Peter's Fishless Cycle Diary

[peter1979]

I no longer have a fluval edge (read below)
I tested my tap water and got results of
pH 7.5 Nitrite 0 Nitrate 20 Ammonia 0

(x = no test) pH has been steady 8.0
day 1 nitrite 0 nitrate x ammonia 4
day 2 nitrite 0 nitrate x ammonia 4
day 3 nitrite 0 nitrate x amm 4
day 4 nitrite 0 nitrate x amm 4
day 5 nitrite 0 nitrate x amm 4
day 6 nitrite 0.25 nitrate 20 amm 4
day 7 nitrite 0.25 nitrate 10 amm 2
day 8 nitrite 0.25 nitrate 10 amm 4 (added 1ml)
day 9 nitrite 1 nitrate 10 amm 4
day 10 NO TEST, too much beer
day 11 nitrite 5 nitrate 20 amm 0 (added upto 4ppm)ph 8.0
day 12 nitrite 5 nitrate 10 amm 0 (added upto 4ppm)
day 13 nitrite 5ppm nitrate 10 amm 0 (topped up)
day 14 nitrite 5 nitrate 10 amm 0 (topped up)
day 15 nitrite 5 nitrate 40 amm 0 (topped up)
day 16 nitrite 0.25 nitrate 40 amm 0 (topped up) pH 8
day 17 nitrite 0 nitrate 20 ammonia 40 pH 7.4 (accident day, see below)
day18 am nitrite 0.5 nitrate 20 amm 0 pH 7.4
day 18 pm nitrite 0 nitrate 20 amm 0 (topped up) pH 7.4
day 19 am nitrite 0 nitrate 40 amm 0 pH 7.4
day 19 pm nitrite 0 nitrate 40 amm 0 (topped up)
day 20 am nitrite 0 nitrate 40 amm o
day 20 pm nitrite 0 nitrate 40 amm 0 (topped up)
day 21 am nitrite 0 nitrate 40 amm 0
day 21 pm nitrite 0 nitrate 40 amm 0 (topped up)
day 22 am everything went pear shaped
day 22 pm no est
day 23 am no test
day 24 am new tank, planted
day 24 pm amm 0 (topped up) nitrite 0 nitrate 40
day 25 am amm 0 nitrite 0 nitrate between 40 and 80 (will do a water change later
cheers
peter

 

[fatheadminnow]

Things look good. Nitrite looks good as well. If you think you have too much ammonia in your tank, that is if the ammonia is near 8 ppm, then do a water change. A 50% water change will knock that down to 4 ppm of ammonia. Then re-test and see what you get. When reading the test kits, it is a little hard at first. You have to look at the hue of the color.

Other than that, I think you got everything under control. You can also raise your temp to 29C, as this is optimal for the bacteria to colonize/grow.

-FHM

 

[waterdrop]

Agree, its better to let it be a little low than for it to be too high. If it were 3ppm it wouldn't matter much at this stage. It looks like you are getting some relatively quick results with ammonia beginning to drop and nitrite(NO2) beginning to rise.

Always let ammonia drop pretty much all the way to zero ppm before you add more. Pick a regular time of day and make that the time when you test and when you'll add ammonia if it went to zero ppm anytime in the previous 24 hours. For example, if you added ammonia at 8pm and then did a 12 hour test at 8am and saw zero ppm ammonia, you'd still wait until 8pm before adding ammonia to recharge the concentration to about 4ppm. By making it regular, you make it easier to interpret results over time. It also slows down the overall amount of nitrogen building up in the tank in all its forms.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[peter1979]

after testing the ammonia last night i left it in the test tube til this morning to check the colour in real/natural light and got my girlfriend to check it. We couldnt aree on it but im sure it looks like 4ppm and she thinks its 2ppm. Either way we think it doesnt look like 8ppm anymore. Why cant they make it a different colour, like the nitrite or nitrate colour chart, ts so much easier to determine!

At my work they have a glfish tank with 2 goldfish in there. Would it be an idea to try and sneak some media from there to pop in my filter? if so how would i do this? just cut a bit of the sponge/filter up or what? Would it mater at all that this fish tank probably hasnt been cleaned for about 10 years?

 

[danb]

Taking some filter media would help speed the process up providing the goldfish tanks are fully cycled, but becareful taking media as goldfish create alot of waste so you best keep an eye on the perameters.

Also, you should read the tests after 5 minutes, the color will change as time goes on; i have found anyway. Purely cause im lazy and i dont empty the test tubes until i test the next morning!!

also just to add aslong as it doesnt look like 8 you should be fine, you just need to be able to distinguish when it hits 0ppm so you can add some more ammonia at the 24hr mark.

 

[fatheadminnow]

You will be able to determine the ammonia test kit more easily as you keep on doing it. For me, it is very easy to read the ammonia test kit.

