My Fishless Cycle

[Twinklecaz]

Ok so I've just bought some bicarb of soda. Under ingreidients it says "raising agetns sodium hydrogen carbonate". Is that right?

 

[PDSimon]

hmm I'm not sure, it might just be explaining what it is. Although under the ingredients on mine it just says 'nut free'

some googling is in order..

edit:

on wikiMy link

it uses the same usage as what you wrote. have a read through that if you havn't already

 

[Twinklecaz]

Lol what? Is it right then?

 

[PDSimon]

Well you said

"raising agetns sodium hydrogen carbonate"

wikipedia calls bicarb - Sodium bicarbonate or sodium hydrogen carbonate

sodium hydrogen carbonate is a raising agent itself when mixed with acid (which would be basically what baking powder is)

So I THINK its ok to use but don't trust me because I am just reading a page on wikipedia, I don't want to ruin your cycle

 

[Twinklecaz]

Thanks, hopefully someone else will be sure. It was the only one there.......mind you it was in WAITROSE!

 

[Twinklecaz]

Ok by coincidence my Mum got me some today too and that stuff looked ok so I dosed with just over a tablespoon.


BUT, something funny is happening with my Ammonia. Did my 24 hour test and this time I compared it to a test tube of tap water and when you hold them up together to the light, the tank one does have a slightly greenish tinge to it. It isn't even as much as the 0.25 reading but it definitely has something there that the tap doesn't.

Would this be due to the PH crash or is it basically that hasn't been able to do 5ppm in 24 hours the whole time I thought it could?

 

[PDSimon]

It probably shocked it a little with the change in pH, but its still processed most of it throughout 24 hours of a 6.4 pH.

 

[Twinklecaz]

Thanks. So I'll chill then lol.

Now I just need someone to tell me I actually do have room for Pandas in my tank if I can't get Pygmys but I don't think that's gonna happen

 

[waterdrop]

OK, I've forgotten what we talked about. If your nitrite is spiked and you've experienced a case of pH going into the low 6's then my feeling is that its a good idea to do a 90% water change (as much as you can get out) prior to the bicarb dosing and the ammonia redosing (not talking about every time you redose ammonia, just one big time to get the NO2 out and start fresh with the newly conditioned water, bicarb and ammonia.) Perhaps you already did that and the nitrite just came back really fast. That can happen too. Has the bicarb raised your pH up yet.. should raise it right on up to 8 or so I think.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Twinklecaz]

Hi WD

I dosed the bicarb last night and haven't done today's tests yet. I don't think my Nitrite has spiked yet because it goes to the 5.00 ppm on the chart but doesn't turn a different colour if I leave it (which I'm told is a thing with the API kits). So I don't think it has yet?

I'll see if I have time to do the big change at the weekend. The only thing I wonder is, do I need to worry about my filter drying out whilst I'm doing it? Will the bacteria not start to die?

 

[PDSimon]

put the filter in a bucket of water - make sure its already conditioned

 

[waterdrop]

Ha! A couple of things here to talk about. When you make water changes, part of your procedure should be figuring out a way to keep the filter media mostly submerged. In my case, with an external cannister, most water changes don't involve cleaning the filter, so the media always stays fully submerged. Many internal filters also stay full of tank water when the tank is drained. I'd never thought about it but I guess those tray filters up in the top of a tank would drain. This may mean you have to put the media in to a bucket of tank water if you are going to not operate the filter for a significant time. Short periods, especially ones where the media doesn't dry out don't matter. In fact, if media stays wet with tank water (via any method) then not only can it go pretty long but it even receives extra oxygen in the process, which is good! (talking wet but not submerged..)

I had to have a chuckle when you wrote about not being spiked. Its like the old children's game of whispering a message one to another down a long line and then seeing how the message gets changed just by communication errors! The term "nitrite spike" simply means you've reached the top reading of the test kit. On the API kit, if you've reached the highest color match, you're there. All that talk about the greenish and grayish colors was just about the weird things that happen when it goes beyond the highest number, but you don't have to be up there to be "nitrite spiked!"

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Twinklecaz]

Ohhhhhhhhh thanks. That is good then.

So as my filter is upright and internal do you think it still holds enough water whilst I'm doing a change? I'm still very slow and un-elegant about water changes! My carpet gets soaked!

 

[waterdrop]

Have you thought about those white plastic construction buckets or larger trash cans? A bigger catch-bucket can help deal with the loose end of the siphon getting slapped around as you move the upper part if that's what's happening to you. I find that occasional trips to those giant big-box stores or giant hardware stores, with some time to relax and walk around and think about what might be useful, have netted me various plastic things that have helped my little tank processes. ...but maybe this is not how the carpet is getting wet? WD

 

[Twinklecaz]

Ha, it's that and also the hood when I take it off.....drips everywhere!