What's new
By:
Filters

Rye's Fishless Cycle

my lovely Nitrites have doubled again in 24 hours


Day 3 - Ph: 7.4, Ammonia: 4, Ni: 1, Na: 20, Temp 80F

updating the first post to contain this new cycle information
 
BioMature is a scientifically formulated mixture of those bacterial nutrients, vitamins and mineral salts necessary for the rapid maturation of a bacterial filter.
Click to expand...

This was the closest thing to an ingredients list I could find for the stuff you are using. Is it your thinking that the BioMature product is mostly ammonia and therefor is serving as the "food" to keep the bacteria alive?

The quote, by the way, does not match up with what we know from Hovanecs scientific papers about what these two bacterial species actually need for growth and reproduction. Fresh oxygenated water, ammonia/ammonium and a tiny bit of Calcium and Iron are the only things he outlines as being needed to grow these.

In a normal add&wait fishless cycle, as written up in the RDD article, the only thing we need to do when ammonia drops to zero ppm sometime in previous 24 hours is to add another dose of simple household ammonia to bring the ammonia concentration back up to 4 or 5ppm at our "add-hour." (our regular hour within the 24 hour day when we regularly plan to add ammonia - by making it a set time, it helps to make the test results more understandable over time.)

~~waterdrop~~
 
I used Biomature on 'Day 1' to top the ammonia up to five, and then ive been adding Waterlife's Bacterlife ever since, same as i did the first time round in the previous posts.

I've been told to keep adding Bacterlife until the Nitrites drop to zero...
...then i would assume i would add more Biomature(to put the ammonia back to 5), and then record how long it takes for the ammonia to drop back down to zero - whilst adding Bacterlife every 24th hour), and repeat until it reads zero after 8 to 12 hours of adding the ammonia source..

I have no idea what the Bacterlife does to be honest lol, i just know that i need to add it every day.
The bottle says:

Bacterlife is a blend of essential filteration bacteria that are vital in aquaria... When used regularly Bacterlife speeds up the Nitrogen cycle, reducing waste toxicity and improving water quality.

What does Bacterlife do?
- Actively reduces ammonia
- Inhibits new tank syndrome
- Increases bacteria count of existing filtration
- Reduces organic sludge and eases filter maintenance
- Replenishes bacteria after filter maintenance
- Bacterlife will not generate additional ammonia, a problem that may occur with other bacteria cultures
Click to expand...

I had a hard time judging the colour of my nitrite test today, so i dont know if my reading was correct.
 
I dont understand what is going on in my tank today

PH: has taken a nose-dive and is at 6.6 (was 7.2 yesterday)
Ammonia: 0.25 - just as i thought it would be
NitrItes: i have no idea (i struggled to test it correctly yesterday too). When i put the drops in the test tube and shook it, it immediately turned to look like 2ppm, i left it to sit for 5 minutes and now i *think* it looks like 1ppm...
NitrAtes: gone down to 5.0 (was 20 yesterday)


Noooo idea!
 
The pH drop during a fishless cycle is usually the result of nitrates combining with the H part of H2O to form nitric acid. Nitric acid is naturally acidic and really drops the tank's pH. Unfortunately that theory goes out the window when you say that the nitrate reading went down at the same time. That leaves us grasping for what might have used up the carbonate hardness in your water without the nitrate being present. Nitrites can also form nitrous acid but it is not the strong acid that nitric acid is and I would expect it to be a less dramatic contributor to a pH drop. If you started out with rather low KH in your tank water, I suppose that the nitrites could be dropping your pH, but that would be a bit unusual. The cure is much easier than the analysis though. When the pH of the tank drops too far, you start by doing a huge water change using dechlorinated water. That replenishes whatever KH you get from your tap water and lets you dose the ammonia back up and start again from where you left off.
 
so a water change at this stage wouldnt do any harm to the cycle?

and my Nitrites, are they "off the scale", or are they bouncing up and down from 2.0 to 1.0 in five minutes? lol

Wondering what today will be bring. We shall find out this afternoon
 
What brand of nitrite tester are you using? With the API one, if the nitrite is off the top of the scale, as soon as the drops are added the water at the bottom of the tube will go purple. If you then shake and stand for the five mins, it will go a funny greenish colour. Is this what you are seeing?

There is a warning about this in rdd's fishless cycling article in the beginners resource centre.
 
Yeah i have the API kit. I remebered reading that if the drops go purple as soon as they hit the bottom of the tube then they are off the scale. The drops are going purple in the bottom of the tube, i shake it and it goes crazy pink to about 2ppm reading, they aren't green though.

So, a bit more interesting numbers for you..
Day 7 -
PH: 6.4, Amm: 0, Ni: 2.0 (?), Na: 20

Im doing a water change to put the PH back to 7.5. Im not sure if im supposed to be adding the Bacterlife still until the Nitrites drop, or if i should dose some Ammonia back to 4 with Biomature and then add Bacterlife until that has gone.

What will happen if i don't add Ammonia and it stays at a 0 reading?
 
Dose the ammonia at every 24 hr as long as it's a zero. If the Nitrite goes purple as soon as you add it the reading is 5+ and if you shake it and wait the 5 minutes it will give you a false reading. Once the Nitrite finally starts dropping you'll get a big Nitrate spike (80+). If you don't keep dosing the ammonia the bacteria will die off and you'll have to start over again.
 
Thats what i thought! Ill top the ammonia up right away.

Thanks for all the advice everyone :)

Ive done a water change and the PH level is 7.4 :) ill record it every day still and keep an eye on it
 
Day 9 -

My PH is at 6.4 again :(
Im thinking ill have to do another water change...
Is this related to my cycle or do you think it will happen all the time?


Other stats:
Ammonia: 0.25, Ni: off the scale, Na: 0.5

WHAT THE ?!
It has done exactly the same as it did on Day 6! ><

ETA: Chart has been updated and notes have been added to first post. Ive put the Ni's at 5 on the chart because i dont know how else to record them lol
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Oldspartan
Film on water
Replies
10
Views
396
raylove
R
Oldspartan
Angels
2
Replies
24
Views
1K
Back in the fold
Back in the fold
D
Frequent fish deaths - advice needed!
2
Replies
20
Views
604
djkillab
D
R
Cycling - start again or be patient?
Replies
13
Views
465
Essjay
Essjay
F
Fish in Cycling
2
Replies
16
Views
369
Bamf Comics
B

Most reactions

Useful Links

Back
Top