Questions.

[Bokonon]

Everyones favourite, fishless cycle questions.

Cycling a 5g tank at the moment, hoping to keep cherry red shrimp in it once its completed but i just have a couple of questions. The filter was from a previously established tank and last tuesday i added the ammonia to bring it up to about 5ppm. Testing today the ammonia has gone down to 0, so i did a nitrite test and the readings are at zero. Nitrates however are at 20ish or so.

Two questions about this,
1.) May i not see a nitrite spike? And if not how should i continue, just add another 5ppm of ammonia and see what happens?
2.) I added a large lump of filter wool both in the filter and just into the water until i can pick up something like java moss for the shrimps to eventually cling too, may this have absorbed ammonia? I doubt it as i was under the impression that only carbon/zeolite filter media do that?

Thanks for everyones time.

 

[glolite]

If the filter from the established tank was swapped straight over then it will be cycled. Carry on adding ammonia for a few days and testing for Ammo and Nitrite. If the readings continue to be zero then all is good.

I wouldn't think filter floss would absorb much ammonia at all.

 

[OldMan47]

Glolite has the right answer. A rapid cycle like that is what I often see on one of my tanks after using some mature media. The nitrite processing bacteria exist in that filter sample along with the ammonia processing bacteria.

I must ask, is your logon ID related to Ice Nine?

 

[Bokonon]

Oh cool, guess ill just wait for this second lot of ammonia to die down, change the water, and i should be good to go for shrimp then. Thanks for your help.

And yeah it is, bit of a vonnegut fan .