My Fishless Cycle

[robbo1987]

ok so ive been fishless cycling my 20 litre (5gl?) for over a week now, but only added actual ammonia about 5 days ago. anyway i think things are going well? my ammonia levels are dropping at i think a good rate, and nitrite is on the rise now, nitrate seems to be level but this will go up once the nitrite starts to settle?

anyway here are my results, bare in mind that for the first few days readings where off just a liquid ammonia kit and then strips, but from the 7th all readings except hardness are from an api master kit

Date Ammonia General Hardness Carbonate Hardness PH Nitrite N02 Nitrate N03
04/01/2010 0.25? 60 40 6.5-7 0 0
05/01/2010 0.25 60 40 6 0 0
06/01/2010 0.5/0.50? 60 40 6 0 0
07/01/2010 added 3ml ammonia in afternoon
07/01/2010 8.0 + 40 80 unsure 0 0
08/01/2010 8 7.4-7.8 0 0
10/01/2010 4-8? " 2 0- 5
11/01 4-8
12/08 1-2 120 40-80 7.4 5 0-5

temp throughout has been around 24c

so once ammonia and nitrite have spiked and im left with nitrate just a large water change and ill be ready to add my fish? im also not sure about the general hardness readings as it seems like a big jump but maybe ive just read the strip wrong.

 

[fatheadminnow]

What kind of liquid test kit do you have?

You should REALLY get liquid tests for nitrite, nitrate and pH.

Also, do not let the ammonia get near 8 ppm, as this will allow the wrong type of bacteria to grow.

Did you add any mature filter media?

I would try to bump the temp up to 29C.

-FHM

 

[robbo1987]

it is a liquid api master test kit,just the tests for the first few days where done by strips whilst i had to wait for the kit to arrive. but i will bump the temp up now, i also added some tetra safe start if this means anything.

the filter im using is an interpet pf1 and had been used in my mates tank but it hadnt been used in a while so im guessing any bacteria in it will of been long dead when i put it in.

there is 2 plants in the tank one being a java fern on a peice of driftwood. but i am planning on getting one or 2 more plants

 

[fatheadminnow]

I would wait on the plants for now. Having plants in a cycling tank is not the best idea. Plants need light to live, and guess what else dose, algae.

Light + Ammonia = Algae.

And since you have a lot of ammonia in the tank, algae will no doubt begin to grow if the lights remain on.

API is one of the best liquid test kits available to us at such a low price. Good thing you got this test kit, as strip test kits are no good.

The safe start is just a water conditioner.

-FHM

 

[robbo1987]

ahh well ill leave the light off from now on then! although its only a weak 5w light anyway... so how will a higher temp help things? also i have the option of having air pump into the water with my filter, will this help any or does it not make a difference?

 

[waterdrop]

ahh well ill leave the light off from now on then! although its only a weak 5w light anyway... so how will a higher temp help things? also i have the option of having air pump into the water with my filter, will this help any or does it not make a difference?

If and/or when the noise of the airpump/airstone doesn't bother you I would go ahead and use it. Every little bit of surface disturbance can help oxygenate the water a bit more and that's one of the things that the bacteria like. When you are doing a fishless cycle, you are in the business of creating as good a "bacterial growing soup" as you can. Many beginners tend to get the ideal bacterial parameters and the ideal fishkeeping parameters all mixed together when there's no need. The fishkeeping will come later, after this water has been thrown out.

So the bits and pieces that we know of that can possibly help the bacteria grow a little better and faster are as follows:
1) ammonia (their primary resource!) not too little, not to much, starting off at 4-5ppm concentration in the tank
2) oxygen (their other primary resource) surface movement and disturbance makes the biggest difference here
3) temperature: not too hot, not too cold, 84F/29C is my choice for ideal based on more than I care to re-dig up
4) pH: not too low! ideal is 8.0 to 8.4 and growth slows as we drop, stalling at 6.2 and stopping at 6.0 (fishless only)
5) traces: they need a tiny bit of calcium and a tiny bit of iron - these are usually in the tap water, but its good to know

Happy soup making! ~~waterdrop~~