29G Fishless Cycle

[ddereckl]

Hi guys, so I've been doing a fishless cycle for the past few months and was wondering if I am on the right track. Here are my recent readings:
11/20
ammonia:.5
nitrite: off the charts
nitrate: 20
11/22
ammonia:0
nitrite: .5
nitrate: 40
11/23
ammonia:0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 80

Am I on the right track? I was told I should stop dosing ammonia until nitrates go down.

 

[shellieca]

Hi guys, so I've been doing a fishless cycle for the past few months and was wondering if I am on the right track. Here are my recent readings:
11/20
ammonia:.5
nitrite: off the charts
nitrate: 20
11/22
ammonia:0
nitrite: .5
nitrate: 40
11/23
ammonia:0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 80

Am I on the right track? I was told I should stop dosing ammonia until nitrates go down.

The BB needs ammonia to survive & if I'm not mistaken if the nitrates get too high it can stall a cycle, 80 is pretty high. Personally I would do a 50%+ water change to get the nitrates down, dose ammonia & recheck in 24 hrs. My interpretation of your results is that you should be cycled but you won't know for certain unless you redose the ammonia & see what happens in 24 hrs. You may want a 2nd opinion but that's my thinking & understanding. I've only done fish IN cycles so. . .

 

[ddereckl]

Ok thanks! I just dosed ammonia, i'll do a water change and try to get the ammonia to 4ppm.

 

[librarygirl]

You mean nitrItes, I think? Nitrites will go to 0 on their own once the tank cycles; if you stop dosing ammonia, the nitrites may go down but they could shoot back up again once ammonia is re-introduced. I'd keep dosing ammonia every 24 hours for a few more days. If ammonia goes to 0 in 24 hours and nitrites stay at 0 then you're cycled.

 

[Jewel_cichlid03]

Sorry for hijackin your thread but just wanted to ask a quick question ive never actually used pure amonia when cycling my tanks ive always used the shrimp method or fish in cycle ive always been iffy about putting a cleaner in my tank

 

[Jewel_cichlid03]

how much of the ammonia would u put in ur tank to dose it to the 4ppm like people say u should dose it to ?

 

[ddereckl]

Darn, I dosed to 4ppm yesterday, Ammonia: .5 Nitrite: 5 ppm. guess im not cycled yet. And I do about 2ml of ammonia. Use the api master test kit, i use about half the test tube line.

 

[Jewel_cichlid03]

So 2ml of ammonia will get it to 4ppm

 

[ddereckl]

Around 2-4, the colors look so much alike to me.

 

[shellieca]

how much of the ammonia would u put in ur tank to dose it to the 4ppm like people say u should dose it to ?

It'll depend on the size of your tank &12 there's a calculator to help you figure out the dosage. It doesn't usually take much to get it to 4 ppm & because you're able to up the ammonia & control the amount easier they say the tank will cycle faster . . . usually.

 

[shellieca]

Darn, I dosed to 4ppm yesterday, Ammonia: .5 Nitrite: 5 ppm. guess im not cycled yet. And I do about 2ml of ammonia. Use the api master test kit, i use about half the test tube line.

I'd say you're close. It processed 4 down to .5 in 24 hrs. Did you redose? How do your nitrates look?

 

[ddereckl]

So i tested the water again this morning, ammonia was zero but nitrite remained the same. dosed to 2ppm

 

[ddereckl]

Just tested:
ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
dosing to 2ppm

 

[ddereckl]

checked water: ammonia: 1
nitrite: .5

 

[ddereckl]

ammonia: .25 ppm
nitrite: 0
nitrate: off the charts, my cycle has probably been stalled or affected by the high nitrates so im going to do a large water change. Maybe 80% then i only have enough ammonia to do about 2-4ppm. After my ammonia runs out, im going to put 2 guppies in there to keep the cycle going.

 

[Mrs.h2012]

Sorry for hijackin your thread but just wanted to ask a quick question ive never actually used pure amonia when cycling my tanks ive always used the shrimp method or fish in cycle ive always been iffy about putting a cleaner in my tank

That's the trick to doing it this way is to get pure ammonia. The test to see if its pure or not is to shake the bottle and as long as it doesn't bubble up then it's pure.

 

[ddereckl]

So i guess my tank isnt cycled?

 

[Mrs.h2012]

So i guess my tank isnt cycled?

I would say your on your way to being cycled but not there yet. Like said before once your BB can process 4ppm of ammonia in 24 hours
For a few days to a week day after day then you are cycled.

 

[ddereckl]

Alright, I did a 75% water change and that brought nitrates down from off the charts to about 40ppm, a few shades lighter, but definitely above 20ppm. Should i do another water change to bring it down further?

 

[Mrs.h2012]

Alright, I did a 75% water change and that brought nitrates down from off the charts to about 40ppm, a few shades lighter, but definitely above 20ppm. Should i do another water change to bring it down further?

I think Its up to you, it wouldn't hurt anything. Ive read members say that fish can tolerate up to 20,40,80ppm of nitrate, it's all varying opinions depending on who answers. I've read in several articles that generally lower nitrates you have the better. I personally try and keep mine around 20ppm, if things get busy and it gets up to 40 I don't freak out but I do a water change to get it down a bit. But then again you are doing a fishless cycle, so the levels fish can tolerate dont really apply to you just yet. I think I read today that during a fishless cycle you don't want to let your nitrates get above 80 or it will stall your cycle.