cycle or not???

[CaptainAhab]

different types of bacteria... Some consume ammonia and produce nitrites, some consume nitrites and produce nitrate (all aerobic bacteria , need oxygen). Nitrates are consumed by anerobic bacteria (hard to have), plants (which is why algae grows like a weed) or must be gotten rid of thru PWC's. That's the cliff notes version. There is lots of detailed info on it and I'm sure some basic details that I missed.. Search here or google it..

Nitrobacter and Nitrosomonas are the scientific names for the aerobic bacteria

 

[robertselbe]

Thanks for the info. I did google those. Lets see if I have this correct.?

to have a complete cycle:
Fish (just enough) which produce the correct amount of ammonia to keep the 2 Bacteria's (nitrobacter & nitrosomonas...produces nitrite & nitrate), which evaporate and are consumed by plants respectively or pwc. o2 is added by plants or pumps. Your filters take out excess food, alge, and fungas.

Did I get it??

 

[CaptainAhab]

Yup you got it..Nitrates can also be consumed by anerobic bacteria also. Just don't do the first part.. Don't start w/ fish. Add ammonia directly or an uncooked shrimp or some fish food.. Google or search 'fishless cycling'. more humane

 

[robertselbe]

Now that I have the recipe, I will start the chicken soup. lol.........I am doing the fishless cycling I agree...

 

[marbles21]

so i just tested my tap water and got a amonia reading of 1.5 what can i do to get this down b/c obviously i should not use this water for my water changes!!!

 

[Purrbox]

The presense of Ammonia in your tap water indicates that it's being treated with Chloramines. You'll want to use a quality dechlorinator like Prime and follow the instructions for dosing extra to detoxify the Ammonia.

 

[marbles21]

i have the tetra aquasafe for treating my tap water, is that a good product?

 

[marbles21]

what about those amonia chunks, that are small like carbon that goes in the filter, would those help?

 

[Purrbox]

Tetra Aquasafe appears to be a descent dechlorinator. It does not appear to have directions for dosing extra to neutralize higher levels of Ammonia though. Depending on how much Ammonia your tap water has, you would want one that could be dosed extra to deal with the extra Ammonia.

Prime is highly concentrated and therefore very economical. Amquel+ is also very good, but not as concentrated and doesn't have directions for dealing with higher levels of Ammonia.

Definately don't add an ammonia remover to your filter. These absorb the ammonia making it unavailable to the biological filter and will keep your aquarium in a perpetually uncycled state.

 

[marbles21]

so could i be getting a false reading with using prime b/c my perameters have not gone up or down lately, they have stayed the same?

 

[Purrbox]

Many test kits will read both the harmful Ammonia and the detoxified Ammonia. In these situations you have to trust that you have dosed the appropriate amount of Prime and that your fish are okay. You can watch your fish for signs of stress to further check whether this is the case or not. In an established aquarium that is well cycled, you won't see elevated levels of either Ammonia or Nitrite. You may see a spike after a water change if your tap water contains them, but these should be quickly handled by the biofilter within a matter of hours.

 

[marbles21]

ok i think i might be going through another cycle or never finished the first one or something b/c the amonia is 0 and nitrate(or nitrite, whic ever come after amonia in the cycle) is climbing, so.....?????

 

[Sum22]

Keep doing water changes. Dose with extra water conditioner, whatever you have is fine, prime or the tetra stuff you mentioned before.

I'd recommend vacuuming the gravel if you haven't already. Waste and food settle down there and it is going to cause your ammonia and nitrite levels to continue to spike. I know some people say not to vacuum since it takes away the bacteria, but if most live in the filter, then I think that it should be fine. Hopefully, removing some of the waste, along with water changes, will help to keep ammonia and nitrites down.

 

[happygirl65]

If enough of your bacteria died off during the move you could see a mini cycle each time you add fish. In a 120 gallon tank that is not a lot of fish but any increase in waste will always require your bacteria to increase to catch up.

I would try to add some more seed material if at all possible. Just be ready to do daily water changes to keep the level at .5 or below on both ammonia and nitrite.