4 Days into Cycling, Ammonia level hasn't changed

[cloaker]

Hi everyone, I'm doing a fish-in cycling in a 26g bowfront, Fluval C3 filter, two pieces of driftwood, sand substrate, small pebbles, 3 larger rocks, and plastic plants. Fish in the tank are 4 x Harlequin Rasboras, 2 x Black Neon Tetras, and 6 x Neon Tetras. They are all schooling and feeding together. I had no luck finding pure ammonia to do fish-less cycling so I decided to do fish-in, with a bottle of Prime ready with buckets of aged water to do water changes in case of spikes. I am testing my water with an API Master Test Kit.

For the past 4 days, I have been dosing the tank with a live bottle of bacteria made by my LFS (contains Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter, bottled fresh every week). The first 3 days I actually only had the 4 x Harlequins and the ammonia level was at 0.5ppm, with 0 nitrites. I called the LFS asking why that would be, considering I have been feeding the fish daily and they've been peeing and pooping into the water. The ammonia concentrations should increase theoretically as I have done no water changes. He said my cycle might have stalled, so that's when I picked up the 2 x Black Neons and 6 x Neons. I checked my ammonia and nitrite levels today, and ammonia is still at 0.5ppm and nitrites still at 0.

I don't understand how the ammonia levels would have stayed the same with 4 x Harlequins for 3 days and then 2 x Black Neons + 6 x Neons for a day. They have all been eating, I observed closely.

The only irregularity I have found was that my bottle of bacteria had a leaky seal, although the cap was screwed on tightly. I followed the directions on the API Master Test Kit manual closely (8 drops of bottle 1, 8 drops of bottle 2, shake vigorously for 5 seconds, wait 5 minutes, compare with colour chart against white background).

I am at a loss right now. How could there not be an increase in ammonia? Any help and advice would be appreciated!

 

[Sk3lly]

Those fish have a relatively small load in an aquarium and a day is a very short length of time to see a rise.

Just be patient


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[tangs27]

I agree it will most likely take some time to see a spike of ammonia.

Do you know what your ph is? Driftwood lowers ph and when ph drops too low the bacteria cannot do what it needs to.

 

[BBradbury]

Fish in Tank Cycling

Hello cloak...

You have a lot going for something fairly easy as cycling a tank with fish. So, I'll provide the basics so you can see how the nitrogen cycle works. You set up the tank with some floating plants like Hornwort and let it run for a day or two. You add 3 to 4 hardy small to medium sized fish for every 10 gallons of water and feed the fish a little every couple of days to provide a steady source of ammonia. The combination of ammonia and oxygen from the air starts the cycle.

You have a reliable water testing kit handy and test every day for ammonia and nitrite. When you have a positive test, you remove 25 percent of the tank water and replace it with pure, treated tap water. (Not sure how the bottled bacteria works, never used it.) You don't remove more water because you must feed the growing bacteria.

You simply test every day and remove a quarter of the water when needed. In a month or so, you'll notice you have several daily water tests that show no traces of ammonia or nitrite. Presto! The tank is cycled. From this point on, you change half the tank water every week to maintain safe water conditions.

Hope this helps. The nitrogen cycle isn't difficult. But does require attention to the water chemistry.

B

 

[cloaker]

I agree it will most likely take some time to see a spike of ammonia.

Do you know what your ph is? Driftwood lowers ph and when ph drops too low the bacteria cannot do what it needs to.

I tested my pH on Day 2 and it was at 7.8 so bacteria should have no problems.

And BBradbury, I have done research and I know how the cycle is supposed to work, I posted because I found it odd that the ammonia level hasn't increased in 4 days with no trace of nitrites, although the fish are constantly producing waste (which I assumed would accumulate, not stay at the same level, considering there isn't nitrites present).

Thanks for the input everyone, will continue monitoring!

 

[BBradbury]

Fish In Tank Cycling

I tested my pH on Day 2 and it was at 7.8 so bacteria should have no problems.

