post in the Newbie and Beginners sections.

 

[Squid]

Im new to this too, but I was under the impression that the ammonia levels should have been higher in the first place, as the fishless cycle method recommends you put in 5-6ppm of ammonia in the tank to start the cycle (so you shouldnt be waiting for them to rise). This level should then decrease over time as the bacteria develops, and its your nitrites level will then start to increase. I believe it is then down to you to increase the ammonia levels to 3-4 ppm to sustain the ammonia reducing bacteria and continue with the cycle, whilst the nitrites and nitrates sort themselves out...

I expect somebody with more experience will help you more, but thats my two penneth..... GOOD LUCK!

Bah.. that RDD always beats me to it.. i reckon he has a cycle watch hidden in the depths of this forum

Squid

 

[itsmedeanna64]

Okay, this is the highest my ammonia has been. It hasn't gotten higher and then dropped. I have been testing every day. My ph has been a tad higher but has dropped to what it is now. I will turn the temp up today. I am keeping my hood light on about 15 hrs a day. I didn't add ammonia in the beginning. I used fish flakes but didn't put in much. Is this where I went wrong? I was having trouble finding ammonia so I did fish flakes. As far as extra aeration, I have a 12 inch long bubble wall up and running since day 3.

So does anyone have any suggestions for me now? What would YOU do now?

 

[Squid]

I dont know much about doing it with fish flakes.. i have bought ammonia to kick mine off. sounds like you do need more fish flakes to me, and as RDD said, if the ammonia was being broken down you should have seen some increase in the nitrite levels..

Sorry im not much help.. can anyone recommend anything here please ???

 

[rdd1952]

Even though you should have started with the ammonia higher at around 5 or 6 ppm, you should have still seen some drop in the 2 ppm by now. Did you use dechlorinator when you set the tank up? If not, that is the problem. The chlorine is killing the bacteria before they can develop. If not then I'm at a loss unless it's the cooler water is inhibiting growth.

One other thing, since you used flakes, it wasn't an instant 2 ppm of ammonia. It would have taken a few days for it to break down and turn to ammonia. I would suggest raising the temp and also adding about twice as many flakes as you originally added (that should get you another 4 ppm) and then give it a few days. If you can get some media from another cycled tank, that would help also.

 

[itsmedeanna64]

I have since found some ammonia, just a few days ago. Would you go ahead and use the ammonia now? If so, how many drops? (29 gallon)

 

[rdd1952]

I would definitely use the ammonia. It's much easier to regulate. It's hard to say how much since droppers are different and one bottle of ammonia may be stronger than the next. The best thing to do is run 5 gallon of water in a bucket and add about 5 drops of ammonia. Swirl the water around with your hand to mix it good and then test. If the reading is say 3ppm, then you know that adding 10 drops should raise it to about 6 ppm so about 50 drops would raise your tank to about 6 ppm (that's allowing for about 25 gallon of water since the substrate and decorations are displacing some water).

 

[itsmedeanna64]

Thanks so much to RDD and Squid for helping me out here! It is SSSOOO much appreciated!!

 

[Squid]

No problem.. Good Luck

 

[dgwebster]

if you have not already done it, I also recommend getting to a pharmacy to buy a 5ml syringe to add your drops... Once you have figured out how many drops you need for your tank (eg, I required 118) draw 5ml of your ammonia solution and count out your drops as you add them. note how much you have left (eg, after 118 I had 1ml left) and subtract it. You then know the exact draw value to raise your tank to about 6ppm (i.e. when my tanks goes to zero ammonia, I will draw 4ml and add it, instead of counting another 118 drops.)

I know im explaining something rather simple, but some people may often miss this simple way of making their day easier.