First Time Fishless Cycling A 20 Gallon Long

[Alchera7]

Hi, I just set up a new aquarium last week, it's a 20 gallon long, with 3 inches of pool filter sand for the substrate, a long piece of fake driftwood, and no plants. I've been dosing Ammonia in the tank to 4ppm using Dr Tim's Aquatics Ammonium Chloride Solution. My tap water's pH is at 8.2, and has 20-30ppm of Nitrate in it. I have no seeding material, and the heater I bought wouldn't keep a steady temp, so in the meantime my water temperature has been at a steady 72F, as soon as I get it replaced I'll heat the water back up to 85F.

How often and when should I be dosing Ammonia? What I've been doing is test Ammonia & Nitrite everyday, and when I see Ammonia drop to 1ppm I'll dose it back up to 4ppm. So far there have been zero traces of nitrite.

 

[Fishperson]

You won't need to check for nitrite until your ammonia starts going down substantially. I wouldn't check until I have to re-dose ammonia. Also, only dose your ammonia to 2 ppm, so you don't get nitrite spikes.

Your nitrate in your tap, however, will be a problem. You should probably plant your tank with anacharis, water wisteria, hornwort, and frogbit, which are all hardy plants that suck up nitrate. It won't harm the cycle though.

 

[Alchera7]

Thanks for the tips! I'll be dosing 2ppm ammonia now instead of 4ppm.

Here's an update though. I recently got my broken heater replaced and have the temp set at 84F. I'm halfway into week 2, and for the past 5 days my ammonia levels have been stuck at 1ppm. Is this normal? Did the cycle stall? I checked pH and it's still at 8.2.