Have I messed up my fishless cycle?

[lsr]

Hello,

I started my first ever fishless cycle in my Juwel Rio 125 on December 22nd with 4ppm ammonia. On the 14th day I got an ammonia reading of .25 and nitrites were over 5, so I started adding 4ppm ammonia daily and it was dropping to .25 in 24 hours. On the 26th day (Friday) I had .25 ammonia, nitrite off the charts, 5 nitrate, but right before dosing the ammonia back up to 4 (I usually do this at about 7pm) I had to rush out and didn't have time to add the dose. I did a quick google search and read that missing one dose should be fine, so I added the 4ppm ammonia at 1pm the next day. Now today my ammonia is still 4ppm and nitrite is over 5.

Did I kill off the bacteria by missing the dose? Can I leave the tank as it is and wait for the ammonia to start going down again or will the high nitrite affect it? Should I empty the tank and start again?

Thanks!

 

[Yorg]

Hi lsr:

There's probably no need to start the whole thing over. You obviously have some nitrifying bacteria in there, judging by your test readings. What is your ph and water temperature? Is the water well aerated?

I would keep monitoring for a few days without adding more ammonia to see if the ammonia-down/nitrite-up pattern reestablishes itself. Since you were at .25ppm prior to the missed dose you still had some ammonia for the bacteria to feed on before you caught up with the dosing.

Cycles are funny sometimes. You'll be going along like clockwork then suddenly you stall or get some odd readings for a few days. It sounds like you're doing it right, so it may just be a matter of a bit more patience (I know that's tough given that you've been at since December 22).

A trick that's worked for me in the past, when I've hit a roadblock in the cycle, is to do a 25%-35% water change. I don't know if there's any correlation but that seemed to sort of kick-start a stalled cycle. In your case, waiting a few days and seeing what happens is probably a good course.

Let us know how it turns out!

-Yorg

Hello,

I started my first ever fishless cycle in my Juwel Rio 125 on December 22nd with 4ppm ammonia. On the 14th day I got an ammonia reading of .25 and nitrites were over 5, so I started adding 4ppm ammonia daily and it was dropping to .25 in 24 hours. On the 26th day (Friday) I had .25 ammonia, nitrite off the charts, 5 nitrate, but right before dosing the ammonia back up to 4 (I usually do this at about 7pm) I had to rush out and didn't have time to add the dose. I did a quick google search and read that missing one dose should be fine, so I added the 4ppm ammonia at 1pm the next day. Now today my ammonia is still 4ppm and nitrite is over 5.

Did I kill off the bacteria by missing the dose? Can I leave the tank as it is and wait for the ammonia to start going down again or will the high nitrite affect it? Should I empty the tank and start again?

Thanks!

 

[lsr]

The pH is 7.5 and temperature is 77. The filter nozzle is making plenty of surface agitation.

Today my ammonia is still 4, nitrite 5, nitrate 5. I'll give it a few more days, and if nothing changes I'll do a water change like you said.

Thanks for the advice, it was very helpful.

Hi lsr:

There's probably no need to start the whole thing over. You obviously have some nitrifying bacteria in there, judging by your test readings. What is your ph and water temperature? Is the water well aerated?

I would keep monitoring for a few days without adding more ammonia to see if the ammonia-down/nitrite-up pattern reestablishes itself. Since you were at .25ppm prior to the missed dose you still had some ammonia for the bacteria to feed on before you caught up with the dosing.

Cycles are funny sometimes. You'll be going along like clockwork then suddenly you stall or get some odd readings for a few days. It sounds like you're doing it right, so it may just be a matter of a bit more patience (I know that's tough given that you've been at since December 22).

A trick that's worked for me in the past, when I've hit a roadblock in the cycle, is to do a 25%-35% water change. I don't know if there's any correlation but that seemed to sort of kick-start a stalled cycle. In your case, waiting a few days and seeing what happens is probably a good course.

Let us know how it turns out!

-Yorg

 

[Mebbid]

It takes around a month for BB to die off from starvation.

There is however a decent amount of micro nutrients in the water that bacteria need to feed off of to survive. This is why it's recommended to add fish food occasionally during the cycle. There's really no reason not to do a large water change now. Doing a large water change will also allow you to keep an eye on your nitrite again since it's off the charts.

 

[Yorg]

You're welcome, lsr. Your temperature and ph look fine for fostering the growth of the nitrifying bacteria. The high nitrite reading suggests that your "ammonia-eaters" are doing well. It's encouraging that you're starting to get nitrates as well.

If you do decide to do the water change, let us know how it turns out.

-Yorg

The pH is 7.5 and temperature is 77. The filter nozzle is making plenty of surface agitation.

Today my ammonia is still 4, nitrite 5, nitrate 5. I'll give it a few more days, and if nothing changes I'll do a water change like you said.

Thanks for the advice, it was very helpful.

 

[lsr]

I was just about to do a 50% water change and gave the water another test. My readings are now ammonia 4, nitrite 0, nitrate 160. Since the nitrite spike seems to be over, should I still go ahead with the water change? If yes, should I dose the ammonia back to 4 afterwards or leave it at the number the water change drops it to?

Sorry for so many questions, and thank you both for your help!

 

[Mebbid]

I was just about to do a 50% water change and gave the water another test. My readings are now ammonia 4, nitrite 0, nitrate 160. Since the nitrite spike seems to be over, should I still go ahead with the water change? If yes, should I dose the ammonia back to 4 afterwards or leave it at the number the water change drops it to?

Sorry for so many questions, and thank you both for your help!

Do the water change. I would just keep dosing it to 4ppm of ammonia.

