Leeroy's Fishless Cycle Log..... Day 33 Am Test

[leeroy]

DAy 21 and tested water with new API multi test kit and the results have turned out different from my previous Tetra liquid test kit, the API gives higher results...

Tested pH with both test kits twice and Tetra kit reads 7.6 and API reads 8
Test Ammonia twice with both kits and Tetra reads 1-2ppm and API reads 4-5ppm
Was using an API nitrite kit anyway so no change there but the reading seems to be sticking around just over 5ppm although the colour is taking longer to darken to 5ppm which is good.
Nitrates are still off the chart.

As every1 seems to be using the API kits i'l bin the old tetra kits and stick with the API.

Few questions:

The pH seems to have risen could this be due to me adding some decor to the tank??

With adding the decor the wood has stained from the wood and subsequently as the filter is removing the staining it is blocking the filter. will cleaning the filter affect the cycling procedure???

Is my GH to high at 267?? i know theres a large water change to be done at the end of the cycle but will it affect anything now??

thanks

 

[waterdrop]

A pH of 8.0 to 8.4 is ideal for growing the bacteria so I wouldn't worry about why it is going up unless it gets to 9 or something. It -is- true that you can take a decoration out of the tank, turn it over and drip a few drops of any sort of vinegar from the kitchen on it and see if it fizzes. If it does then that means it could be slowly dissolving in your tank and raising the pH.

If your filter is getting -clogged- during fishless cycling and the flow is being slowed then yes, its ok to remove a bucket of *tank* water in which to gently squeeze the filter sponges and/or dunk and swish the loose media to rinse away some of the debris. If the filter sponges are only getting -stained- then thats not a problem (stain is what the bacterial colonies themselves look like!) and it would be better not to disturb the filter as during cycling the colonies are so new and fragile that you will lose some of them by cleaning and possibly set yourself back a day or so. On the other hand, if there is a clog, then cleaning can actually improve things. Just don't forget to recharge the ammonia back up to 2 or 3ppm (since you are in the nitrite spike phase you don't need to be way up at 4 or 5ppm for this period.)

Don't worry about your GH for now, however if you are testing with a liquid GH kit, the results may be interesting for stocking decisions and I guess that should be talked about at some point.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[leeroy]

DAy 22 and slighyly dissapointing results. the ammonia doesn't seem to be dropping from 4-5ppm.... is this because the nitrites are reducing??? although the nitrites colour seems to develop to just over the 5ppm mark and has done for a while now.

tested the nitrates also and this only appears to be around 10ppm, i thought nitrates would be rising high aswell???

things seemed to be going on course would it be worth carrying out a partial or full water change??

 

[waterdrop]

No, just give it some time. You're too jumpy. Whenever it does things that don't seem to be right, just keep testing and being normal for about 3 to 5 days and then see if its a "trend" of not being right. Often it will show you something completely different within a few days.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[leeroy]

Day 23................

carried out yesterdays tests a little later as i thought i'd have a little move round of some of the decor and add some rocks to the tank which i did and im now a little happier with the layout but no doubt i'll be moving things again. with moving and adding a few bits to the tank i removed and added a very small amount of water and washed out the upper filter pads as they were filthy and restricting flow with what i presume to be staining from the wood......

Anyway i took the results after and the nitrites seemed to have dropped a fair bit (0.25-0.5ppm) and the ammonia has dropped a little (2-4ppm). im still a little concerned bout how high the ammonia must have been as my old test kit kept saying it was low but at least it appears to be dropping now

been visiting my lfs's the last few days getting an idea of what fish to stock and although me and my gf have agreed this tank will be a community tank so we can watch the various fish and personalities in the tank we have both been taken by the idea of having a malawi cichlid tank... second tank soon i think

 

[leeroy]

day 24 and the results are the same...

 

[leeroy]

Day 25

thougt i'd do a morning test as i had time, 9:30am so a 12hr test

nitrites and ammonia still the same. also tested pH, kh and gh which all seem high but i guess with a large water due at the end of the cycle this will all change

 

[leeroy]

day 26 hopefully the ammonia is gonna drop down

 

[leeroy]

day 26 evening test... 9:30pm

nitrites have dropped to 0 but ammonia seems to have risen back up to 4ppm.... seems to not be dropping

also nitrates dont seem to high at only 5ppm

 

[OldMan47]

The nitrates are saying that you are not processing nitrogen all the way through the cycle. Do you have some dead plant leaves or something like that which could be adding ammonia to the water?

 

[leeroy]

The nitrates are saying that you are not processing nitrogen all the way through the cycle. Do you have some dead plant leaves or something like that which could be adding ammonia to the water?

na no live or dead plants in tank. added decor and moved it round a bit thats all. had noticed a slight build up of slime on some of he decor whilst moving bits around.............


day 27 morning test

ammonia seems to be back down to 2ppm and nitrites back up to 0.50ppm im just getting the feeling the results are just having fun bouncing around.

nitrates are still at 5ppm

 

[OldMan47]

If you stirred up the stuff on the tank bottom, you may have put things back into the water column that are now creating some added ammonia. A small bounce from that effect is nothing to worry about, a couple of days later everything should be back to normal and improving again.

 

[leeroy]

cheers buddy hopefully its that.. hopefully things get back on course over the next few days

 

[leeroy]

day 27 pm and no real change....

need suggestions for a plec to have on my stocking list if ya can help.. check out the linky

 

[OldMan47]

How about a nice dwarf type bristle nose plec. I recently picked up 3 juvenile albino bristle nose plecs at a club auction and can hardly wait for them to grow up and show me what I have. Meanwhile, they are in my 45 gallon with my endlers and a few C habrosus while they grow bigger.