Fishless cycle in my planted tank advice

[sk84]

Hi
I am 10 days into my fishless cycle all is going well I think?
Keeping the ammonia level at 5ppm through day 1-8 small top ups needed, day 8 it dropped to around 1.8ppm so I started to test for nitrIte on day 9 and it came up with 3.3+ (max on my kit). I was suprised as I thought it would take longer to show that kind of level, the same time I tested for nitrAte and it came up with 110+ (max on my kit) again this should not be this high yet should it? I washed out the test kit thoroughly and it still came up with the same results.

I read when these levels are so high to do a 50-60% water change so I did this, and topped the ammonia level back up to 5ppm. Now 24hrs later day 10 I have the same results for the nitrIte and nitrAte and ammonia back to 1.

Do I need to do another water change to bring the nitrIte and nitrAte down to more readable levels?

Using a Nutrafin Mini Master Kit

240L planted tank, Westlands Aquatic Compost with a mix of clay substrate topped with aquarium sand, 2 x T5 lights.
Plants:
Rotala Indica
Hygrophila Polysperma
Hygrophila Pinnatifida
African Tiger Lotus
Microsorium Pteropus
Didiplis Diandra
Sagittaria Subulata
Crypt Nevillii
Cryptocoryne Undulatus diverse
3 x Moss Balls

Are things supposed to move this fast or am I actually not as far into the cycle as I think I am?
Do my results sound normal?
Any advice please.
Thanks
Stefan

 

[Caliban07]

Results sound normal. Just lay off adding ammonia now. Do enough water changes to bring nitrates to readable level. Wait 24 hrs then dose 4ppm wait 24 hrs then test parameters.

Sounds to me like you are adding too much ammonia too soon.

 

[Coyne]

It does seem fast, but not alarmingly so. Personally I wait until my ammonia gets below 1ppm before I re-dose and that usually takes a week.

Did you use any material seeded with BB from an established aquarium?

 

[eme012]

I did a fishless cycle last spring in a 10gal NPT. I was done in a week. Added hardy fish( betta and 2 adf) and they showed no signs of stress. Now I have 5 more shrimp for housekeeping and haven't changed the water in weeks. Let the tank settle and watch nitrates until healthy, then add ammonia and see how long it takes to cycle through. If its gone overnight you're' probably ready.
I'll never torture live fish ever again.

 

[Caliban07]

Apologies for going off topic but do you still have the betta and are your shrimp ok? I think my betta are my shrimp

 

[eme012]

re betta and shrimp

My betta leaves the shrimp and the frogs alone. Doesn't even flare his gills to them. He will get cocky when I look at him or lay my finger to the glass.
I've had 5 shrimp for 2 months and the betta was there first.

 

[sk84]

Day 11 I did another 60% water change and left for 24 hrs no effect on the levels ammonia read 2 left alone
Day 12 80% water change which brought the levels down a little to just below the max readable ammonia under 1 but left alone
Day 13 (today) ammonia is at 0 so I have topped up to 2ppm as I read you should not starve the bacteria you are growing?

The first week I only let the ammonia drop to 2-3 then topped up but after day 8 it dropped to 1 each day.
I am new to the hobby and brought everything new so used no material from an established tank.

Day 14.... should I leave alone for a few days now and see what happens?

Thank you for the advice

 

[eme012]

It has been my experience that too much change in the water column is not good. I'd let things settle down and watch levels of ammonia and nitrates. Don't add fish until both are at 0ppm. When you get that add ammonia and watch the cycle work. If the ammonia is processed fast change 50% of the water and add some fish.

 

[Coyne]

It has been my experience that too much change in the water column is not good. I'd let things settle down and watch levels of ammonia and nitrates. Don't add fish until both are at 0ppm. When you get that add ammonia and watch the cycle work. If the ammonia is processed fast change 50% of the water and add some fish.

Just to clarify: The goal is to get to a point where the BB in your aquarium can process 4ppm ammonia into nitrite (with an "I") and then process those nitrites into nitrates (with an "A") inside of a 24 hour period. Ideally you'll end up with 0ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitrite and less than 40ppm nitrate. If youre keeping live plants, then you do NOT want to have 0ppm nitrate because plants use nitrate as a food source. I have plants in my tank and I try to keep nitrates between 10-20ppm. Nitrates are far less toxic to fish than nitrites are, so it is safe to have some in the water. Ive heard that even up to 80-120ppm is safe, though Ive never felt the need to find out for myself.

Also, even though I know I risk starting an internet fight, I feel compelled to say that doing a Fish-In cycle is not torturing fish. Its just a lot more testing and a whole lot more PWCs. Ive now cycled five aquariums. Two Fish-In and three Fish-less. I personally prefer Fish-less because it is way less work. The downside is that I have to look at an empty aquarium in the meantime. But this hobby has taught me patience.

 

[eme012]

My mistake, I'm mixing up nitrate a and nitrites. My plants are processing nitrates well so my readings are low. I do note dose with ferts or co2. Low tech, low light.
I got my info from plantedtank.com. They have many threads on this subject. As far as fish cycling I admit that it can be done without deaths but I myself don't want to buy fish to cycle with and I'm not going to use rams and African cichlids for that purpose and the tank I'm planning now will be discus. I'd rather watch an empty tank for a month if need be to make sure the environment is right for the planned fish.