 

[Yorg]

Hi lsr:

Yes, I definitely think you should do the big water change and then re-test. It's very encouraging to see that you nitrite went to zero and your nitrates jumped. That's a good sign!

Yes, you should probably add some ammonia after the water change. Right now you're aiming to see it drop down to zero on its own (instead of with a water change) the way your nitrite did. When that happens, you'll have cycled tank!

-Yorg

I was just about to do a 50% water change and gave the water another test. My readings are now ammonia 4, nitrite 0, nitrate 160. Since the nitrite spike seems to be over, should I still go ahead with the water change? If yes, should I dose the ammonia back to 4 afterwards or leave it at the number the water change drops it to?

Sorry for so many questions, and thank you both for your help!

 

[lsr]

Okay, thanks! Here are my readings after the water change: 2 ammonia (which I've now dosed back up to 4), 0 nitrite, nitrate somewhere between 80 and 160.

I could only change 40% as I don't have enough buckets to change any more, is this enough or should I do another 40% change?

 

[Yorg]

Hi lsr:

No, the 40% change was probably enough. Keep monitoring the ammonia to watch for it to begin to drop toward zero. You're doing everything right as far as I can tell!

-Yorg

Okay, thanks! Here are my readings after the water change: 2 ammonia (which I've now dosed back up to 4), 0 nitrite, nitrate somewhere between 80 and 160.

I could only change 40% as I don't have enough buckets to change any more, is this enough or should I do another 40% change?

 

[lsr]

Hello,

It's been 5 days since I did the water change and unfortunately the ammonia hasn't started dropping again yet. My readings are currently ammonia 4, nitrite 0, nitrate 80, pH 7.4. Is there anything else I can try or should I just leave it alone and keep testing?

Thanks!

 

[Yorg]

Hi lsr:

Your nitrite and nitrate readings suggest that the nitrite-eating bacteria are well established. Leaving it alone and continuing to test is certainly one approach, although I know it's frustrating. The tank will eventually cycle, but it's hard to predict how long that'll take and I know you're anxious to get fish in the tank!

Another option at this stage would be to do enough of a water change to get your ammonia down to around 1-2ppm, then introduce some beneficial bacteria, either a product like Tetra SafeStart or Seachem Stability, or some filter media or substrate from a cycled (and healthy) tank, if you can get access to it. This might give you just enough boost of the nitrosomonas-type bacteria to start processing your ammonia more rapidly and consistently.

A third option -- and this would not be my choice -- would be to do a large water change, add a few fish, and use an ammonia-neutralizing product like Prime to protect the fish from ammonia and nitrite poisoning until the cycle is fully done. I'm not a big fan of fish-in cycling, but the Prime will help protect them during the remainder of the cycle (and it won't interfere with the cycle itself).

Finally, a variation of my first suggestion: do enough of a water change to bring the ammonia down to about 2ppm, then leave it alone and keep testing. An ammonia of 4ppm could potentially be toxic even to the beneficial bacteria; if you drop it down to 2ppm that's enough for them to feed on and get established while not being potentially lethal.

I wish I had a nice, quick, fail-safe solution for you, but I'm not sure there are any when it comes to cycling. Every cycle I've ever done has gone differently; some like clockwork and others like they'd never be done. When it comes to dealing with nature I guess patience is the only really reliable tool.

-Yorg

Hello,

It's been 5 days since I did the water change and unfortunately the ammonia hasn't started dropping again yet. My readings are currently ammonia 4, nitrite 0, nitrate 80, pH 7.4. Is there anything else I can try or should I just leave it alone and keep testing?

Thanks!

 

[lsr]

Thank you for the advice!

I actually added some substrate from an established tank on January 29th, as well as a partial water change to get the ammonia down to 2ppm but there still hasn't been any change in the test results. I also tried adding an airstone in case the filter wasn't giving enough oxygen, and I did a partial water change about a week ago to lower the nitrate in case that was causing the stall. I've currently got 2ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitrite, 15ppm nitrate.

I just can't figure out why the ammonia won't convert anymore. I haven't added anything to the tank other than the ammonia (Jeyes Kleen-off) and dechlorinator for the water changes (API Stress Coat). The pH has always been at around 7.5 and the temperature at 77. I'm using the API master test kit which doesn't expire until 2019.

I was hoping to cycle the tank without having to use bottled bacteria, but it seems like I might have to buy some TSS.

 

[TankinWithUs]

Maybe just wait? I am no expert by any means but it seems like 2ppm wouldn't take long to get rid of naturally.

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[TankinWithUs]

[double post]

 

[lsr]

Hello,

About 2 weeks ago I still hadn't seen the ammonia drop at all, so I added Tetra Safe Start and I'm finally getting 0 ammonia and nitrite in 24 hours. Although I've always thought that products like TSS were supposed to be a supplement to cycling and not a replacement for it, so I just wanted to ask if it's OK to add fish in a tank that only has bottled bacteria? I'm just worried that the TSS bacteria might die off and then I'll have to deal with fish in an uncycled tank.

Thank you and sorry for all the questions!

 

[uncgirl1]

TSS can be used with pure ammonia instead of fish for the source. I've had good luck with it but some people haven't. I've heard that it can cause a tank to "crash" later as well. That's why I'd recommend using it as a supplement like you mentioned. Keep dosing ammonia and just be patient. I know it is hard! You have nitrites according to your above post and those are toxic to fish just like ammonia. Seeing nitrites is a good thing! That means nitrates will show up soon. Once you've dosed ammonia and 24 hours later your readings show 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and crazy high nitrates then you are done. Just do a big water change to bring the nitrates down to a safe zone and get some fish. Good luck!

*edited to add: I had to do some water changes once my nitrites and nitrates got so high they were off the charts
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