Cyclig confusion

[Bettafanatic]

I've been cycling a 2.5 gal tank for about 6-7 weeks now. Everything was going well. I had lots of nitrites, a little nitrates, and a good supply of ammonia. One day ammonia was 0 (nitrites still high). I got distracted and forgot to add more ammonia. When I tested again five days later, all the nitrites and nitrates were gone. I added more ammonia and now the levels are 4 ppm ammonia and 0 nitrites. So did my bacteria colonies drop dead or something? How can i get them back? I've been cycling for two months now and my patience is running low. I cannot afford to start over again. Please help!

 

[Terrance]

Did you change your water at all during the two months? Water loses its buffer capacity over time. You may need to change it every week during cycling to establish a colony.

No buffer = dead colony

 

[Bettafanatic]

I've never heard that! I'll do a water change today. How much water do I change?

 

[Hholly]

If you dechlorinate the water first, change it all out, since it's such a small tank.

 

[librarygirl]

The bacteria probably got "lazy" from not being fed for 5 days. I'm not sure how long it can go without feeding before it dies off completely. I'd suggest what Hholly did: do a 100% water change to restore minerals and buffers and then redose. Not dosing may have set the cycle back some but ti should bounce back pretty soon.

 

[librarygirl]

ALso for a 2.5 gal tank you can get away with just dosing ammonia up to 2, not 4. It's such a small tank and you won't be able to put much in there in the way of fish or anything anyway so the bioload will be low, 2 ppms of ammonia is more than sufficient.

 

[HooKooDooKu]

ALso for a 2.5 gal tank you can get away with just dosing ammonia up to 2, not 4. It's such a small tank and you won't be able to put much in there in the way of fish or anything anyway so the bioload will be low, 2 ppms of ammonia is more than sufficient.

What is the rational behind lower concentrations just because it is a smaller tank?

Yes, it is going to have a smaller bioload, but that is because it is a smaller tank. But the bioload is likely to be in proportion to the bioload of a larger tank.

For example, in a 2.5gal tank, you might stock it with one 2" fish. Someone with a 10gal tank might stock it with five or six 2" fish. While the bioload of the 2.5gal is lower, in proportion, its the same as the 10 gallon tank.

4ppm is relative to the tank size. So as you look at the amount of ammonia placed in the tank, you need 4 times as much ammonia in a 10gal tank to achieve 4ppm as you do for a 2.5gal.

 

[Terrance]

The difference between 2 and 4 should not matter. When it comes to cycling, precision on dosing will speed up the process, so just pick a number and stick with it.

 

[Bettafanatic]

Wow! Thank you everyone for your help. I'm a first timer at cycling so I'm having lots of trouble. I'll do a 100% water change now and dechlorinate it. Then I'll refuse to 4 ppm and get back to you with results soon. I'll be away tomorrow so ill tell you the results on Sunday most likely. Thank everyone!

 

[Bettafanatic]

Hi again. I managed to do a water change in my tank so I'll update you. I did 100% and refilled with dechlorinated water. I tested for ammonia and there was 1 ppm so I redosed, but I'm not sure how much is in there now. I tested nitrite and it's still 0. All help is appreciated.

 

[librarygirl]

Hi again. I managed to do a water change in my tank so I'll update you. I did 100% and refilled with dechlorinated water. I tested for ammonia and there was 1 ppm so I redosed, but I'm not sure how much is in there now. I tested nitrite and it's still 0. All help is appreciated.

Ammonia is dropping so that's good. It might just take some time to get nitrites back if the cycle stalled, but they should show up. Give it a few more days and we'll see what happens. Just dose once in a 24 hour period even if you check more often and ammonia has dropped. Keep testing PH too to ensure there aren't any crashes. Keep us posted.

 

[Bettafanatic]

Ok I'll update you when nitrites are back. I'll keep checking pH and ammonia. Thank you so much for our help!