Liverbird's New Fishless Cycle

[Liverbird36]

Hi there Liverbird,

You may be lucky and have a larger starting number of N-Bacs than most fishless cycles, but you'll need to proceed slowly to confirm that. I feel its best to be very cautious about a nitrite spike that is short (ie. goes from being off the chart to zero in just few days) and occurs within Day 30 or under of the fishless cycle. We've had at least one case here in the beginners section where a clear nitrite spike occurred like this, then dropped solidly to zero and the person did the big water change, got fish and promptly went into a terrible fish-in cycling situation. This, and a few similar cases made me feel its better to be suspicious about nitrite spikes that are short and happening early.

~~waterdrop~~

Thanks guys, I will carry on with the cycle in the same way and see how the picture looks at the end of the week. I'm always cautious to check that it's not due to something unknown to me. Will follow same cycling procedures. Thanks again for your advice. Very grateful.

 

[Liverbird36]

I'm wondering if I should do a water change as the Nitrates are so high, or just leave alone for now. Not sure.

 

[PDSimon]

If you can it would clear things

 

[Liverbird36]

If you can it would clear things

Thanks Simon. Do you know, also if I should stay on the reduced ammonia dosage or increase it as Nitrites are at zero, or, maybe give things acouple of days on the lower amount just to see if things do stay the same. Hoping your cycle is nearing its end.

 

[PDSimon]

You can raise it gradually if you like... 2->3->4->5

or just whack 5 in, its what most do..

Thanks

 

[Liverbird36]

You can raise it gradually if you like... 2->3->4->5

or just whack 5 in, its what most do..

Thanks

Thanks again for you help. Saw the pics of your tank setup. Looks really good and can't wait to see it with some fish VERY soon. The Bogwood you have looks stunning. I think the sand looks somuch nicer than gravel...wish i'd thought of using that now lol

 

[PDSimon]

You're welcome

Cheers I CANNOT wait to get the fish soon!. You could always replace it to sand if you wanted too. It's argos play sand.. 3-4 quid

 

[Twinklecaz]

Liverbird, I just changed to sand on Saturday (still cycling - no fish yet). I'm so pleased I did it now, it looks loads better. I thoroughly encourage you! lol!

 

[Liverbird36]

Ohh !!! I want sand now !!! it looks soooo nice. Will changing it not effect the cycling then or is it better to do it after qualifying week when I do the large water change ?? I've heard it's a lot cleaner as there are no bits to get food etc stuck in. Can it block the filter though as have read a couple of threads stating that it can ?? and do I just vacum it the same way and with the same gravel vac I already have ?? Sorry for all the questions but it does look so lovely.

Liverbird, I just changed to sand on Saturday (still cycling - no fish yet). I'm so pleased I did it now, it looks loads better. I thoroughly encourage you! lol!

How did you manage the change over ?? Did you empty out most of tank water in order to put sand in.

 

[Twinklecaz]

Some people say it knackers your filter eventually but others have told me it doesn't as long as you switch it off when cleaning the sand. I'm told the way you clean sand is to hold the syphon just above it (rather than in it like you would gravel) and then kinda swish it around.

It didn't set my cycle back, the next reading I got was a double 0. I haven't done today but it's no worse than it was before I changed. WD says there is a chance it'll set you back though, though it'll only be slight even if it does.

Mine looks so much lighter now. Actually, it looks like a crappier, smaller version of Simon's

 

[Liverbird36]

Some people say it knackers your filter eventually but others have told me it doesn't as long as you switch it off when cleaning the sand. I'm told the way you clean sand is to hold the syphon just above it (rather than in it like you would gravel) and then kinda swish it around.

It didn't set my cycle back, the next reading I got was a double 0. I haven't done today but it's no worse than it was before I changed. WD says there is a chance it'll set you back though, though it'll only be slight even if it does.

Mine looks so much lighter now. Actually, it looks like a crappier, smaller version of Simon's

Have just reserved me a bag of argos sand lol I don't mind if it does set the cycle back a bit. If i'm going to be looking at it for several years It's gotta be worth looking at I'll just make sure I have plenty of filter spares to hand just in case although as my filter doesn't sit near the bottom of the tank then hopefully it shouldn't be too much of a problem. Have to do a big water change tomorrow so how much do you reckon I should remove to make replacing the gravel easier ?? Nitrates are 110ppm at moment so i'm guessing I could take out quite a bit. I might put the filter and the heater in a big bucket of tank water whilst doing it.

 

[PDSimon]

Remove all the water to put sand in, it also needs a good gravel clean to remove a lot of the nitrates cos they like to stick around. Put the filter and heater in a bucket aye...

Also be sure to wash the sand out in buckets until when you spray it it settles down in 10-20 seconds, you'll notice how at the start it clouds up but by the end it should settle very quickly. Then once that is done, the gravel is out, the sand can go in

 

[Liverbird36]

Remove all the water to put sand in, it also needs a good gravel clean to remove a lot of the nitrates cos they like to stick around. Put the filter and heater in a bucket aye...

Also be sure to wash the sand out in buckets until when you spray it it settles down in 10-20 seconds, you'll notice how at the start it clouds up but by the end it should settle very quickly. Then once that is done, the gravel is out, the sand can go in

Brilliant !!!! can't wait to change it now !!!

 

[Liverbird36]

Do I put the sand straight on top of the gravel and not completely remove it then ?? Sorry, misunderstood.

 

[PDSimon]

take the gravel out