Fishless cycling

[Deleted member 149562]

I have no love plants as of yet and no light.
What are the brown stuff all over everything?

Diatoms....quite normal for a new aquarium in the cycle process. They can appear later on too...

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[IdoA]

Diatoms....quite normal for a new aquarium in the cycle process. They can appear later on too...

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When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a commission. Here’s how it works. It happens all of a sudden… Without warning… One day your tank is crystal clear. The next it is a brown slimy mess. If you have ever owned a fish tank then you will know it all too …

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I see..
Does that mean the cycle is going okay?
Cause the dr tim instructions say that afte r24h you should see nitrites and for me its been over 72 hours yet still nothing..

 

[Deleted member 149562]

Insofar as my own experience of cycling, diatoms appeared three weeks into the 7 week process and stayed around for about 10-14 days before they went away on their own accord.

Fishless cycling can take anything up to 7 weeks, sometimes longer.

There is no hard and fast time limit for an aquarium to cycle cos every one of them is different thanks to different water sources, different types/chemistry of water source etc

People coming into fishkeeping tend not to realise how much patience they have or will need thesedays. Back when I started as a kid, the water companies didn't add half the amount of "stuff" to our water and it was fine to fill an aquarium from the tap, not treat it with anything and plop the fish right in there.

That has all changed.

With the best will in the world there is no way to tell you exactly when you will be ready for the fish....it can happen quickly or it can be a seemingly never ending wait for that "perfect" water chemistry balance to happen.

Diatoms are a good sign that things are going in the right direction......but you'll never pin down an exact timeframe for completion.

 

[Essjay]

Diatoms are caused mainly be light and ammonia. During cycling there is a lot of ammonia in the water, there's nothing which can be done about this as ammonia is needed to grow the bacteria. But tank lights can be turned off if there are no live plants - and the bacteria grow better in the dark. But once the tank is cycled, they usually disappear, though it is impossible to say how long this will take as every tank is different.

Dr Tim's One & Only is one of the best bacterial starters but it will not work if it's ever got too hot or too cold during shipping or in the fish store. Since it has to travel from the USA this is quite possible.
Cycling needs patience. It took a total of 7 weeks for my tank to cycle, and 21 days before any sign of nitrite appearing.

 

[IdoA]

Diatoms are caused mainly be light and ammonia. During cycling there is a lot of ammonia in the water, there's nothing which can be done about this as ammonia is needed to grow the bacteria. But tank lights can be turned off if there are no live plants - and the bacteria grow better in the dark. But once the tank is cycled, they usually disappear, though it is impossible to say how long this will take as every tank is different.

Dr Tim's One & Only is one of the best bacterial starters but it will not work if it's ever got too hot or too cold during shipping or in the fish store. Since it has to travel from the USA this is quite possible.
Cycling needs patience. It took a total of 7 weeks for my tank to cycle, and 21 days before any sign of nitrite appearing.

Thanks,
Just tested today and the ammonia is still at 2ppm but the nitrite is a 0.25!

 

[Essjay]

Since 1 ppm ammonia is converted to 2.7 ppm nitrite, the amount of ammonia drop to give 0.25 ppm nitrite is so small it hardly shows up with the tester. But the fact that you now have nitrite is a good sign. You will probably find nitrite shoots up over the next few days while ammonia slowly drops. Wait until ammonia is under 0.75 and nitrite over 2 before adding more ammonia.

 

[IdoA]

Since 1 ppm ammonia is converted to 2.7 ppm nitrite, the amount of ammonia drop to give 0.25 ppm nitrite is so small it hardly shows up with the tester. But the fact that you now have nitrite is a good sign. You will probably find nitrite shoots up over the next few days while ammonia slowly drops. Wait until ammonia is under 0.75 and nitrite over 2 before adding more ammonia.

Thanks!

I have another small problem...
The water level is getting low.
I believe its down about 20%

Should I refill the tank with water? Will it harm the cycle?

 

[Essjay]

If the water is evaporating it needs to be topped up. Ideally that should be done with 'pure' water such as reverse osmosis, but topping up with tap water is OK during cycling - remember to add water conditioner to remove the chlorine or chloramine in the tap water before adding it to the tank.

 

[IdoA]

If the water is evaporating it needs to be topped up. Ideally that should be done with 'pure' water such as reverse osmosis, but topping up with tap water is OK during cycling - remember to add water conditioner to remove the chlorine or chloramine in the tap water before adding it to the tank.

Thanks!
Now, I only need to add about 3Liters.
The dosage calculator in the API website says to add 0.5ml for that volume.
Do I buy one of those liquid droppers and add around 2 drops?

(I use the stress coat+ anti chlroine).

 

[NannaLou]

I buy cheap syringes from Amazon, I find them useful for a number of tank related processes.

 

[IdoA]

I buy cheap syringes from Amazon, I find them useful for a number of tank related processes.View attachment 155797

Problem is i need a very little amount...
Maybe I inly need to add 2 litres do its around 0.25..

 

[NannaLou]

Problem is i need a very little amount...
Maybe I inly need to add 2 litres do its around 0.25..

They come in a variety of sizes and have increments marked…I would think the 1ml size would have 0.25 and 0.5 marked…

 

[IdoA]

They come in a variety of sizes and have increments marked…I would think the 1ml size would have 0.25 and 0.5 marked…

I'll look into it then!
For the time being I found something simillar to this at my house...
Do you think 2 drops of this will be fine?

 

[Essjay]

Which API product are you using, and do you need to treat chlorine or chloramine?

If it's API Tap Water Conditioner, I would use just 1 drop for 3 litres. That says 1 drop per 3.8 litres (1 US gallon) for chlorine and 3 drops per 3.8 litres (1 US gallon) for chloramine.


For future use, a 1 ml babies medicine dosing syringe is ideal for tiny amounts.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01N9BWV63/?tag=

 

[IdoA]

Which API product are you using, and do you need to treat chlorine or chloramine?

If it's API Tap Water Conditioner, I would use just 1 drop for 3 litres. That says 1 drop per 3.8 litres (1 US gallon) for chlorine and 3 drops per 3.8 litres (1 US gallon) for chloramine.


For future use, a 1 ml babies medicine dosing syringe is ideal for tiny amounts.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01N9BWV63/?tag=

Its api stress coat+

On their website they say i should use 2.64 drops per liter...