A newbie 60L 'FISHLESS CYCLE LOG'

[jts123]

DAY 45
Did an 80% WC then redosed AMMO to approx 2.0. I also dropped the thermostat on the heater to approx 24oc in anticipation of being 'fish ready'? - No readings taken today.


DAY 46
Temp: 24o -- Ammo: 0.25 -- Nitrite: 2.0 -- Nitrate: 40+ -- PH: 7.6 - No AMMO added due to residues still there and Nitrites not being 0.0.

 

[jts123]

I assume you'll advise I do another WC now? Maybe only 50% to help drop the NitrAtes even lower? (Although its good to see the PH is back to 7.6 already)

I also assume that a further WC will help bring those NitrItes down to 0.0. However, I do understand that it is the filter itself that should be able to do that in a period of 24 hours or less.

So...STILL not quite there yet then huh?

 

[adadkins1]

I wouldn't recommend a PWC, just hang tight and see what it does tomorrow. When Ammonia and NitrIte get down to zero, does the ammonia and see how everything does the next 24hrs. You may do another PWC prior to the dose in order to keep excess NitrAtes from slowing things down.

Cycling is probably one of the most trying aspects of aquarium keeping. Hang in there

 

[jts123]

DAY 47
Temp: 24o -- Ammo: 0.0 -- Nitrite: 0.0 -- Nitrate: 40 -- PH: 7.6 -- KH: 8deg -- GH: 10deg -- Nothing added today.

 

[jts123]

As is feel I'm almost ready to add fish any day now, (possibly this coming Saturday ) should I now add any more Ammo or could I risk leaving things as they are until then? Also, would you advise another WC of say 50% just to lower the NitrAtes some more?


Look forward to your comments.

 

[jlk]

Yes, you will need to keep adding ammonia to keep your bacteria fed. After all of your hard work, its not worth risking letting them die off from starvation. Before you get fish, you will need to do a 100% water change (possibily more than 1) to get your nitrates as low as possible & skip the ammonia. Make sure you dont forget the water conditioner & adjust the temp for your fish.

 

[jts123]

Yes, you will need to keep adding ammonia to keep your bacteria fed. After all of your hard work, its not worth risking letting them die off from starvation. Before you get fish, you will need to do a 100% water change (possibily more than 1) to get your nitrates as low as possible & skip the ammonia. Make sure you dont forget the water conditioner & adjust the temp for your fish.

Ok, I have just redosed Ammo upto approx 2.0 again. Providing the levels of both Ammo & NitrIte are at 0.0 on Sat morning I plan to do the 100% WC in the hope of adding fish Sat PM or Sunday. (As long as the NitrAtes are lower than 40ppm ofcourse).

 

[librarygirl]

Yep you need to dose ammonia every 24 hours; have you been doing that consistently? On days 36 and 37 you said you didn't test b/c they were holidays but no note of whether you added ammonia. On day 38 your ammonia and nitrite were 0 BUT if you hadn't dosed ammonia in a couple of days they would both be 0 which could be a false 0 reading for nitrite since they rose again on day 39 after you redosed.

I'd dose every 24 hours and keep testing; I'm worried that nitrite isn't staying at 0 consistenly yet; you've had high nitrite for over 3 weeks now and 3-4 weeks is about average for the nitrite phase so let's hope you're almost done.

Oh, the final water change before fish, I'd definitely aim for much lower nitrate than 40. Below 20 is a good level (which will be done during your weekly water change) but an ideal level would be <10.

 

[jlk]

Good luck!!!