my first attempt at fish keeping

[rubyjess]

this is my 1st attempt at a FW tank ,its a juwel 180 bow front ,i think it looks ok lol
its just the fishless cy

cle is CRAZING ME !!!!

 

[Mr. Limpet]

this is my 1st attempt at a FW tank ,its a juwel 180 bow front ,i think it looks ok lol
its just the fishless cycle is CRAZING ME !!!!

Welcome aboard!

That's why I have aqua plants. Gives you something to mess with in the tank while you wait a month for the cycle to finish .

 

[mfdrookie516]

Looks great! I wish my first tank had started as nicely as yours.. mine was... hideous!

 

[rubyjess]

cheers mate ,just struggling with the cycle ,ammonia is fine ,nitrites are sky high and nitrates are sky high
just want want to undersand it all lol

 

[Mr. Limpet]

cheers mate ,just struggling with the cycle ,ammonia is fine ,nitrites are sky high and nitrates are sky high
just want want to undersand it all lol

Sounds like you should do a PWC to bring the no2 & no3 down IMO. What's your ammo readings? If the bacteria are going thru 4ppm (+/-) is 24hrs, I'd say you're cycled.

 

[rubyjess]

umm ,my test card says the ammonia is in between 0.25mg/l and 0mgl for to the 0 mg/l if thats any help

 

[Mr. Limpet]

umm ,my test card says the ammonia is in between 0.25mg/l and 0mgl for to the 0 mg/l if thats any help

How do you introduce ammo into you tank? I use pure ammo from a local hardware store. If there's not enough ammo during the final stages of a cycle the bacteria can starve and start to die off.

When my ammo drops, I add some more to keep the bacteria fed. Once it finally uses 4ppm (+/-) in 24 hrs, I have 10-40ppm no2 and 40ppm of no3 (+/-), it means my cycle will be done.

 

[rubyjess]

im confused, i put water decorations etc into my tank with some prime to sort out chlorine
then added some nutrafin cycle to start it all off
done my test which showed ammonia levels ok and the rest u know
might just blow my head off now lol

 

[Mr. Limpet]

im confused, i put water decorations etc into my tank with some prime to sort out chlorine
then added some nutrafin cycle to start it all off
done my test which showed ammonia levels ok and the rest u know
might just blow my head off now lol

HAHA... It's not that bad.

Read this article and it'll help you get your cycle complete. IMO it sounds like you're done.

Tips and tricks for your fastest fishless cycle!

 

[rubyjess]

cheers for the link mate
still a bit confused bout the ammonia reading stated as ppm ,my test card only reads as mg/l and im not sure if i can get any pure ammonia,blimey i a a newbie at this

 

[Mr. Limpet]

cheers for the link mate
still a bit confused bout the ammonia reading stated as ppm ,my test card only reads as mg/l and im not sure if i can get any pure ammonia,blimey i a a newbie at this

How do you test your water?

 

[Dean4]

Nice start up tank bud.

 

[rubyjess]

cheers dean4
i test my tank with tetra test kits mate ,the liquid ones with the colour chart

 

[Mr. Limpet]

cheers for the link mate
still a bit confused bout the ammonia reading stated as ppm ,my test card only reads as mg/l and im not sure if i can get any pure ammonia,blimey i a a newbie at this

So the conversion is pretty straight forward from what I found, so 0.25mg/l = .25ppm.

You don't have to use ammo, you can use raw shrimp, fish food flakes, or I used leftover peas in one tank cycling lol. Basically anything that rots, but I'd stay away from meat myself. In any case put it in a well washed (no soap) stocking, mesh bag (fine mesh), or something like that and as it rots, it put out ammo that will feed your bacteria.

 

[rubyjess]

just some more pics

 

[Mr. Limpet]

just some more pics

Great looking tank! How's the cycling going?

 

[rubyjess]

very confusing posted on another thread bout my crazy cycle ,which you replied to ,thanks for the kind comments bout my tank

 

[Mr. Limpet]

very confusing posted on another thread bout my crazy cycle ,which you replied to ,thanks for the kind comments bout my tank

hehe. I just posted there, I guess I missed the connection. But I did have to be up at 3AM for a 6AM meeting on the east coast, so I'm a bit blurry eyed lol .

 

[Kat1103]

What a great looking first tank! My first tank was hideous.......