Macro's Fishless Cycle

[Macro]

Hello anyone that's interested

I'm going to keep a daily log here of my fishless cycle in hopes that, with some help, I can get a clear picture of if things are going right or wrong with the process. I will update the first post each day with the results so all the info is in one spot for easy digestion. Today is Wednesday 4/14/10 the 5 day on the chart so the tank was started on Saturday 4/10/10.

Tank Specs:
29 Gal tank 30W x 18H x 12D
Top Fin 30 HOB Filter
AquaClear 20 powerhead
Standard Hood with 20W light (currently keeping it off)
2 pieces of Malaysian driftwood
2 20lb bags of Eco-Complete
1 16lb bag of Activ-Flora
Temp 78
API Test Kit

Hopefully everyone can see the image that has the daily info, if not please let me know so I can figure something else out. Is there any vital info that I'm leaving out? Is there a particular time of day that I should be doing the tests and should I be testing more than once a day?

Thank you to anyone who feels up to helping me out. Take care, Macro

 

[Dan-CR4]

hi there, try upping the temperature to 84, i have read that 84 is the best temp to get the good bacteria growing. i have had mine set at 84 while im cycling and i have now just started my qualifying week. im no expert but there are some really helpful guys on here that im sure will watch your cycle. good luck and i hope all goes well for you.

your table is showing up fine for me.

Danny

 

[waterdrop]

Agree, 84F/29C. Do we know whether Activ-Flora might cause pH changes or other things? WD

 

[OldMan47]

Welcome to the forum Macro.
Your cycle log is very nicely organized and quite visible at my end. You may well find that seeing a drop in ammonia levels will take another week or a bit more. That will be fine in terms of making adequate progress but you may find it a bit frustrating at your end.

 

[Macro]

Agree, 84F/29C. Do we know whether Activ-Flora might cause pH changes or other things? WD

Thanks for the support guys I'll turn up the temp to 84.

WaterDrop the info off the Activ-Flora website says it doesn't affect pH also the Eco-Complete says it's pH neutral. I went with these substrates because I want to eventually have a planted tank.

Thanks

 

[waterdrop]

I'm familiar with Eco-Complete and know that one will be ok. Its just that some of the more active substrates are known to do things to the water -- actually I suppose there are more cases of them giving off ammonia or nitrate than changing the pH but this is just something to keep an eye on, not anything we expect.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Macro]

Day 6 Test Results: pH 7.4/7.6, Ammonia 3 (looks between 2 and 4 but closer to 2 today than yesterday), Nitrite 1.0ppm (up from .25 yesterday), Temp 82.

I'm having trouble reading the pH. I measure it on the regular pH test and I get 7.6 (highest on the chart) then I test it on the high pH and I get 7.4. (lowest on the chart) Do you guys think its actually 7.6? Also I find the difference in color between 2.0ppm and 4.ppm on the Ammonia card very difficult to match with what color I'm getting in the vial. The vial color is kind of like both of them but not either of them

As I see the Ammonia (can I just type NH3 and you guys will know what I'm talking about?) drop should I keep dosing it back up to 4.0ppm or let it go down to some lower range?

Thank you again for the help

 

[waterdrop]

Looking good. You are worrying unnecessarily. When the pH gets in that in-between area of the two tests all that matters is that you know you're in the high 7's somewhere and that's just fine, you're not too far below optimal. The only significant thing with pH for you will be to watch and notice if it starts a strong movement downward and especially if it starts going down through the 6's.

Same thing for 2 vs. 4 on the ammonia. Doesn't matter. During the whole first phase of fishless cycling you just need to provide a little starter ammonia to the A-Bacs (ammonia oxidizing bacteria) and just roughly make sure its not up at 8ppm. It can be anywhere 5 or below and be just fine for now.

No, you don't "top up" ammonia. You just let it do its thing in there and you faithfully record it into your log each day, whatever it is. Eventually one day you will be pleased to find a bright clear yellow that will indicate ammonia has dropped to zero ppm. THAT's when you re-dose the tank back up to your same milliliter dose as before that looks like 4 or 2 to you. (Note that even much later in the fishless cycle, when we'll have recommended the addition of 12-hour tests, you'd still just leave it if the ammonia hit zero ppm at 12 hours and only add ammonia at your "add-hour," which is when your 24-hour test time is.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Macro]

Day 7 Test Results: pH 7.6, Ammonia 2.0ppm , Nitrite 1.0ppm (same as yesterday), Temp 82.

Log on first post updated.

 

[Ryefish]

This may be the stupidest question you have ever heard but how do you top the ammonia back up once it gets to 0 if your adding raw shrimps to the tank?!

 

[Macro]

I took the raw shrimp out on day 4 and switched to ammonia from a bottle because I could see that it was going to be very hard to regulate with shrimp

 

[Ryefish]

haha I must have missed that on your log when i was skim reading (really only read the stats ). I wonder how people do actually do a full cycle with a shrimp - i can't imagine it smells so good by the end

 

[Dan-CR4]

i can't imagine it smells so good by the end

sorry off topic, but this made me giggle

with WD and OM47 watching your cycle your in good hands.

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, one needs a Cuisinart Shrimp Blender, set to "Liquify"... and then a special Shrimp-Juice-Gradient-Cup. These are usually sold with special Nose-Clips for free!

 

[Macro]

WD

Day 8 Test Results: pH 7.6, Ammonia 1.0ppm (dropped from 2.0 yesterday), Nitrite 1.0ppm (same as yesterday), Temp 82.

Log on first post updated.