Fishless Cycling Log - Add & Wait Method

[Aqua Tom]

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Only question is; after water change just prior to stocking do i keep dosing at 4ppm or do i reduce to 2ppm for a day or two?

If ther is going to be a days gap between waterchange & stocking I wouls suggest a low dose of ammonia, 2ppm as you said, any more & you run the risk of raising the Nitrates that you have just lowered by the waterchange.

Personaly i did my waterchange in the morning & got some fish in the afternoon.

Just set a day aside for it & if you have family shoo them out the door while you do it.

 

[Skins]

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Only question is; after water change just prior to stocking do i keep dosing at 4ppm or do i reduce to 2ppm for a day or two?

If ther is going to be a days gap between waterchange & stocking I wouls suggest a low dose of ammonia, 2ppm as you said, any more & you run the risk of raising the Nitrates that you have just lowered by the waterchange.

Personaly i did my waterchange in the morning & got some fish in the afternoon.

Just set a day aside for it & if you have family shoo them out the door while you do it.

I did exactly the same as Tom, waterchange in the morning and stocked the tank in the afternoon.

Keith.

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, waterchange same day as stocking or waterchange Saturday and introduction Sunday, both are very common for the big first stocking weekend. You actually have more leeway than you think. The bacterial colonies would not drop size all that much if they went two days without their ammonia "food." Likewise, you can dose them a bit of ammonia as mentioned and they will clear both the ammonia and nitrite within a half day and not that much nitrate will have been made, so this sort of thing can string you along and add even a couple more days if something goes slightly wrong with fish aquisition.

One of the first things to think about with your stocking plan is guessing at your hardness. What sort of pH does your tap water settle to about 48 hours after it comes out of the tap (in a jar, not the tap, for instance.) I don't think it necessary to go to the expense of a GH/KH kit unless there is real concern but of course if you had those numbers that settles it much more definately than pH.

You mentioned Serpae or Cherry Barbs and these are quite different fish (except in color range and perhaps that was it.) As long as you stock 6 and preferably more you should be ok with the Serpae but always be aware that the caution of them being among the kings of nippers is real - anything goes wrong with them keeping each other busy and they'll turn their attention to nipping everyone else in the tank. Cherries are quite the opposite, being docile and polite community tank members. They, however, will not shoal anywhere near as beautifully as Serpae and thus the effect of their color addition to the tank will be different. There will be more times when you look at the tank and see all the cherries just poking around in different places individually. Both these fish tend to like plant cover, but will adapt to less.

Danios appreciate a lot of clear surface running room, but both danios and BNs will be pretty foolproof members of most community plans (I forget if danios sometimes tend to like it slightly colder so sometimes don't go well if you have one of the few types of something else that really wants it warmer.. GBRs? Anyway sometimes temp ranges are another thing to pencil down in your notes.) If you are thinking about any types of rainbows then drobbyb is your man and once you get your ducks in a row you could pm him and ask him to comment on the plan.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[BIG BAD BARRY]

Gents thanks for your replies.
Couldnt post for most of yesterday as the net went down!

I am still waiting on a few thinks for the setup so the weekend may look favourite.
WD - thanks for note about fin nippers.
I saw some torpedo denison barbs in a tank the same length as mine and they looked fantastic. So fast and great together. There were about 10-12 toghther. They are about £12 each so would add up loads! Anyway they seem popular and are sold out locally. From info it seems they are being badly targetted in natural habitat due to popularity!

With regards to ph. It settles in the established tank to 7.6. I am retesting the tap water again which is at 8.3-8.4 when first poured.

 

[BIG BAD BARRY]

Day 36 - 12HR TEST

Tested approx 12hrs after dose

Temp 28.3 (27)c

Nitite - 1.0ppm possibly higher
Tested again at 14hrs and was 0.5ppm
Is this because the cycle is dragging due to nitrates affecting the N-Bacs or is it because i cleaned the inside of the tank glass of the dusty covering (this is the only thing done differently). See what tonights readings are.

Ph 7.6 on LR. HR not tested.

Ammonia - 0ppm



Day 37

Tested approx 24hrs after previous dose

Temp 28c (glass /alcohol thermometer reading 27)

Ph - LR PH 7.6.

Ammonia not tested due to being 0ppm at 12hr test

Nitite 0ppm

Nitrate - as yesterday

Added 12.5ml ammonia for 4ppm.

 

[BIG BAD BARRY]

Day 37 - 12HR TEST

Tested approx 12hrs after dose

Temp 28.2

Nitite - 2.0ppm possibly higher
Just when you thought....................
Ph is holding fine at the moment.

Ph 7.6 on LR. HR not tested.

Ammonia - 0ppm


The first residents for this tank were bought today. 3 Bristlenose plecs. They are chillin in the other tank.


Water change, set up and stock friday/saturday hopefully.

 

[BIG BAD BARRY]

At 14hrs after dosing nitrite showing 2ppm.

