New Starter! Help!

[Dr1_veR]

Right guys ive started again. Ive emptied the tank, cleaned it carefully (not using anything that will harm it. refilled it, washed substrate. Added dechlorinate and set the filter running with the temp at 78F. 12 hours later i added my plants and have started testing with the Nurafin PH, ammonia, nitrates & nitrites test pack i bought.

Results so far...

DAY 1
pH = 6.5
Ammonia = 0 mg/L
Nitrate = 0 mg/L
Nitrite= 0 mg/L
Filter Start added (Interpet filter start)

DAY 2
pH = 7.0
Ammonia = 0 mg/L
Nitrate = 5 mg/L
Nitrite = 0.1 mg/L
Filter Start added
also tiny amount of fish food

i will keep you posted on how it goes. I bought a new filter as the one i had for my 17L tank was pumping 450L per hour round my tank!!!! it was like a whitewater rapids!! ive got a 5Gallon Elite stingray one now which is a very smooth current (thats only a 120 L per hour).

I am gonna add filter start ever other day. Am i right in thinking i have to wait for a Nitrite Spike, then after that make sure that for at least a week my Ammonia and Nitrite levels are 0. then do a fairly big water change? like 70-80%

have i got this right

- Graham

 

[OldMan47]

Have you started adding any ammonia to get your filter going yet? Fishless cycling is not simply about letting the filter run with water flow, it is all about growing a bacterial colony that can support your future fish.

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, agree with OM47, a big part of fishless cycling is finding the right household ammonia and using that in the right amount to encourage the correct species of bacteria. It can be a bit of an adventure finding the right sort of pure household ammonia but the members are good at helping you with this. You want to use the simple ammonia because using filterstart will dump a lot of nitrite and nitrates and other things directly in the water and give you false readings, making you think there are bacteria there when there are not. Since the autotrophic bacteria we want are pretty particular about a fresh flow of oxygenated water and a supply of ammonia, they are not generally still found alive in a bottle, instead, if they were originally in the bottle they've long since died and now their organic molecules are breaking down into ammonia, but they will provide only an unpredictable ammonia source.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Curiosity101]

Filter Start added
also tiny amount of fish food

^^ Incase anyone missed it.
Although for the record I'd probably go with the household ammonia version of cycling as it's much more exact. Plus once you've got the bottle it can be used for cleaning, or for cycling any future tanks. It's not as if it's only good for cycling then wasted.

 

[OldMan47]

I missed that C101. I had wondered if any ammonia was being added. Now I understand that the ammonia addition will simply be hard to quantify.

 

[Dr1_veR]

new update

Day 3
pH = 6.5
Ammonia = 0
Nitrate = 5
Nitrite = 0.1
Filter start added

Day 4
pH = 6.5
Ammonia = 0
Nitrate = 0
Nitrite = 0
Filter start and food added

Day 5
pH = 6.5
Ammonia = 0
Nitrate = 0
Nitrite = 0
nothing added.


Ive started getting alot of quite gunky white gel stuff in the tank. most noticibly around on the suckion pads for my heater, themom and filter. Is this a good sign?

- Graham

 

[waterdrop]

Filter Start added
also tiny amount of fish food

^^ Incase anyone missed it.
Although for the record I'd probably go with the household ammonia version of cycling as it's much more exact. Plus once you've got the bottle it can be used for cleaning, or for cycling any future tanks. It's not as if it's only good for cycling then wasted.

I did not miss that C101, that's why I was trying to gently suggest a change to simple ammonia but often it takes a bit of fiddling with fish food and whatever before one decides to ask more about different ways. WD

 

[owlshead]

new update

Day 3
pH = 7.5
Ammonia = 0
Nitrate = 5
Nitrite = 0.1
Filter start added

Day 4
pH = 7.5
Ammonia = 0
Nitrate = 0
Nitrite = 0
Filter start and food added

Day 5
pH = 7.5
Ammonia = 0
Nitrate = 0
Nitrite = 0
nothing added.


Ive started getting alot of quite gunky white gel stuff in the tank. most noticibly around on the suckion pads for my heater, themom and filter. Is this a good sign?

- Graham

Don't know what that would be...?

 

[Dr1_veR]

heres a pic



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

[waterdrop]

Those are bacterial biofilms, the same stuff we are trying to get our two species of desired bacteria to grow on the surfaces of the biomedia inside the filter. You get lots of that in a new tank. Its quite harmless and will go away. Its easy to clean off in the sink if you want to. Your fingers make a great brush for this stuff, under running water.

~~waterdrop~~