And BBradbury, I have done research and I know how the cycle is supposed to work, I posted because I found it odd that the ammonia level hasn't increased in 4 days with no trace of nitrites, although the fish are constantly producing waste (which I assumed would accumulate, not stay at the same level, considering there isn't nitrites present).

Thanks for the input everyone, will continue monitoring!

Hello again cloak...

You don't need to concern yourself with the pH, hardness or any of that. It's not necessary. You just need to the test the water for traces of ammonia and nitrite. If you have a trace of either, change a quarter of the tank water and replace it. Then test the next day and so on. That's all.

B

 

[Mebbid]

I tested my pH on Day 2 and it was at 7.8 so bacteria should have no problems.

And BBradbury, I have done research and I know how the cycle is supposed to work, I posted because I found it odd that the ammonia level hasn't increased in 4 days with no trace of nitrites, although the fish are constantly producing waste (which I assumed would accumulate, not stay at the same level, considering there isn't nitrites present).

Thanks for the input everyone, will continue monitoring!

Have you tested your nitrate level? How does your lfs make the bottle of bacteria?

Hello again cloak...

You don't need to concern yourself with the pH, hardness or any of that. It's not necessary. You just need to the test the water for traces of ammonia and nitrite. If you have a trace of either, change a quarter of the tank water and replace it. Then test the next day and so on. That's all.

B

You mean as long as the ph remains above 6.5 right?

 

[cloaker]

Have you tested your nitrate level? How does your lfs make the bottle of bacteria?

I actually haven't tested nitrates once, since nitrites have never appeared yet. I'm not sure how they make it but a friend who used to work there and told me they have a guy that bottles it for them and delivers every week.

 

[Mebbid]

I actually haven't tested nitrates once, since nitrites have never appeared yet. I'm not sure how they make it but a friend who used to work there and told me they have a guy that bottles it for them and delivers every week.

Assuming that the bottled bacteria is actually working then feasibly it could be converting the produced ammonia directly into nitrate.

 

[cloaker]

Assuming that the bottled bacteria is actually working then feasibly it could be converting the produced ammonia directly into nitrate.

As per your advice, I checked nitrates and they were 0 as well. I called the LFS to inquire about their product, and he told me that the tank "might have mini-cycled" and that "because of the effectiveness of the bacteria, you didn't even get any readings because they work so quickly." He also thinks I don't have enough fish. "All your fish are small and don't produce much waste. Get 10-12 more fish in there." It's hard to imagine 5 x Rasboras, 6 x Neon Tetras, 2 x Black Neons, 2 x White Cloud Minnows (donated by a friend yesterday) not accumulating any additional waste, considering my ammonia was 0.5ppm from Day 1 to 7. They are being fed every day afterall.

I guess I'll just keep it like this and continue monitoring.

 

[Mebbid]

As per your advice, I checked nitrates and they were 0 as well. I called the LFS to inquire about their product, and he told me that the tank "might have mini-cycled" and that "because of the effectiveness of the bacteria, you didn't even get any readings because they work so quickly." He also thinks I don't have enough fish. "All your fish are small and don't produce much waste. Get 10-12 more fish in there." It's hard to imagine 5 x Rasboras, 6 x Neon Tetras, 2 x Black Neons, 2 x White Cloud Minnows (donated by a friend yesterday) not accumulating any additional waste, considering my ammonia was 0.5ppm from Day 1 to 7. They are being fed every day afterall.

I guess I'll just keep it like this and continue monitoring.

That's actually a bit overstocked imho for cycling a tank.

Are you sure you performed the nitrate test correctly? They will give a reading of 0ppm when done incorrectly.

 

[cloaker]

That's actually a bit overstocked imho for cycling a tank.

Are you sure you performed the nitrate test correctly? They will give a reading of 0ppm when done incorrectly.

I thought so as well. I shook the test solution for a good couple of minutes before I added the drops.