 

[Skins]

At 14hrs after dosing nitrite showing 2ppm.

Barry,
I hope the same thing dosn't happen to you like it did with me, where that 2ppm nitrite 12hr test hangs around. Have a word with WD and see if a waterchange or adding some bicarb could be of help.

Keith.

 

[waterdrop]

Yeah, I don't think you guys realized how radical I was being in my suggestion you could just cut short and half (or whatever.. partial) stock! This tank is not finished yet per our normal method (after all, it's only at day 37 and many of them stretch out to 70 days to really get the 12hour double-zero!) It's usually not our little day to day things but just that the process can be that slow I think.

But its really hard to judge how overly stringent our methodology is sometimes since one of our other observations is that nearly every time someone has gone at least a month but then stopped the process while 12-hour nitrite blips were still showing up and stocked more lightly (perhaps 40-60% stockings?) and then watched for fish-in blips very closely, they essentially have just not happened. But the potential for it turning into a bit of a fish-in cycle is very much there, so you have to judge if you're ready and willing to take on that little bit of extra risk, so I guess we have to put that question to you Barry.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[BIG BAD BARRY]

Keith,

The nitrite appears to have stalled but it is going at the 24hr mark.

Will wait for WD to advise but i think he mentioned to go ahead and stock but at a low level.




Day 38

Tested approx 24hrs after previous dose

Temp 28c

Ph - LR PH on 7.6.

Ammonia not tested due to being 0ppm at 12hr test

Nitite 0ppm

Nitrate - as yesterday

Added 12.5ml ammonia for 4ppm.

 

[BIG BAD BARRY]

Just posted at same time as WD!!!!!!

Dont want a fish in cycle at.

Will do a water change and setup ready for stocking but will continue cycling without fiish to get the double zeros me thinks.

No point point risking things now as patience is one thing i have certainly learned here!

 

[Skins]

Keith,

The nitrite appears to have stalled but it is going at the 24hr mark.

Will wait for WD to advise but i think he mentioned to go ahead and stock but at a low level.




Day 38

Tested approx 24hrs after previous dose

Temp 28c

Ph - LR PH on 7.6.

Ammonia not tested due to being 0ppm at 12hr test

Nitite 0ppm

Nitrate - as yesterday

Added 12.5ml ammonia for 4ppm.

Just read WD's post Barry. If you were me i would wait it out a bit longer just to see if those bl**dy nitrite bacs buck their ideas up.

Keith.

 

[BIG BAD BARRY]

Day 38 - 12HR TEST

Tested approx 12hrs after dose

Temp 29 - Have raised temperature back up

Nitite - 2.0ppm+

Ph 7.6 on LR. HR not tested.

Ammonia - not tested


Off to day 39 we go!

Just as i was typing this i have heard the sound of dripping and upon checking found the small tank leaking which was ok at 10pm when the lights went out. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Its a slow leak from the bottom somewhere.

 

[waterdrop]

A leak is a very bad thing obviously, you need to act quickly.

In the main fishless cycle I think you are making the right choice to give the N-Bacs more time. 2.0 at 12 hours is pretty high unfortunately.

WD

 

[BIG BAD BARRY]

Yep, from 0.5ppm at 12hrs and 0ppm at 14hrs it was disapointing to see.

What a night!

The water appeared to be coming from the bottom of the tank and at the same time noticed that one of the new bristlenoses appeared to be stuck inside the outlet of one of he filters. It had been sitting on the nozzle all evening and hanging its tail in the bubble stream. All three BNs had managed to get over the tank divider (which was above the water level) to get to this filter. Managed to get it out the nozzle and got the filter working. The leak appeared to be very slow and was coming from the front.
As the majority of the fish and the tank were my 5 year old daughters present and purchases i decided that the main tank that was cycling was going to have to be their new home. Not good to find dead fish and broken tank in the morning before school.

I was going to have to cut the cycling short on the main tank and do a water change.
After completing the gravel vac down to the substrae i decided to check on the leaking tank and it was leaking again!
There appeared to be a blockage in the outlet of the filter and water was diverting out through the air inlet which hangs outside the tank.
I have checked it and cannot find anything obvious.
The good news is that the tank is not leaking and it was water that had trickled down at the back and gathered underneath and seeped out slowly.
I have to hope that the other filter which has been running along side it for about 8 weeks is cycled sufficiently. Did a 50% water change on it today as ammonia and nitrite were zero and nitrates were approaching 80ppm. Will have to monitor it closely.

Back to the main cycling tank.
It has had a full gravel vac and water change down to the gravel. I have been able to add the water back at almost the cycling temperature.
I have added some mopani and bogwood. Only one piece is new and unused but has been soaked and boiled. Some tannins were released but the water has cleared up quickly.
Will wait another few hours and then resume testing and dosing.
Should i stick with 4ppm ammonia or drop back down to 2ppm?

If someone can advise me please.