New Need a little help
- Thread starter Bags101
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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
mozcheez
Aquarium Advice Regular
Lookin good! Just to confirm, you haven't been seeing any nitrites yet, right? Just keep dosing back up to 4ppm with ammonia when you test and the ammonia is below 1ppm (some recommend when it's below 2ppm - up to you).
You're looking next for nitrites to start showing up in the tests, and also keep an eye out for a pH crash. If the pH starts to drop, do a fairly big water change.
You'll pretty much be doing the 4ppm dosing thing until your cycle is complete. Some will back down to only dosing up to 2ppm when the nitrites spike, but we'll see where you are when we get there!
You're looking next for nitrites to start showing up in the tests, and also keep an eye out for a pH crash. If the pH starts to drop, do a fairly big water change.
You'll pretty much be doing the 4ppm dosing thing until your cycle is complete. Some will back down to only dosing up to 2ppm when the nitrites spike, but we'll see where you are when we get there!
mozcheez
Aquarium Advice Regular
Actually... Part of me is wondering if you're already cycled... The nitrates are really up there, but it's only been how long since you started the process? (with the shrimp)
Have you done any water changes since you began?
It could just be that the shrimp were dosing your tank with A LOT of ammonia, which had resulted in a huge excess of nitrates. Hopefully someone else can offer their opinion? Seems too soon (too good to be true?) to be cycled already!
Have you done any water changes since you began?
It could just be that the shrimp were dosing your tank with A LOT of ammonia, which had resulted in a huge excess of nitrates. Hopefully someone else can offer their opinion? Seems too soon (too good to be true?
) to be cycled already!
librarygirl
Look It Up
Hm, I wonder if you'll skip the nitrite phase totally. You are using seeded media too, right? Since the cycle is still fairly new I'd keep dosing ammonia for another week and see what happens. If ammonia keeps dropping to 0 and nitrates keep rising it might be safe to add some fish, but I'd like to be sure that the nitrite phase isn't going to show up within the next week.
Thanks for the reply, everyone. I am using seeded material. I started using the shrimp on the 27th and switched to ammonia on the 6th. I haven't done any water changes. I'm with mozcheez. I'm thinking maybe it's cycled, as well. To be safe, I will continue to dose 4ppm and post results. Thanks for the help.
rotorhead22
Aquarium Advice Freak
Great. It looks like you are cycled. You can't get Nitrates if the BB did not first oxidize the Nitrites. Continue to dose ammonia to 4 ppm for a few more days as recommended and then do a large PWC to get your Nitrates below 25 ppm prior to the introduction of fish; I have read some articles that state even >100 ppm is safe but not generally recommended.
-rotorhead22
-rotorhead22
severum mama
Aquarium Advice Addict
Congrats on the cycle. Just wanted to point out that the raw shrimp would have worked just fine. Cycling a tank doesn't have to be an exact process. If you are stocking slowly to begin with, it truly does not matter if the tank can convert 4 ppm of ammonia in a day. It isn't as though 4 ppm is a threshold by which to judge success or failure. If you dosed up to 2 ppm, for example, and completed the process that way, the tank would still be cycled and you could start with a small fish load. 3 raw shrimp in a 55 would have done it. I have used the shrimp method to cycle both marine and freshwater tanks. It's a great "set it and forget it" method IME.
To be honest, you really didn't need to fishless cycle at all. I've started close to 100 tanks with filter media and a small fish load. This is one of the easiest ways to start a new tank IMO. The bacteria which comprise the tank's biological filter are far more resilient than what they often get credit for, and they quickly colonize to the point that is needed to support a small fish load, even from a small amount of media.
To be honest, you really didn't need to fishless cycle at all. I've started close to 100 tanks with filter media and a small fish load. This is one of the easiest ways to start a new tank IMO. The bacteria which comprise the tank's biological filter are far more resilient than what they often get credit for, and they quickly colonize to the point that is needed to support a small fish load, even from a small amount of media.
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rotorhead22
Aquarium Advice Freak
I totally agree. 4 ppm is almost an arbitrary value and probably represents a pretty large bioload representing x number of fish of an x type of genus, which of course is different for every tank depending on the amount and efficiency of filtration. Congrats again on your cycle.
Hey thank you everyone for the replies. Does anyone think because I am using Bio-Balls that is why the Nitrates are so high. I think Ive read that people with salt water tanks should not use them because of the high Nitrates they cause. Is it the same in fresh water? Everyone thinks the tank is cycled already then? That is great. I will wait a few more days just to make sure and keep dosing to 4 PPM. Here are the test results for tonight. I think you are right about the shrimp. I started off using 3 shrimp on my 55 with a 20 gallon sump... The night before I am going to get fish I am supposed to do a 70% water change and put my prime in and also lower the temp right?
Attachments
mozcheez
Aquarium Advice Regular
The tank looks awesome! The night before you get your fish, you want to do a big enough water change to get the nitrates down to 20ppm or lower. However much that takes, but it very well could be more than 70%. Yes on prime and lowering the temp. If it will be awhile before you add the fish, you can dose a little bit of ammonia too. I dosed up to 1-2ppm because I knew it would be about 24 hours before I added the fish from the time I did that water change. Good luck!
Thanks a lot MOZCHEEZ. Thanks for looking out... I want to get MBUNAS but I really like the plants. I am sure the plants will not make it with MBUNAS..
Lovin Fish
Aquarium Advice Freak
Very nice job! I can't wait to see fish in there!!!!!
Thank you, hopefully very shortly there will be something swimming around in there...
Lovin Fish
Aquarium Advice Freak
Got some little ones.....
Yeah
!! They are beautiful!!!Yeah
I have 7 of them in a 55 gallon with a 20 gallon sump and a RIO 2500 pump. You dont think that is 2 many do you???
Thanks Heather I will do that...
