Fishless cycle question

[Mustangman11224]

Hey all I'm doing a fishless cycle on my 36 gal tank and I been using ammonia drops... When I first started the tank 3 days ago I added tetra easy start bacteria and used aquatic ammonia to dose the tank between 2-3 ppm that was on Thursday.. If the ammonia is still in the same spot I do not need to keep adding ammonia until it drops correct? And I noticed I have a little nitrate meaning in between 0 and 5 ppm, since I am a noobie at being an aquarist I was wondering do I still do water changes in a fish-less cycle or since there are no fish in do I just keep the water in till it cycles. Yesterday the water clouded up so I'm guessing there's a bacteria boom, I was keeping my tank at 78 degrees is tht ok. Thanks for the help.
Dan

 

[librarygirl]

Right, don't add more ammonia until it starts to drop. The initial drop can take 1-2 weeks. Water changes generally aren't needed in fishless cycle unless PH drops or nitrites are off-chart for a while or you overdose ammonia. We can help when/if you get to that point. Here's a guide if you haven't seen it: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...guide-and-faq-to-fishless-cycling-148283.html

 

[molliwopp]

Yes, you can leave the same water in unless the ph drops below 6, then you should do a water change because the cycle risks a stall if it drops any lower. If you wanted you could dose it to 4-5ppm without any issues but yes, only dose ammonia when it drops.
The cloud you see/saw would of been a bacterial bloom yes.
Increasing the temp slowly will help the bb form alittle faster but after, id recommend lowering slowly too to prevent shocking the bb

Lets get some more members in here and help this guy out.

*edit* saying that, librarygirl knows what shes talking about

 

[Mustangman11224]

Ok thank you do much I'm going to start reading that guide now.

 

[Mustangman11224]

Lol ok I'll add a couple more drops of ammonia and its been cloudy for two days so I figured that's what it was. And I'll check
Ph now and see what It is.

 

[Mustangman11224]

My ph is higher then 7.6 I think and my high range is about 8.2 is this good or bad because it seems higher then the ideal amounts here's a picture of the results...

 

[molliwopp]

Thats quite a high ph of 8+ but wont effect the cycle negatively. Do you know the ph of you tap water? Do a quick test when you get the chance. Your fish are already in another tank filled with your tap water so i wouldnt worry about them adapting. (depending on the species of course!). Most soft water, acidic fish will adjust to harder, higher ph water. Its a pitty that the api freshmaster doesnt tell your kh or gh of the water.

You should get a bigger tank sometime and keep African cichlids. Your water is as close to perfect for them. But im rambling, lets stay on thread track, cycling.

 

[Mustangman11224]

Lol maybe I'll start saving up for a bigger tank lol.. And I just left so when I go back ill test it... I have we'll water so it's not city water and not regulated... So I'll check and see what it's like right from the tap. Thanks for the help.