As for getting some media from the goldfish tank, if you do this, do not take anymore than 1/3 of the filter media from their tank, and make sure you replace what you took with some new media.

-FHM

 

[peter1979]

day 11 updated. nitrite off the scale and ammonia back to zero now, looks like things are on the go!
i managed to borrow the filter sponge from works goldfish tank, do you think its worth doing anything with. I am taking it back in the morning either way. There is a fresh new one in the work tank for now.

I will top up the ammonia back to 4ppm now.

 

[waterdrop]

If it was the only sponge in the goldfish filter then you could safely take scissors and cut 1/3 of it for leaving inside your new filter. Then take the other 2/3 size back and cut the new one at work, putting in only 1/3 of it with the 2/3 older sponge.

Note that regardless of the sponge cutting and keeping, one thing to be sure to do is to squeeze out the dirty sponge in your fishless cycling tank. Every little bit helps the process!

~~waterdrop~~

 

[peter1979]

If it was the only sponge in the goldfish filter then you could safely take scissors and cut 1/3 of it for leaving inside your new filter. Then take the other 2/3 size back and cut the new one at work, putting in only 1/3 of it with the 2/3 older sponge.

Note that regardless of the sponge cutting and keeping, one thing to be sure to do is to squeeze out the dirty sponge in your fishless cycling tank. Every little bit helps the process!

~~waterdrop~~

I ended up rinsing the sponge out in my tank water and taking it back to work and putting it back in their goldfish tank.

 

[joeskandal]

Also, you should read the tests after 5 minutes, the color will change as time goes on; i have found anyway. Purely cause im lazy and i dont empty the test tubes until i test the next morning!!

Haha, so its not just me then???
I definitely find that the colour changes during the night.
Especially with Nitrate and Nitrite.

Peter, my cycle is almost comp[lete and it has taken me just over a month.
People are saying im lucky etc, that it has only taken this long.
I cant help but think this is due to the mature media i have added from my established tank.
I just banged up a couple of kilos into an old stocking (not my own) and let it sit in the bottom of the tank for the duration of the cycle.
My heat is nice and high, and readings are great.
Try and get your hands on some mature media from a freshwater tank and this will help you a great deal...
If you dont know anyone with a tank, pop to your local fish shop and explain your situation, obviously make it sound 100 times worse than it is, and they should donate a bit of gravel.
I would just say to them you have some fish on hold and you really need to finish this cycle, if not, the fish will be coming into your store to live for a few weeks.
haha.
They should pay up.

If you are in the UK, i could maybe post you some of my media, as it will be getting mostly emptied in the next few days as i move my fish to my new tank....

 

[peter1979]

[/quote]




If you are in the UK, i could maybe post you some of my media, as it will be getting mostly emptied in the next few days as i move my fish to my new tank....
[/quote]

Thanks for the offer Joe. I think that i will take some gravel and stuff from the tank at work where they have some goldfish in an old tank. I took home the sponge part of the filter and rinsed it in my tank water yesterday. Your idea of putting some stuff in a stocking in the tank sounds a cool idea, i will give it a go. Thanks for offering to post some though. If i cant swipe some stuff from work then i may have to either try my LFS, or take you up on it.
Peter

 

[joeskandal]

no worries mate, just let me know how you get on.

 

[nork]

I'm loving Day 10's update.

I agree on the 4-8 ppm readings on the Ammonia test card, it can be very hard to distinguish between the two under most lights.

For the first few days, I had to read mine under 3 different types of light to be able to tell with confidence which color I was reading. Some of the pink and purpley colors on the nitrite card can be a bit confusing, too, but not near as much as the last 2 greens on ammonia.

 

[peter1979]

I'm loving Day 10's update.

I agree on the 4-8 ppm readings on the Ammonia test card, it can be very hard to distinguish between the two under most lights.

For the first few days, I had to read mine under 3 different types of light to be able to tell with confidence which color I was reading. Some of the pink and purpley colors on the nitrite card can be a bit confusing, too, but not near as much as the last 2 greens on ammonia.

I had been worried that i possibly had put too much ammonia in and i was getting a reading of 8ppm, but then i started worrying that it was too little, in the end i added a bit more and just waited to see what happened. Seems ok now, and i add about 1.75ml now when i top up instead of the calculated 1.2 or whatever it is.

Yeah too much beer and water testing dont mix well. I smashed a test tube by being a bit heavy handed and spilled a load of pink, green and yellow fluid all over my desk. So i gave up.

 

[peter1979]

my nitrate has spiked a lot today, to around 40 ppm. Why would this be? do i need to do anything?
I had my api gH and KH test kit delivered. My KH reading was 9 (i think this is a german measurement) which is around 160ppm, and gH was a massive 21, which i think was about 410ppm or there-abouts.

Im thinking of stocking 5 or 6 male endlers and possibly 6 ammano or RCS (added at a later date), do you think i will have problems with shrimp climbing out the tank along the heater?