What Do You Make Of These Reading For Fishless Cycle

[boshk]

Freshwater Fishless cycle in 125L/33Gal tank using Seachem Stability
 
Nothing in tank except a big cupful of Aragonite sand to keep pH around 6.8
 
My ammonia re-dosing is based on 1ml=2ppm 
 
Stability dosing as per label. I stopped the dosing one day after I got the Nitrate reading thinking nitrobacter (which is the Nitrite converting bacteria) was present
 
DATE    Time     Ammonia     Nitrite    Nitrates    pH    Amm re-dose              Stability
 
20-Dec   8pm          3               0            0         7.6     Initial dose 3ppm         Initial dose
21-Dec   6pm did not test                                                                               yes
22-Dec                                                                                                  miss dose
23-Dec  12pm        2                4              5                        3                             yes
24-Dec  12pm       0.5                                                        3                             yes
25-Dec  12pm       0.25            4             20                       3                             yes
26-Dec  7am         0.2              5                        6.4            5                             yes and 50% water change
27-Dec  9am         0                 4             50       7.2           4                             yes
28-Dec  8am         0                 5                                        5                             yes
29-Dec  6am         0                 3                                        4                             no
30-Dec  11pm       0                 2             20         7             2                              no
31-Dec  8am         0.5                                                         3                             no
01-Jan  1am          0.2            0.5         5 or 10   6.8            3                  
01-Jan  11pm        0               0.5         5 or 10                   2
02-Jan  7am          0.25          0.5         5 or 10                   2
 
 
I'm a bit stumped on why Nitrates isn't going through the roof....like 50+

I had 2 readings at 20 Nitrate and 1 at 50 Nitrate........false indications?

any suggestions?
 
(couldnt get the Excel table to paste, sorry)

 

[boshk]

Looks like my reading were false.
 
Initially I was getting a Nitrite reading of 0.25 on last 4 days, I thought I was done but I was 'stumped' as to why Nitrate wasn't through the roof at 100+

Either my Nitrite read is wrong or my Nitrate read was wrong.

Went to get an API 5-in-1 test strip kit, (probably should have got a different brand.)

Strip results: GH=60 KH=40 pH=7 Nitrite=10+, Nitrates=160+
 
It looks like if you have extremely high Nitrites, the test is inaccurate as shown in my case.
Mine could have been 20+ppm but it was showing 0.25. It was deep purple at the start but at 5min mark, it was light blue.
-Did a 50/50 tap water and tank water test for Nitrite and reading was 5+ (tap water only test=0 nitrite)

50% water change to tank.
No more daily dosing of ammonia now

4th Jan Nitrite=5, Nitrate=5, Ammonia 0.25, pH=7, KH=30
-Did normal Nitrate test=5ppm
-Did 50/50 Nitrate test=4ppm, so I conclude the Strip test for Nitrate is wrong or I am misreading it.
Just need the Nitrite to Nitrate bacterias to appear.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Freshwater Fishless cycle in 125L/33Gal tank using Seachem Stability
 
Nothing in tank except a big cupful of Aragonite sand to keep pH around 6.8
 
My ammonia re-dosing is based on 1ml=2ppm 
 
Stability dosing as per label. I stopped the dosing one day after I got the Nitrate reading thinking nitrobacter (which is the Nitrite converting bacteria) was present
 
 
I'm a bit stumped on why Nitrates isn't going through the roof....like 50+

I had 2 readings at 20 Nitrate and 1 at 50 Nitrate........false indications?

any suggestions?
 

 
The bolded is the problem, in my opinion.  Stability is worthless.  Nitrobacter is not the species we want in our tanks.

 

[boshk]

 

 

Freshwater Fishless cycle in 125L/33Gal tank using Seachem Stability
 
Nothing in tank except a big cupful of Aragonite sand to keep pH around 6.8
 
My ammonia re-dosing is based on 1ml=2ppm 
 
Stability dosing as per label. I stopped the dosing one day after I got the Nitrate reading thinking nitrobacter (which is the Nitrite converting bacteria) was present
 
 
I'm a bit stumped on why Nitrates isn't going through the roof....like 50+

I had 2 readings at 20 Nitrate and 1 at 50 Nitrate........false indications?

any suggestions?
 

 
The bolded is the problem, in my opinion.  Stability is worthless.  Nitrobacter is not the species we want in our tanks.
 

yea, maybe you are correct but at the time I didn't have any options.
 
