Green Goddess's First Fishless Cycle (240 Ltr)

[the biffster]

just a question how long as this tank been cycling for

78 days so far. See the post at the start of this thread for the full log.

what size is this tank
thought i would of been done by now
i would of thought 7 to 8 weeks at the most
when i did my 5x2x2 it only took a month and a half
good luck with your tank when i get my nano up i will post you
some photos i am just pulling every thing together at the moment
got my tank and my skimmer heater and two power heads all the best the biffster

 

[greengoddess]

240 litre Juwel Rio aquarium. Yes, this is taking an extremely long time to cycle through

 

[the biffster]

240 litre Juwel Rio aquarium. Yes, this is taking an extremely long time to cycle through

i was wondering that myself wonder whether its worth shoving a hand full of fish food in it and standing back and let it get on with it i take there is no fish in the tank yet

 

[greengoddess]

i was wondering that myself wonder whether its worth shoving a hand full of fish food in it and standing back and let it get on with it i take there is no fish in the tank yet

Correct, there's no fish in there yet as it's a fishless cycle
I'll throw a load of fish food in there before I go away.

 

[greengoddess]

Last dose of ammonia has been added this evening before I go away for 10 days. I also added a huge great wad of flaked fish food to help produce some ammonia while I am away from home.

 

[waterdrop]

Good luck on your trip GG and I hope it goes ok with the tank. Maybe when you get back we'll try some more radical things considering how long that nitrite spike has been. I know the temperature was low but was hoping it wouldn't slow things down this much.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[PDSimon]

Good luck on your trip GG and I hope it goes ok with the tank. Maybe when you get back we'll try some more radical things considering how long that nitrite spike has been. I know the temperature was low but was hoping it wouldn't slow things down this much.

~~waterdrop~~

What do you mean, radical things?

 

[greengoddess]

Hi everyone, especially my good mate Waterdrop

I'm back from my holiday in France (which was far too hot for me by the way )

The tank was left completely untouched whilst I was away but I gave it a good dosing of fish food before I left to help give off some ammonia during my 10 day break. This evening I have checked all the parameters of my tank and they are as follows:

Ammonia - ZERO
Nitrite - ZERO
pH - 7.3
Nitrate - 100
Temperature - 27 celcius

It was a nice change to see the zero nitrite level but that's hardly surprising given that there's been little or no ammonia added for 10 days. So, I've dosed the tank with ammonia again and I'll see how it handles it in another 24 hours.

 

[greengoddess]

Well, it looks like my tank is back to its usual state of play. Ammonia is zero after 24 hours and nitrite is back up to its usual 3.3. At least this proves the bacteria are still active after my holiday.

Day number 92 and counting

 

[PDSimon]

Hope you enjoyed your holiday. Glad to see the bacteria havn't all died.

How much ammonia did you dose?

 

[greengoddess]

Hope you enjoyed your holiday. Glad to see the bacteria havn't all died.

How much ammonia did you dose?

Thanks, the French holiday was good but a bit too warm for my liking.

I just dosed the usual 3.2ml to take the level back to 3 or 4ppm

 

[PDSimon]

Day 92 sounds like hell, I'm on day 51 and i'm going mad!

Have you tried getting mature media from a member? Might be worth making a post on it...

 

[greengoddess]

Day 92 sounds like hell, I'm on day 51 and i'm going mad!

Have you tried getting mature media from a member? Might be worth making a post on it...

When I got to around 50 days I started to get impatient. Now after 92 days I am past caring and it doesn't really bother me. I just keep telling myself that the longest cycles reach maturity at around 100 days or so. In that respect it shouldn't be much longer for my tank (I hope). I am in no rush so I may just sit it out and see what happens. If I get to 150 days I may have a change of opinion and put my foot through the tank .

I have a small 25 litre tank that is fully cycled with two fantail goldfish living in it. This 240 litre tank is the new home for the goldfish once it has finished cycling. I have considered removing some of the media from the small tank and adding it to the large tank but I lack the experience and don't want to risk the health of my two goldfish.

 

[PDSimon]

Day 92 sounds like hell, I'm on day 51 and i'm going mad!

Have you tried getting mature media from a member? Might be worth making a post on it...

When I got to around 50 days I started to get impatient. Now after 92 days I am past caring and it doesn't really bother me. I just keep telling myself that the longest cycles reach maturity at around 100 days or so. In that respect it shouldn't be much longer for my tank (I hope). I am in no rush so I may just sit it out and see what happens. If I get to 150 days I may have a change of opinion and put my foot through the tank .

I have a small 25 litre tank that is fully cycled with two fantail goldfish living in it. This 240 litre tank is the new home for the goldfish once it has finished cycling. I have considered removing some of the media from the small tank and adding it to the large tank but I lack the experience and don't want to risk the health of my two goldfish.

Removing 1/4 shouldn't do anything... they should quickly repopulate. How did you cycle the little tank?

 

[greengoddess]

I was a typical uneducated newbie when I got the 25 litre tank for the goldfish. They were presents for my two kids and I did what the local shop told me to do... fill the tank with water straight from the tap and throw in the two fish and hope for the best. One died within a week so I replaced it. After a few more weeks I found this superb forum and started learning how to do things properly. The fish in cycle then completed and they are now doing OK in the small tank but it's obviously far too small for two goldfish to be happy (hence the investment of the 240 litre tank).