Should I Add Ammonia To This Cycling Tank, Or Just Give It Some Time?

[danio]

I'm somewhat familiar with the cycling process since I already have one mature tank, but I'm not sure what to make of the readings on the new one I've set up. It's going to be a planted tank, and it currently has one java fern, some duckweed, and a piece of driftwood in it. The filter is brand new, but I tried to seed the bacteria growth by dropping in a pouch of gravel and vacuumed-up waste from the other one, along with 5 gallons of water used to rinse the old filter pad.

The tank has been running for a week so far. The plants look fine, but the test results from my API master test kit have hardly changed at all since the start:

Tank size: 38 gallons (filled to 20)
pH: 7.6 (tap water is 7.2)
Ammonia: 0.50 - 0.75 mg/L
Nitrites: 0.75 mg/L
Nitrates: 10 mg/L

Now I'm thinking I should have started from scratch, since it's hard to tell what's left over from the other tank, and what's happening in this one. Should I add some pure ammonia to give the process a kick in the pants, or just have some patience until I see the ammonia or nitrites drop? I plan to stock this one very gradually either way, so I don't need a very strong cycle to start. I just want to avoid any unnecessary fish casualties.

 

[Musho3210]

since you want a planted tank, i would suggest you heavily plant it from the start. I heavily planted mine from the start and my ammonia went from 8.0 ppm to 0 in 18 hours. Did it again, from 4.0 ppm to 0 in 6 hours the second time. I called it cycled and it hasnt spiked in ammonia ever since.

Is there any ammonia source in the tank? How can ammonia rise if your not somehow adding it?

 

[danio]

since you want a planted tank, i would suggest you heavily plant it from the start. I heavily planted mine from the start and my ammonia went from 8.0 ppm to 0 in 18 hours. Did it again, from 4.0 ppm to 0 in 6 hours the second time. I called it cycled and it hasnt spiked in ammonia ever since.

Is there any ammonia source in the tank? How can ammonia rise if your not somehow adding it?

I will be adding more plants very soon. This is my first real planted tank, so I wanted to get some research and decent lighting taken care of before I put too much into it.

Aside from the fish droppings and a small amount of uneaten flakes with the old gravel, no, I haven't introduced any new ammonia. That's why I find it strange that the level hasn't dropped at all. Any detectable amount should be enough to start the bacteria growth, right?

 

[Christine1014]

Well, you have nitrites, so ammonia IS being processed. When you do a fishless cycle though, you only add ammonia once at first, and then wait for it to drop. Yours isn't going to drop all at once because it's being constantly added (by your fish themselves, and the food). I wouldn't put ammonia in the tank with fish in there. You either cycle fishlessly/artificially, or with-fish. I don't think there's any sort of hybrid of the two methods. It will probably carry on this way for at least a few more weeks. The best you can do is just keep monitoring your levels and doing water changes as necessary. (and depending on the size of your tank and how many fish you have currently, you may need to add another fish or two for a more efficient cycle).

 

[rdd1952]

I'm a little confused. Do you have fish in the tank now or not? You say you want to stock slowly but also that you want to avoid casualties.

 

[danio]

Sorry for the confusion. There are no fish in this tank right now - the droppings came over from a different tank along with the pouch full of gravel. I was waiting until I saw some kind of change in these ammonia and nitrite levels before trying anything else with it.

Edit: Even when it's ready for fish, I only want to add a few at a time.

Is it possible for the concentration of either one to be "too low" for the bacteria to take hold?

 

[Musho3210]

no, if there are detectable ammonia and nitrite levels then give it time. If your doing a fishless cycle and your ammonia is all clear and your in the nitrite stage, you still need to feed the tank ammonia or the ammonia eating bacteria will starve.

 

[rdd1952]

Is the tank you moved the gravel (it won't help any), water and waste from cycled? If it is, move some of the filter media from the establihed tank into the filter of the new tank and you will have immediate bacteria to start. You can add ammonia and be completely cycled in a very short time. As I mentioned, moving the gravel won't help any as there is only a very minute amount of bacteria in the gravel unless you have an under gravel filter. All the bacteria is in the filter where the water flow is.

As mentioned, move media into the new filter and add ammonia, doing a fishless cycle as in the thread in my signature. It shouldn't take long at all with the seed media. After that, you could safely add all you fish and not have to go through the little by little process.

 

[danio]

I can't replace any of the filter media in the established tank at the moment, but I will work something out.

And thank you for the advice. You're very patient people to answer so many similar questions in here.