I remember buying the tank around the beginning of Dec 2015 thinking, I won't go the 'bottle bacteria' chemical way, I'll depend on nature to give me the bacteria.
 
I lost patience after 15+ days, so around 20th Dec i bought a bottle of Seachem Stability after some members posted success with it on forums.
Dr Tim One & Only ......not available in Hong Kong
Tetra SafeStart........not available in Hong Kong
 
At the same time I use Amazon to buy Tetra SafeStart but shipment wasn't due until Jan 6th 2016 then it was denied, luckily, a friend went to US for work and bought me a bottle of Dr Tim One and Only.
 
I also decided to buy a small 7G tank as a QT so I decided to test Dr Tim on it using fishless cycle too.
That one seems to be working so far.......its on day 8 now
amm 0.25, nitrite 5, nitrate 40, pH 6.8, temp 27C
 
I just thought for my main tank, since I have the ammonia converting bacteria, maybe 'nature' will provide the Nitrite converting bacteria if I give it a bit more time instead of washing out the whole tank with tap water and starting again with Dr. Tim.

 

[Ch4rlie]

2 things spring to mind on this -
 
One - the nitrate test kit, API liquid based kit, tends to be hard to do correctly due to the fact that the reagent solutions needds to be shaken REAL hard for the time given on instructions to have any chance of gettng accurate readings. (I tend to use nitrate readings as a guide rather than accurate reading/s.)
 
Two - as Eagles mentioned, Nitrobacter is not the required bacteria, I believe nitrospira is the main bacteria needed as well as other elements thats essential for fishess cycle.
 
Your tank should eventually start to colonise the necessary bacteriums for converting ammonia and nitrite to make tank water safe. Its a continued process of adding ammonia to 'feed' the bacteria and keeping an eye on test readings that will eventually yeild the fishless cycling you want. A quick read of this if you have not done so already will help.
 
Do try to avoid purchasing or adding things to the tank that you think will jump start the cycling at this stage, Seachem Stability will certainly not help much, if at all tbh.
 
Fishless cycling does take some time to complete from scratch, usually up 4 to 8 weeks, depending on certain circumstances with your water and tank etc. Patience IS a virtue

 

[eaglesaquarium]

 

 

 


Freshwater Fishless cycle in 125L/33Gal tank using Seachem Stability
 
Nothing in tank except a big cupful of Aragonite sand to keep pH around 6.8
 
My ammonia re-dosing is based on 1ml=2ppm 
 
Stability dosing as per label. I stopped the dosing one day after I got the Nitrate reading thinking nitrobacter (which is the Nitrite converting bacteria) was present
 
 
I'm a bit stumped on why Nitrates isn't going through the roof....like 50+

I had 2 readings at 20 Nitrate and 1 at 50 Nitrate........false indications?

any suggestions?
 

 
The bolded is the problem, in my opinion.  Stability is worthless.  Nitrobacter is not the species we want in our tanks.
 

yea, maybe you are correct but at the time I didn't have any options.
 
I remember buying the tank around the beginning of Dec 2015 thinking, I won't go the 'bottle bacteria' chemical way, I'll depend on nature to give me the bacteria.
 
I lost patience after 15+ days, so around 20th Dec i bought a bottle of Seachem Stability after some members posted success with it on forums.
Dr Tim One & Only ......not available in Hong Kong
Tetra SafeStart........not available in Hong Kong
 
At the same time I use Amazon to buy Tetra SafeStart but shipment wasn't due until Jan 6th 2016 then it was denied, luckily, a friend went to US for work and bought me a bottle of Dr Tim One and Only.
 
I also decided to buy a small 7G tank as a QT so I decided to test Dr Tim on it using fishless cycle too.
That one seems to be working so far.......its on day 8 now
amm 0.25, nitrite 5, nitrate 40, pH 6.8, temp 27C
 
I just thought for my main tank, since I have the ammonia converting bacteria, maybe 'nature' will provide the Nitrite converting bacteria if I give it a bit more time instead of washing out the whole tank with tap water and starting again with Dr. Tim.

 


 
Using Stability is a an attempt to use 'bottled bacteria'.  Its a waste of money.  
 
Were you to purchase any of the products discussed before (Tetra's Safe Start or One and Only), there would be no reason to wash out the whole tank and start over... you could just add it to where you are and go from there.
 
