"seeding" A Filter

[dcarmor927]

Thanks for that...well the filter has completed cycling, and the pH has dropped to a more appropriate 7.8...

you're ammonia and nitrite drop to 0 in 12 hrs already?

yup...i thought it would take a bit longer but im not complaining lol

 

[Paavn]

thats pretty awesome!!
my ammonia goes from 5ppm to 0 in 8 hrs or less and my nitrites still arnt being converted to nitrates so i dont know whats going on

 

[dcarmor927]

thats pretty awesome!!
my ammonia goes from 5ppm to 0 in 8 hrs or less and my nitrites still arnt being converted to nitrates so i dont know whats going on

maybe the nitrite bacteria is a little slow on the uptake...as always patience is a virtue lol...(i hate saying that because im so impatient)
youre not getting any drop in nitrites at all?

 

[waterdrop]

thats pretty awesome!!
my ammonia goes from 5ppm to 0 in 8 hrs or less and my nitrites still arnt being converted to nitrates so i dont know whats going on

Hi Paavn,

It sounds like shoe armor there was one of those cases where a lot of mature media material just took off successfully and more or less immediately cycled the second filter (per the method described by OM47 early on.) I can't remember the circumstances of what mature media, if any, you had in conjunction with your fishless cycle (?) but what happened to shoe is fairly lucky and rare, so I wouldn't be too discouraged that yours is necessarily abnormal.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Paavn]

thats pretty awesome!!
my ammonia goes from 5ppm to 0 in 8 hrs or less and my nitrites still arnt being converted to nitrates so i dont know whats going on

Hi Paavn,

It sounds like shoe armor there was one of those cases where a lot of mature media material just took off successfully and more or less immediately cycled the second filter (per the method described by OM47 early on.) I can't remember the circumstances of what mature media, if any, you had in conjunction with your fishless cycle (?) but what happened to shoe is fairly lucky and rare, so I wouldn't be too discouraged that yours is necessarily abnormal.

~~waterdrop~~

i had the problem of not being able to get any mature media, most of the stores just looked at me like i was crazy. and i have had a few set backs in the beginning lol (extremely high ammonia over dose) but i think im pretty lucky to be where im at in the cycle cause its been a month and the ammonia is dropping really fast.


sorry for the hijack shoe armor, i started another thread to avoid it but it still happened lol and to answer your question, im not seeing a raise in nitrates at all. maybe my test kit is faulty (API) i'll swing by petco or petsmart

 

[dcarmor927]

thats pretty awesome!!
my ammonia goes from 5ppm to 0 in 8 hrs or less and my nitrites still arnt being converted to nitrates so i dont know whats going on

Hi Paavn,

It sounds like shoe armor there was one of those cases where a lot of mature media material just took off successfully and more or less immediately cycled the second filter (per the method described by OM47 early on.) I can't remember the circumstances of what mature media, if any, you had in conjunction with your fishless cycle (?) but what happened to shoe is fairly lucky and rare, so I wouldn't be too discouraged that yours is necessarily abnormal.

~~waterdrop~~

i had the problem of not being able to get any mature media, most of the stores just looked at me like i was crazy. and i have had a few set backs in the beginning lol (extremely high ammonia over dose) but i think im pretty lucky to be where im at in the cycle cause its been a month and the ammonia is dropping really fast.


sorry for the hijack shoe armor, i started another thread to avoid it but it still happened lol and to answer your question, im not seeing a raise in nitrates at all. maybe my test kit is faulty (API) i'll swing by petco or petsmart

hey i'm glad that youre getting the help you need!! you can hijack my threads any time lol...as long as i still get my help too that is...

also im still lol-ing at shoe armor

oh one more thing...i dont have the fish i want to add to the new tank yet...i have a pair of platties in my 55 gallon tank...chould i put them in the 10 for a while so that the bacteria holds...i wont be able to get any fish for a week becuase they have to be ordered...

 

[Paavn]

haha i dont know where i got shoe armor from? didnt realize that till you mentioned it lol

i think you can keep feeding the bacteria with ammonia and then the day your fish are scheduled to arrive or the night before you do your water change

 

[dcarmor927]

waterdrop was the one who started it lol...i guess just feeding the bac would work...im getting some plants in the mail in the next couple days and i dont know how the instant ammonia spike will affect them...maybe ill do little splashes every now and then so i dont shock them...

 

[waterdrop]

Hey there shoe armor,

OK guys, ammonia is plant food! ('course its also algae food, lol) but anyway, don't worry about the plants, they'll be fine for now!

More importantly, Paavn is more right than the tone of his post communicates: Its actually much preferable that you continue to feed the bacteria via controlled 5ppm ammonia dosing once each 24 hours -rather- than putting in two platties. If you put the platties in, they will produce only a tiny amount of ammonia compared to the 5ppm and your bacterial populations will die back to a much smaller size (well, somewhat, since it wouldn't be all that long a time) whereas continuing to dose at 5ppm will actually continue to make the colonies even stronger. I would opt to continue dosing, definately.

Extra learning opportunity here is that towards the end of fishless cycling, part of what we're accomplishing is making the fledgling colonies more robust. A lot of people think that as soon as the colonies can process ammonia and nitrite down to zero, the BAM!, its done and they're perfect! But actually, the colonies at the end of fishless cycling are still somewhat fragile and they will continue to get tougher and more stable for the next six months and even the whole first year.

Don't get me wrong. If you follow our formula here on TFF and use the 5ppm, getting drops to zero within 12 hours and have a solid "qualifying week," then you will have a very robust, cycled filter. But it just makes you a better aquarist I think if you understand that in the even bigger picture, the maturity of your colonies is a bit of an ongoing thing!

~~waterdrop~~
ps. (actually we had one of our rare North Carolina snows the last couple days and I had to wear my shoe armor but unfortunately it bruised my ankles and today I'm going back to running shoes, snow be d&*!mnd)

 

[dcarmor927]

Thanks again WD! i knew that keeping the platties in there would diminish some of the bacteria, due to lack of waste...but now that i know ammonia wont hurt the plants ill do a daily add of ammonia...just put some in now...

As for the snow, sorry you dont like it lol...its been raining here in the Bay Area which means? Snow in Tahoe!! now if i could get some buddies to drop the $ for a lift ticket or a season pass...lol

thanks again WD, ill keep that ammonia up until i can get my inhabitants

 

[waterdrop]

Ha Ha, thanks, your welcome.

~~waterdrop~~
Its just the stiff waterproof hiking boots I didn't like. Snow is great!! My boys love to snowboard.