Fishless Cycling update and a couple questions

[librarygirl]

Morning librarygirl

pH - 7.5
ammo - 0 (redosed 10ml this morning)
no2 - 5 (GET THE FRONT DOOR!!!)
no3 - 160

Hey, silly question but eh, humor me...if pwc's are effective at ridding the tank of ammo, no2 and lowering no3 drastically and one such as me has the chance to do very frequent pwc's (I work from home every day), then couldn't you 'get away' with not cycling? That is the point of cycling to establish the bio filter, right? Wouldn't the bio filter still happen over time either way?

Do you mean with fish or without? Without fish you need an ammonia source, the tank won't cycle on its own without something to feed on. If you mean a fish-in cycle, then yes the tank would cycle eventually with fish in the tank, you'll just need to do frequent pwc to keep them safe. It's up to you, but you're already halfway there. And the nitrite phase is particularly dangerous for fish, plus fish may not produce as much ammonia as you are dosing with so it could set your cycle back. To get an idea of what you'd be getting into, read the 'new tank with fish' link in my signature.

 

[pdw1731]

i was speaking about with fish and only because in the midst of this science experiment,(my wife wants to order me goggles and a lab coat) I find myself coming up with questions like this. Heck, i never asked why you can't use Rid -X, the septic tank cleaner, to cycle. It's supposedly full of BB's and munches fervently on the bad stuff Well, it sounded like a good idea when i thought of it

 

[pdw1731]

and at this point with all of the time spent, there's no way i'm abandoning the race now

 

[alex07]

i was speaking about with fish and only because in the midst of this science experiment,(my wife wants to order me goggles and a lab coat) I find myself coming up with questions like this. Heck, i never asked why you can't use Rid -X, the septic tank cleaner, to cycle. It's supposedly full of BB's and munches fervently on the bad stuff Well, it sounded like a good idea when i thought of it

Bacteria in a bottle is bs, it can cause your bio filter to crash and cause ammonia and nitrite spikes

 

[jetajockey]

Bacteria in a bottle is bs, it can cause your bio filter to crash and cause ammonia and nitrite spikes

Ease up on the blanket statements.

 

[pdw1731]

from all the bad things i've heard about bac in a bottle, i'm on the side of saving the money for something else. What i was talking about was really Rid-x, the stuff you pour in the toilet. And even that, it was a passing thought going thru my head as i lay awake at night hoping these freakin nitrites are light blue in the am

 

[jetajockey]

from all the bad things i've heard about bac in a bottle, i'm on the side of saving the money for something else. What i was talking about was really Rid-x, the stuff you pour in the toilet. And even that, it was a passing thought going thru my head as i lay awake at night hoping these freakin nitrites are light blue in the am

Interestingly enough, rid x isnt that far from some of the bacteria boosters. Just remember that adding the right bacteria is the goal, not just any bacteria.

 

[tarpon]

Morning librarygirl

pH - 7.5
ammo - 0 (redosed 10ml this morning)
no2 - 5 (GET THE FRONT DOOR!!!)
no3 - 160

Hey, silly question but eh, humor me...if pwc's are effective at ridding the tank of ammo, no2 and lowering no3 drastically and one such as me has the chance to do very frequent pwc's (I work from home every day), then couldn't you 'get away' with not cycling? That is the point of cycling to establish the bio filter, right? Wouldn't the bio filter still happen over time either way?

This is called "fish in cycling" and can stress fish or possibly kill. And it will cycle, but take a little longer and you wont be able to add as much fish at once

 

[pdw1731]

Woohoo with reservations...trying to keep my glee in check but I awoke to great numbers this morning!!

pH - 7.5
ammo - 0
no2 - 0
no3 - 10-20

I tested my water at 630pm EST last nite and got off-the-chart no2 and no3 readings (after 4 days of dosing ammo to 4ppm daily). I decided to do a MASSIVE wc at 7pm EST yesterday. I retested the water (and added dechlorinator) at 730 (i shook the bottles like a madman) and got 7.5pH, 0 ammo and no2 and 5.0 no3. I only dosed 5ml of ammo to get a 2pp reading at 8pm.

I'm feeling good so I'm going to add 5ml ammo this morning and retest and monitor. Hopefully, after doing this for a couple days, my readings will remain acceptable. The do another WC, then...!!!