 
Its going to take time to cycle the tank without additives or seeding the tank with bacteria from another tank.  Patience.
 
 
The key right now is to add very small amounts of ammonia (roughly 1ppm) every 5 days or so, and wait for the nitrite to come down.  Nature will provide those bacteria that you need (the nitrite to nitrate ones - nitrospira), but they don't really start to populate the tank until there is a bit of nitrite to process.... they just take longer.  You don't want to add much more in the way of ammonia to either tank until the nitrite comes down.  Add ammonia only every few days and at a low dose just to keep ticking over the ammonia bacs.
 
IMO, there's no need to add Stability any more.  Honestly, its just a waste.  Using it will not get your tank to the place you want it to be - self-sufficient in terms of the nitrogen cycle.  

 

[boshk]

 

 

 




 


Freshwater Fishless cycle in 125L/33Gal tank using Seachem Stability
 
Nothing in tank except a big cupful of Aragonite sand to keep pH around 6.8
 
My ammonia re-dosing is based on 1ml=2ppm 
 
Stability dosing as per label. I stopped the dosing one day after I got the Nitrate reading thinking nitrobacter (which is the Nitrite converting bacteria) was present
 
 
I'm a bit stumped on why Nitrates isn't going through the roof....like 50+

I had 2 readings at 20 Nitrate and 1 at 50 Nitrate........false indications?

any suggestions?
 

 
The bolded is the problem, in my opinion.  Stability is worthless.  Nitrobacter is not the species we want in our tanks.
 

yea, maybe you are correct but at the time I didn't have any options.
 
I remember buying the tank around the beginning of Dec 2015 thinking, I won't go the 'bottle bacteria' chemical way, I'll depend on nature to give me the bacteria.
 
I lost patience after 15+ days, so around 20th Dec i bought a bottle of Seachem Stability after some members posted success with it on forums.
Dr Tim One & Only ......not available in Hong Kong
Tetra SafeStart........not available in Hong Kong
 
At the same time I use Amazon to buy Tetra SafeStart but shipment wasn't due until Jan 6th 2016 then it was denied, luckily, a friend went to US for work and bought me a bottle of Dr Tim One and Only.
 
I also decided to buy a small 7G tank as a QT so I decided to test Dr Tim on it using fishless cycle too.
That one seems to be working so far.......its on day 8 now
amm 0.25, nitrite 5, nitrate 40, pH 6.8, temp 27C
 
I just thought for my main tank, since I have the ammonia converting bacteria, maybe 'nature' will provide the Nitrite converting bacteria if I give it a bit more time instead of washing out the whole tank with tap water and starting again with Dr. Tim.

 


 
Using Stability is a an attempt to use 'bottled bacteria'.  Its a waste of money.  
 
Were you to purchase any of the products discussed before (Tetra's Safe Start or One and Only), there would be no reason to wash out the whole tank and start over... you could just add it to where you are and go from there.
 
 
Its going to take time to cycle the tank without additives or seeding the tank with bacteria from another tank.  Patience.
 
 
The key right now is to add very small amounts of ammonia (roughly 1ppm) every 5 days or so, and wait for the nitrite to come down.  Nature will provide those bacteria that you need (the nitrite to nitrate ones - nitrospira), but they don't really start to populate the tank until there is a bit of nitrite to process.... they just take longer.  You don't want to add much more in the way of ammonia to either tank until the nitrite comes down.  Add ammonia only every few days and at a low dose just to keep ticking over the ammonia bacs.
 
IMO, there's no need to add Stability any more.  Honestly, its just a waste.  Using it will not get your tank to the place you want it to be - self-sufficient in terms of the nitrogen cycle.  
 


thanks. 
 
A friend was able to get me a bottle of Dr Tim from US 10 days ago.
 
Long story short, I think my spare small quarantine tank is cycled compared to this my main tank which I started 3 weeks earlier.
Just doing the last 24hr test on the QT, dosed 2 ppm ammonia, waiting for 0 amm and nitrite.

 

[OldMan47]

If you have good chemistry on your quarantine tank and are still dosing ammonia daily, you have your own starter. Clean the filter on that quarantine tank in the larger tank and you will have introduced the right bacteria into that larger tank. Then it will just be a case of letting that bacterial colony get better established in the larger filter.