Supraman's 10Gal Tank Journal

[Blondielovesfish]

I'm not really sure how fast people can get their tanks to cycle the ammonia sorry.
How fast is your Nitrite processing ruffly? 
How much ammonia are you adding (sorry if you've already said this I've forgotten).
It's looking good

 

[TallTree01]

Yay! You're almost there supra man !i think the reccomended is 24 hours. I guess if you had a big enough filter and stuff it could cycle in under ten hours.

 

[Supraman]

Well last night I added 2ml of ammonia and it said that gave me 4ppm for my ammonia, and this morning it was gone. Figured it must have been a fluke so I again added 2ml and got 4ppm. I just checked again and 12 hours later 0ppm of amonia. I will add another 2ml right now and check again in 12 hours to see if I can get the same results three days in a row

I was unaware I had to check my nitrite when cycling? I thought you only worried about the ammonia level.. How fast should that cycle through?

 

[Blondielovesfish]

The nitrite takes quite a lot longer to get processed while cycling, this is because as the ammonia is getting processed rather quickly you have to keep adding ammonia so the ammonia bacteria won't die, as you add more ammonia more nitrite is indirectly added so there is more "pressure" on the nitrite bacteria to form. You also will most likely experience high nitrite spikes while it is getting processed in the first stages. Also if I was you I would test for nitrate every few days to see how much nitrite has been processed. Once the nitrate is nearing 160ppm I would recommend doing several small water changes (make sure you use dechlorinater or else you will have to restart the cycle again) to get a nitrate back down. Often when the nitrate is nearing 160ppm it may start to change into a form of acid which reduces the pH thus stalling the cycle. (I've forgotten what the type of acid is sorry). Personally I wouldn't let the nitrate get above 130ppm.
Hope this helps and if you have any questions then feel free to ask them! (or if your still on go on chat! )

 

[Supraman]

Oh yea I'm still up, I will run a nitrite test right now and tell ya the results through chat

 

[Supraman]

Update


Ammonia - 0ppm
Nitrite- off the charts it turned black
Nitrate- 160ppm

What am I doing wrong?

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Do a water change.
I'm not sure if you've already done one but having that high of Nitrate means you have to do another one.
I would do about 70% and then 50% tomorrow and then 30% the next day. This should significantly reduce the Nitrates.
Make sure to raise the ammonia up to about 2ppm after each water change unless you want the ammonia bacteria to start dieing.
It is normal to experience high Nitrite during the cycling process so I'm pretty sure you will just have to wait it out. Doing those water changes should reduce the Nitrite although as you add more ammonia it will spike again sadly!

 

[Supraman]

UPDATE:

Ammonia- 0ppm
Nitrite- hard to tell if its 0ppm or off the charts cause the color isn't on the chart. It almost looks tinted black
Nitrate- 5ppm

Don't know weather or not to do a water change or add amonia...

 

[attibones]

Here's a hint when testing for nitrite: Add the appropriate amount of drops, but do not shake the vial. If the liquid at the bottom immediately turns purple, your readings are off the chart. Otherwise, shake the vial and compare results. Add the ammonia. You need to add the ammonia to continue feeding the bacteria. Add it every time your ammonia reads zero.

 

[Blondielovesfish]

+1 on adding the ammonia.
That tip about the nitrite sounds good also...I might use it one day as well.

 

[Supraman]

It doesn't go purple right away more a dark blue but I feel I see what your saying thanks for the tip. Amonia added

 

[Blondielovesfish]

That's good!
Hopefully all will go well and the nitrite spike will start going down soon!

 

[Supraman]

UPDATE:

well got a call this morning and a package showed up for me, luckily I was heading into town to get my car back anyway. Got to the store and there sat my crayfish. Now these pics don't show his colors at all. In person he is very blue uptop and as it gets lower it goes to a dark redish purple, looks awesome!

Anyway here are a few pics, I will take better pics of the tank once the water clears up. I just added my rocks.

 

[Lunar Jetman]

Funky fish! Looking forward to more photos and updates!

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Looks great! Shame about his claw though!