 

[alex07]

Woohoo with reservations...trying to keep my glee in check but I awoke to great numbers this morning!!

pH - 7.5
ammo - 0
no2 - 0
no3 - 10-20

I tested my water at 630pm EST last nite and got off-the-chart no2 and no3 readings (after 4 days of dosing ammo to 4ppm daily). I decided to do a MASSIVE wc at 7pm EST yesterday. I retested the water (and added dechlorinator) at 730 (i shook the bottles like a madman) and got 7.5pH, 0 ammo and no2 and 5.0 no3. I only dosed 5ml of ammo to get a 2pp reading at 8pm.

I'm feeling good so I'm going to add 5ml ammo this morning and retest and monitor. Hopefully, after doing this for a couple days, my readings will remain acceptable. The do another WC, then...!!!

I think you should be done, if you dosed the ammo to 2 and convert the ammo to nitrite to nitrate in 24 hrs then you can add your fish tomorrow

 

[librarygirl]

Woohoo with reservations...trying to keep my glee in check but I awoke to great numbers this morning!!

pH - 7.5
ammo - 0
no2 - 0
no3 - 10-20

I tested my water at 630pm EST last nite and got off-the-chart no2 and no3 readings (after 4 days of dosing ammo to 4ppm daily). I decided to do a MASSIVE wc at 7pm EST yesterday. I retested the water (and added dechlorinator) at 730 (i shook the bottles like a madman) and got 7.5pH, 0 ammo and no2 and 5.0 no3. I only dosed 5ml of ammo to get a 2pp reading at 8pm.

I'm feeling good so I'm going to add 5ml ammo this morning and retest and monitor. Hopefully, after doing this for a couple days, my readings will remain acceptable. The do another WC, then...!!!

Sounds good! I'd be cautiously optimistic. It's best to test the cycle for a few days though to make sure the nitrite stay at 0. I'd say you'll have fish fairly soon.

 

[pdw1731]

cautiously optomistic i am

I saw some cherry shrimps i want ant the lfs...please be cycled, please be cycledm please be cycled

 

[pdw1731]

okay, 10 hours after dosing to 2ppm, my ammo reading is 0. However, my nitrites are at .25 and my nitrates are 20-40. My pH is holding steady. should i do a smaller redose? And is this normal? I'm reading the guide and I can't really find a solution to this issue.

 

[eco23]

okay, 10 hours after dosing to 2ppm, my ammo reading is 0. However, my nitrites are at .25 and my nitrates are 20-40. My pH is holding steady. should i do a smaller redose? And is this normal? I'm reading the guide and I can't really find a solution to this issue.

You're most likely just watching the conversion of ammo > no2 > no3. When you suddenly add in a lot of ammonia, you'll be able to watch it's conversion to nitrAtes with your test kit. Fish put out a small steady stream of ammonia as opposed to dropping 4ppm all at once. That's what enables the ammonia and nitrIte to constantly be converted by the bacteria and remain zeroed out. I agree to test it for a few more days to ensure everything is nice and cycled

 

[pdw1731]

24 hours after dosing ammo t0 2ppm, i woke up this morning to:

0ppm ammo
0ppm n02
20ppm no3
7.5 pH

After reading eco's post last night, I decided not to redose ammo even though it was at 0. At the time, my no2 was at .25 so I pulled out my patience powder (better known as going to bed) and let the cycle ride out.

Whew, i'm going to do this again for a day and if everything is still good in the morning, I'll do a 50% pwc and then Friday morning, go fishing

 

[Vol4Ever]

You beat me, you schmuck.

 

[pdw1731]

You beat me, you schmuck.

LOL...nah, just lucky i spose. It's one 'ell of a ride though

Any thoughts on this stocking plan for 39g setup:

ghost/cherry shrimps and like 3-4 spotted corys to clean up on aisle 7
2 neon blue dwarf gouramis
6-7 diamond tetras
2 gold rams

 

[pdw1731]

3rd morning of waking up to 0 nitrites. DONE!! PWC time! then off to market tomorrow!

PS..if i test high range pH, it'll be 7.4, so i take the avg. of the two

 

[pdw1731]

I'm cycled

2 months!! Whew!

Went to the lfs this morning and picked up some corys and happened to find a AquaClear 30 powerhead for $9. Great deal i thought, from the reg. price of $39. Got to the register....and the powerhead rang up at $3. Nice steal!

 

[librarygirl]

Congrats! Pics please when you get a chance!