My fishless aquarium is a toxic waste dump!

[afishoutofh2o]

Day 41 :censor:
Will I ever be able to add fish to my aquarium?
Will the nitrite spike ever go down?
I SO glad I am not going through this cycle with fish, but the nitrite spike is really getting to me.
On day 40 my NH3/NH4 was 1 mg/liter, NO2 off the scale, NO3 off the scale. I thought my super high NO3 might be limiting the amount of NO2 the bacteria could process and did a 90% water change and added the household ammonia as per usual.
Today in the a.m. (day 41) I added more ammonia and tonight I retested the NO3. It is again off the scale! (pH is my usual 7.5)
I am beginning to feel like I am creating a toxic waste dump (see http://www.aqualink.com/columns/k-hands4.html) and will never see happy fish in my tank
As you can see I am being overly melodramatic. Intellectually I know that my tank will cycle, but I am having a hard time believing it. This is my first attempt at cycling / keeping fish.

Any other first experiences to share? Do you believe that my nitrite spike will go away?

TFL

 

[talloulou]

Day 41!!!! That's insane.

Okay where are all you fishless cycling people??? Help out. 41 days can't be right. I've never done a fishless cycle in my life. The "fishless cycle" is really popular on the internet but not so much in books yet. Or perhaps I'm reading older books, LOL. Wish I could help. 41 days seems like a ridiculous amount of time to have a box full of water with no fish in it.

It's funny that your wondering if your tank is a toxic waste dump cause that is exactly what I think of when I ponder the idea of adding ammonia to my fish tank! But I am old school and slow to learn the new ways.

Hopefully the fishless cycle people will reply soon because I don't think it is supposed to take that long.

Hell if you had just thrown fish flakes in the water and ignored it for 41 days it would probably would have cycled itself.

 

[fearlessfisch]

It does seem a little long for a ten gallon--I dunno. Others can correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think fishless is supposed to be much faster than fishful cycling....and I have heard people talk about 7 weeks for some larger tanks. That is almost 2 months. I am trying to remember how long my 55 took, but all I remember is that it seemed like forever. You should be in the homestretch for a ten gallon, though.

 

[Zagz]

I can't explain it but I did a fishless cycle adding ammonia daily and was done my cycle in 13 days. My recommendation? Do a pwc at least 50 %, test your parameters, keep the ammonia at 3.0 ppm or so and see what happens. I honestly can't explain your extreme length in cycling. HTH.

 

[greenmaji]

You need not test NO3.. If you have any NO2 it will throw off the test..
I would cut back or stop adding the ammonia..

 

[Jchillin]

A couple of questions come to mind:

~What are your actual parameters? Can you convert mg into ppm form? It's difficult to figure out the problem without it.
~Are you making PWC's to keep ammonia level down at @ 2ppm?
~Have you disturbed the gravel, filter during this time?

 

[BillD]

1 mg per litre is 1ppm (the beauty of the metric system) . As greenmagi said, stop the ammonia addition. If you actually have nitrate in large amounts, you need to do a large water change. Since you have no fish, you could change it all, and see if the nitite drops. Personally, I have never done a fishless cycle, nor actually cycled a tank on purpose. However, if you have nitrates and you are still adding ammonia, it will never stop.

 

[Jchillin]

1 mg per litre is 1ppm (the beauty of the metric system)

Thanks BillD! I just saw the part about dosing more ammonia after that large water change.

 

[afishoutofh2o]

Thanks for all of your thoughts!

However, if you have nitrates and you are still adding ammonia, it will never stop.

The ammonia goes down to zero within 12 to 24 hours. I thought I needed to keep adding the ammonia so the first type of nitrification bacteria didn't die off (those that change ammonia to nitrite Nitrosomonas sp).

I don't think fishless is supposed to be much faster than fishful cycling....

This is what I have read too. I know that cycling can take a while, but I guess I expected that this would be over in 36 days (based on what I read).

You need not test NO3.. If you have any NO2 it will throw off the test...

There was a period where I tested positive for NO2 but not for NO3, and then after a few days I started seeing NO3. I am using Tetra Test. Do you still think the nitrite is confounding the nitrate test? Anyway, I don't suppose it much matters - all I really need to see is the nitrite go away and the pH remaining stable.

~Are you making PWC's to keep ammonia level down at @ 2ppm?

I have been doing PWC's when the pH drops or when the nitrite just seems why too high. That translates to about 1-2 90% PWC's each week.

~Have you disturbed the gravel, filter during this time?

Earlier on in this process I was vacuuming the gravel (first two weeks), but then I stopped because I read/realized that these efforts where actually counter productive.

Personally, I have never done a fishless cycle, nor actually cycled a tank on purpose.

I am positively green with envy!
Anyway, I will keep you posted. And, buyer beware, the product Cycle certainly hasn't worked for me

 

[SpikeAZ]

like others have suggested, stop dosing ammonia and do water changes until NO3 approaches 0. If that doesn't occur, you have a broken or expired testkit.

When that occurs, I would stop dosing ammonia and instead put a frozen shrimp in there. This will allow for more consistant ammonia, and a less chance of turning your tank into a toxic waste dump. Take out after a day or two.

Then, stop doing water changes. I think you're causing mini-cycles. Let it stand for 2-3 weeks and you should be good to go (but hopefully much sooner).

 

[FawnN]

I've only done fishless on all my tanks so this is what I have experienced.

When initially adding the ammonia I only brought it up to 4ppm. Do not add anymore until it falls to 2ppm. Once it falls to 2ppm, you only add enough to bring it back up to 2ppm. Adding anymore will slow down your bacteria growth.

It only took 1 1/2 weeks for my ammonia to zero out. The key is to always keep your levels at 2ppm.

After my ammonia zeroed out, it took about another week before getting my nitrite spike. Once it spiked, it was another 3-4 days before my nitrite zero'd out too. Remember, through out this whole time I kept adding enough ammonia to keep it at only 2ppm.

By adding an air stone, turning the heat up to 80 and dropping the level of my HOB (giving it a bigger splash at the surface), I gave them additional oxygen to grow. That really seemed to help with the growth.

I would suggest that you do a 50% water change and test your water to see where everything is.

 

[Jchillin]

Anyway, I will keep you posted. And, buyer beware, the product Cycle certainly hasn't worked for me

I have no data but it hasn't worked for too many others either.

Final thought - Did you use a dechlor after those water changes or have you ever encountered cloudy water?

 

[afishoutofh2o]

Thanks everyone! FawnN thanks so much for giving me your experience of doing a fishless cycle!

Final thought - Did you use a dechlor after those water changes or have you ever encountered cloudy water

I thought I should have mentioned this in my initial post... I am using Nutrafin's Aqua Plus tap water conditioner. My tap water contains chlorine not chloramine. I add 2 ml/g and let the water sit for at least 15 minutes (but usually overnight).

By adding an air stone, turning the heat up to 80 and dropping the level of my HOB (giving it a bigger splash at the surface), I gave them additional oxygen to grow. That really seemed to help with the growth.

I have an air curtain running and my HOB filter has a good current going (Aqua Clear Mini). I have not turned up the heat, but that is a good idea.
I will do another 50% PWC tomorrow and see where we're at.
Thanks again AA gang!