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New Fishless Cycle

Grats on your Nitrate!

But no, I don't have any live plants. I actually don't have anything in the tank but a Heater/Filter/and.. Sand... One on the left.

So I don't know really. I'm going to do a 90-100% water change tomorrow and see what happens.
 
Sorry I haven't posted here in a while. I've been rather busy with stuff.

Anyway, please post your log to this forum as it will help folks to get a better read of exactly what is taking place with your cycle. Things seem to be moving along very rapidly for you. That's good. Don't read too much into the nitrate test. Ultimately, the nitrate is very difficult to get an accurate reading from. (Make sure when doing that test that you bash the bottle #2 around for a good long while - more than the 30 seconds that they recommend - and that you bang it on a table a few times. There are two reagents in that bottle and one of them is a powder, assuming you are using API, and that means it takes extra effort to get it properly mixed. Then immediately add it to the test tube before it starts to resettle. Also shake up the tube a bunch - longer than the minute that is recommended.)


Look at the trends in the ammonia and nitrite readings. They will tell you where you are in the process. If ammonia is dropping every 12 hours, that's great. If the nitrite is clearing every 24 hours, that's outstanding, meaning you are in phase three. Post the results of each day (and both test during the 12 hour test period) and we can give you more feedback. Include the time of test as well as the dosing time, pH, temp, ammonia, nitrite and even nitrate if you have it, but don't put too much stock in the nitrate numbers. If the ammonia and nitrite are clearing, the nitrates will be there, even if they don't show up on the test.


It sounds like everything is going along great, just keep at it and try not to stress about a single result. The key is the trend that you see, not a single data point. This is a biological process much more than it is a chemical one, so there are many more factors involved. Focus on the whole picture and you can see what is happening. If you focus only on the data points you end up like me staring closely at a Monet. It just won't make sense because it's just a series of dots, but when you stand back and look at it from a further distance, the individual dots will show a much more interesting picture. ;)
 
Thanks... I guess I did freak out. I just don't want to do something wrong.

Anyway, my Cycle Log is posted Here


Last test after adding 5ppm Ammonia it was at: (After 12 hours)
.25 Ammonia
0 Nitrite
5 Nitrate
8.2 pH


The place my log is kept was easiest for me, I don't know if some of you can't click on it (it's Google Spreadsheets.)

Anyway, thanks again for you help. I did sorta freak out.
 
Day 12: Cycle Log (Link brings you to Google Spread Sheets)


0ppm cross board. Missed yesterdays 12 hour test due to working later than anything coming home to crash.
 
Wow that is really organized. All I have is a Word Document. :)
 
To each his own I guess. If it work for you, it works. I just like colors :drool: .


But ya, that's how I've been posting my Log, haha. When you guys were like, "Post your Log you've been keeping!!" I was like.. :sad: "I have been.. ahaha"
 
To each his own I guess. If it work for you, it works. I just like colors :drool: .


But ya, that's how I've been posting my Log, haha. When you guys were like, "Post your Log you've been keeping!!" I was like.. :sad: "I have been.. ahaha"


I guess I missed where it is.


It would seem that you are in the "qualifying week" now. 5-7 days of double zeroes and you are ready for fish! What is your pH normally after it sits out for 24 hours? What are your stocking plans?
 
To each his own I guess. If it work for you, it works. I just like colors :drool: .


But ya, that's how I've been posting my Log, haha. When you guys were like, "Post your Log you've been keeping!!" I was like.. :sad: "I have been.. ahaha"


I guess I missed where it is.


It would seem that you are in the "qualifying week" now. 5-7 days of double zeroes and you are ready for fish! What is your pH normally after it sits out for 24 hours? What are your stocking plans?

I think it's my pH is still 8.2. But I know my tap is 7.2 pH.


As for my stocking plans...

1x Betta - 6x Pygmy Corys - 2x Ghost Shrimp
or
1x Betta - 6x Xray Tetra - 2x Ghost Shrimp (If this one is fine, leaning to this one. Those Xray's look really cool)
or
Anything else

I know 10gal is very limiting on what I can really put in there.

If this tank goes well for a few months, I'm thinking of getting a 20-30Gallon
 
I was confused reading this thread but I think I finally figured out in post #10 that day 1 of the log was not really day 1 of the fishless cycle but instead was just some point along the way when ammonia started dropping (is that more or less the case?)

When we see a fishless cycle try to come to conclusion in less than 30 days without mature media it can set off some alarm bells just because over the years more of these short processes somehow seem to still mini-spike when the fish are introduced.

However, in this case the day numbers appear not to be absolute numbers, so the cycle may be closer to the 21 to 30 days of the very early cases we see. I would probably make sure the final dosing concentration is a full 5ppm and perhaps go a little longer watching the double-zero performance than usual. If it is possible to piece back together a more accurate total days then let the members know that too.

~~waterdrop~~
 
Actually I didn't seed with mature media. I only started keeping a log when I saw the first Ammonia drop :crazy: (was still testing every day tho).. I actually had some issues with my Tap water when I first started my Cycle. I had WAY over 8 ppm somehow (Tap has 1ppm). After a week it was still above 8ppm Ammonia. So I did a 100% water change, used the Calculator to compensate for my Tap and in 2 days it was down to 2ppm then next day 0ppm :hyper:

Ya, the log you see started 12 days after I FIRST put water in it (day 1)

So I'm at 24 days so far.
 
Cool. I want to finish my cycle in 21 days! I know I have no control over it but that's what I am aiming for. ;)
 
I have the opposite reaction. I feel a little concerned under 30 days just because for some weird reason those short ones have had more of the cases of spiking despite seeming to have decent qualifying weeks. The "qualifying week" idea was a compromise too, in it's day - there were members in favor of even tougher scores, but several of us thought it was a good compromise.

~~waterdrop~~
 
I don't have anything to worry about because the cycle is already plus 7 days because that's how long it took me to decide to do a fishless cycle. So technically I have had ammonia in the tank for 22 days...
 
Just in case, I'll probably go for a little longer just to make sure. I'm actually putting about 5ppm Ammonia in now to be honest... :unsure: .. It's been, like the log says, at .25ppm after 12 hours and 0 in 24. Same with Nitrate.
 

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