Help - Fishless Cycle

[Mattsiapq]

Hi there,

I am a complete newcomer to this hobby, having received a Juwel Lido 120 tank as a Christmas Present. I am keen to do things properly however and I installed the tank and got it up and running on the 4th Jan.

I am attempting to cycle the tank with "Ammonia" method. I have a pure (from a laboratory source) 10% ammonia solution, which I have added to the tank to bring Ammonia levels to 4ppm.

I have now been running the tank for 20 days and have not really seen any noticeable drop in ammonia levels.

How long should it be before I can expect to see the ammonia levels dropping and the nitrite levels rising?

The water was treated with Seachem Prime and Seachem Stability. I have also added some Tetra Safestart.

The ph is 7.0, tank temp 26 degrees.

Could anyone let me know how long it should be before I see some Ammonia converted to Nitrites? I realise that it will then be some time before these are in turn converted to Nitrates.

I would be grateful if anyone could point out any potential mistakes I am making, or should I just be more patient!

I am testing the water with an API Freshwater Master Test Kit.

Thanks !

 

[jlk]

Has your ph remained stable at 7 or has it been dropping? Is it possible you may have dosed the amm higher than 4ppm? This is what I would suggest- do a big water change with temperature matched water & condition to the size of your tank with Prime only (skip the stability & safestart). Then dose the amm to a hair less than 4ppm (between 3-4). The Stability & Safestart may be complicating your cycle process. Good luck & keep us posted!

 

[Mattsiapq]

The PH has remained stable throughout. I calculated the amount of ammonia required to get 4ppm for a 120 ltr tank and titrated the 10% ammonia solution into the tank, so I am fairly sure that the level is about right. The test solution is also no darker that the 4.0ppm card reference.

Is a level of ammonia above 4ppm likely to slow the initial start-up of the cycle?

I will change the water as you suggested and see what happens. Is it likely that the tank is missing some other nutrient?

Thanks,

Matt.

 

[Hholly]

Did you add dechlorinator or water conditioner to the water?

 

[jlk]

As everyones water chemistry is a bit different & we only check for basics in fw tanks, it is possible you may be lacking a nutrient necessary. Add a pinch or two of finely crushed fish food after the water change as well. If we do not see any movement soon, we can consider adding a product such as Seachems Replenish. Do you have access to any established media? This is the easiest means for helping to seed a new tank & speed up a cycle.

 

[Mattsiapq]

Yes, I added Seachem "Prime" about an hour after initially filling the tank. This claims to remove chlorine and chloramine.

 

[jlk]

Always add the Prime before filling your tank up. An hour of of exposure to chlorinated water is more than enough to kill your bacteria.

 

[Mattsiapq]

Now I am confused. I followed the guide on this website published by 7Enigma, titled tips and tricks for a fast fish less cycle, and it to fill up the tank and NOT use a dechlorinator for 30 mins to sterilize the tank.

 

[jlk]

Yes, the chlorine will sterilize your tank. As you have now already done this once, do not do it again. You will kill off any bacteria that may be growing & in the future, it can potentially kill any fish you may have. Always dose with conditioner before refilling/during pwcs. If you are using a python/water changer to do water changes, I would recommend waiting atleast 15mins before turning everything back on to give the Prime time to disperse through your tank.

 

[Mattsiapq]

OK, thanks. I have got several brand new 20 ltr containers so I am able to pre treat the water before I add it to the tank. Will do the water change and let you know what happens.

 

[jlk]

Sounds good! Keep us posted!

 

[librarygirl]

Welcome! The guide we use on this site is listed in my signature below: new empty tank. You definitely want to dose Prime prior to putting the water in (or if you're using a hose or manual water changer from your faucet you want to dose enough for the whole tank before filling the water. You can also use this method with buckets; remove the water, dose Prime for the whole volume of the tank (dosing should be on the bottle) and then add new water.

I also wouldn't bother with the bacteria starters like Stability; most of those don't contain the correct bacteria and even if they do its' difficult to keep bacteria viable in a bottle.

I'd do a full water change at this point and dose Prime to the water before you refill (to either each bucket as you add it or dose for the whole tank prior to putting the water in). I'd also read that link in my signature and go through the steps and see if there's anything missing. You should have seen some conversion by now so something is off.