Fishless Cycling Tries The Patience

[lordtrini]

So this is week 2 of my fish ever fishless cycle on a 72 Gallon tank. (i seeded it with mature gravel and filter media)
I can now go from 1ppm of ammonia to 0 in 24 hours...

My Nitrites are still high... so i am going to keep feeding the tank with ammonia till Thursday, Then i will do a massive water change and then add 16 Black Neons and 5 Ghost Crayfish...

I am planning to add my 6 X 3inch Discus about 2 weeks after that...

Well at least my currently empty tank has slot of plants that are doing well....

 

[snowflake311]

It's only been 2 weeks and your going to add fish. NO NO NO that's not how it works. Your Nitrites are still high that means your only half way done. I started cycling my tank April 20th around then and just today my nitrites finally have started to go down. They went down to .05 on their own. Now my Nitrates are around 20. So I am just now going to order my fish BUT will not add them till my Nitrites are at 0. Then do a large water change to get the Nitrates down check that for a week and then add the fish slowly.

If you want to do a fishless cycle now is not the time to add the fish. You have to keep waiting.

 

[lordtrini]

more waiting........ good god

 

[saz326]

the wait is worth it. Painfull as it is

 

[Ace Of Spades]

more waiting........ good god

Lol'd, If you had mature media why did you cycle?

 

[minxfishy]

The end of a fishless cycle is when your filter bacteria has grown enough to process 5ppm of ammonia to nitrAtes in under 12 hours, so you will need to wait until the nitrItes are also being processed in 12 hrs, then leave it another week still adding the ammonia to ensure it is completely ready and you dont have a blip in the cycle, then you can do the large water change to get the nitrAtes down and add fish

 

[waterdrop]

more waiting........ good god

Lol'd, If you had mature media why did you cycle?

There are lots of varieties of situations people have with mature media, so applying the fishless cycle process to the end of the mature media process is a good way to test what you actually got. The media being able to drop 5ppm ammonia concentration to zero ppm ammonia and zero ppm nitrite(NO2) in 12 hours or less, and to do that reliably for a week or so, is a really reliable test of the type of mature colonies that will withstand the big water change and new fish introductions without giving blips. Those kinds of colony sizes also are better able to respond to further new fish introductions in the following weeks.

I'm not sure if a 16 black neon introduction would quite need the 5ppm, perhaps 4ppm would do it, but 1 or 2ppm wouldn't be a good test for this introduction I'd think. The ghosts would be insignificant I'd think.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[lordtrini]

The tank is 72 Gallons and it has a Ehiem 2128 rated at 160 gallons...
Last night i added to much ammonia 4ppm and this morning the ammonia was at .5 now its at 0.

I think i will do a huge water change and tomorrow and add some fish....

Thats 3 weeks with some mature media and 3 cups of mature gravel...

I think i should be ok...

Over the week end in goes 16 black neons... and 8 ghost shrimp...

In 3 more weeks 6 x 3inch Discus... YESSSSSSSSS

 

[snowflake311]

The tank is 72 Gallons and it has a Ehiem 2128 rated at 160 gallons...
Last night i added to much ammonia 4ppm and this morning the ammonia was at .5 now its at 0.

I think i will do a huge water change and tomorrow and add some fish....

Thats 3 weeks with some mature media and 3 cups of mature gravel...

I think i should be ok...

Over the week end in goes 16 black neons... and 8 ghost shrimp...

In 3 more weeks 6 x 3inch Discus... YESSSSSSSSS

Good your filter is converting the ammonia but what is your nitrite reading at? If that's at 0 too then go for it. If it's still high your cycle is not done.