Cycling Journal

[ddereckl]

So I figured I should make a Fishless cycling journal to track my cycle. If you read my thread "Tank not cycling" you would know that my cycle was somehow stalled and now I am starting over.

Ammonia: 0 dosed to 5.

 

[ddereckl]

ammonia: 1.5
nitrite: off the chart. i think its around 6-7ppm

 

[Mrs.h2012]

ammonia: 1.5
nitrite: off the chart. i think its around 6-7ppm

Do a water change to get your levels to where they are readable on the chart.

 

[ddereckl]

Should I do that? I'm doing a fishless cycle so wouldn't that halt the cycle a little?

ammonia: .25
nitrite: off the chart

 

[ddereckl]

Yesterday I ran out of Pure Ammonia, so I took 6 fishes from my other tank and put them in there until tuesday when my ammonia is coming in. I also added a small bottle of tetra safestart.

ammonia: off the charts
nitrite: 0

I removed the fishes hoping that the ammonia will fall to around 0 on tuesday. Should I do a water change?

 

[librarygirl]

I wouldn't put fish in a tank with ammonia that high. The bacteria should be fine until tomorow, especially if there's ammonia in the tank already there's something for them to feed on. Also what do you mean by ammonia off charts? If it's higher than 5 do a 50% water change to get it down; ammonia at high levels can actually keep the bacteria from forming.

 

[ddereckl]

I removed the fishes to my other tank. I also did a 20% water change. I didnt check the ammonia until now
ammonia:.5
nitrite: a little more than 0

this seems to be good. im going to dose to 5 then add a bottle of tetra safestart

 

[ddereckl]

ammonia: 0.75
nitrit e: 1

 

[ddereckl]

dosed ammonia to about 4 around midnight yesterday.
ammonia: 2
nitrite: 1

 

[dwayne.aycock]

Until your tank has fully cycled, you will have readings that are quite out of balance. I have had the same issues, and the answer was always a 50% water change of more. Don't be afraid of doing LWC. There is very little that fish need from water other than O2. The rest is dissolved chemicals and minerals that are often hazardous to fish anyway. I have always heard that "dilution is the solution to pollution. Do you have any ornaments, sea shells, or other man made objects in your tank? If so, I would try removing them and see if your levels change.
Dwayne

 

[ddereckl]

The only thing I have is sand, plastic plants, 2 java ferns, 2 glass cups for the java fern, air stone, and just more petco decorations. ill remove them though and see what happens.

 

[ddereckl]

ammonia: 1
nitrite: 1

 

[ddereckl]

Ammonia: .5ppm
Nitrite: a little more than 0ppm

 

[librarygirl]

Looks good to me. Are you dosing to 4 every 24 hours and then the ammonia drops to 1? If so you seem to be doing pretty well. Keep an eye on PH too.

 

[ddereckl]

oh i forgot to mention my dosage.

ammonia: .5
dosed to about 4

checking tonight for the readings

 

[ddereckl]

ammonia: 2ppm
didnt check for nitrites

 

[ddereckl]

ammonia: 2ppm
nitrite: 1ppm

 

[ddereckl]

ammonia: 2ppm, is my cycle stalled?

 

[dwayne.aycock]

No your tank is not cycled. In a cycled tank your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate should be at zero. The best thing to do is continue water changes until these levels read zero. I used prime (2 caps) when I saw ammonia and nitrite and followed up with a water change in 24-48 hours. I keep this routine until my levels drop to zero.

 

[ddereckl]

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I checked my ammonia today and it is still at 2 ppm after 3 days since the last testing. I'm going to do a water change and maybe find a bottle of tetra safestart and add that. Any advice?