Cycle progress questions

[AgilityIG]

I initally set up my 20 gallon tank on March 1st. I didn't have my API test kit, so it sat running for a week until I could get things started. On March 11th, I got my kit and ammonia and put WAY too much ammonia in. I did several water changes and tests and finally got my ammonia down to 2-3ppm. On March 21st, it started dropping to 1ppm and has stayed there. I checked for nitrItes today and they are still at 0ppm. Am I stalling out or just being too impatient?

Also, my tank is VERY cloudy - either I have a bacterial bloom or it is from me being too over excited to get my tank set up and forgetting to rinse all my plants, rock, etc... before filling the tank. I think it's probably the latter. I am planning on doing a large water change if I ever complete this cycle. I checked my filter pad yesterday and it is horribly dirty and I'm wondering if it's from all the dust/dirt. Should I bag up this filter pad and let it sit in the tank and put a clean one in to help remove the cloud? Or should I just take out some tank water, rinse the filter pad and put it back? The filter is an Aqueon Quiet Flow 20 HOB.

 

[Lowryder]

You want to keep your ammonia levels around 4ppm. Be patient, to is most likely a bacteria bloom. But if your ammonia levels dropped you should have some nitrite levels. Do you have nitrates?

 

[mfdrookie516]

have you got the temperature raised up pretty high? that will speed up the cycle quite a bit. the tank will cycle with 1ppm ammonia, but 4ppm ammonia will build a better bacteria colony and will initially support more fish.

 

[AgilityIG]

You want to keep your ammonia levels around 4ppm. Be patient, to is most likely a bacteria bloom. But if your ammonia levels dropped you should have some nitrite levels. Do you have nitrates?

Actually, when I added WAY too much ammonia, I had a level of over 8ppm of ammonia. It took several large water changes to get it down and I finally got it to 3ppm. I have checked nitrIte levels every few days, but it has always been 0ppm. I just checked nitrAte level and it's at 0ppm. It does seem to have a slight orange tint to it, but it's not as orange as the 5ppm.

I have been trying to follow the fishless cycling for dummies and I didn't think I was supposed to add ammonia until the ammonia level got down to 0 and the nitrItes started going up?

 

[AgilityIG]

have you got the temperature raised up pretty high? that will speed up the cycle quite a bit. the tank will cycle with 1ppm ammonia, but 4ppm ammonia will build a better bacteria colony and will initially support more fish.

I have my heater turned up as high as it will go and the temperature is around 80 - it's hard to read that little thing!

 

[Chriznat20]

It took 3-4 weeks for me to get nitrItes and I was cycling with 5 fish and adding Nutra "cycle" product...

3-4 weeks after the NitrItes, I had nitrAtes and 0 amm, 0 nitrites.

The process was like clockwork, you must be patient young grasshopper!
Keep doing what you are doing - watching those levels, adding the ammonia, keeping the temp up... it will happen.

 

[AgilityIG]

Now I'm confused - I thought my ammonia level was supposed to get down to 0ppm and start getting nitrItes before adding daily ammonia to the tank?

 

[mfdrookie516]

no, you want to keep adding ammonia until the nitrites spike, go back down, and you can convert your ammonia (in my case 3-4ppm) to 0 daily. Once you can convert 4ppm ammonia in 24hrs, have 0 nitrites, and some nitrates, do a big water change and add fish

 

[AgilityIG]

Thanks so much! So how much ammonia should I be adding to a 20 gallon tank? Someone figured for me that I needed to add 3.2ml to get it to 4ppm - do I need to add that much again? Right now my ammonia is 1ppm and 0 nitrItes and 0 nitrAtes.

 

[mfdrookie516]

i have no idea how much to use... for my 55g, half a cap full from the lid of the ammonia bottle got me to 4ppm.... just take a dropper and drop 10 drops, wait 30 minutes, test ammonia, continue until you reach 3-4ppm

 

[AgilityIG]

Thanks mfdroookie - I have a syringe and I'll give 10 drops a try. Should I start testing for nitrItes and nitrAtes daily now too?

 

[mfdrookie516]

just nitrites right now... once they go down, then worry about nitrates... and im sure it'll take way more than 10 drops, just an easy way to do it imo

 

[AgilityIG]

just nitrites right now... once they go down, then worry about nitrates... and im sure it'll take way more than 10 drops, just an easy way to do it imo

LOL - I'm all for ten drops at a time - it took a TON of water changes to get it down from 8ppm when I added too much ammonia!!

 

[AgilityIG]

I put a dozen drops of ammonia in yesterday and the tank tested at:

ammonia 4ppm
nitrIte 0ppm

I just checked the tank now (24 hours later) and this is what I have:

ammonia 2ppm
nitrIte 0.25ppm

This is the first time I have gotten nitrItes!

(it's the little things in life that get me excited!)

I am going to add more ammonia tomorrow (after testing) since I didn't get my ammonia all the way down in 24 hours. Fingers crossed for more nitrItes!

 

[BigJim]

Sounds good to me. Keep that ammonia level up, don't let it go all the way down. Gotta keep feeding the bacteria. When your tank is capable of converting 4ppm of ammonia to nitrates (0 ammonia, 0 nitrites) in 24 hours or less, I'd say you're cycled.

 

[AgilityIG]

Thanks for all the help!!

Question about fish:

I would like to stock this with Cory Cats and Dwarf Gourami. I was thinking six CCs and three DGs - would that be ok? I know the CCs like to school and the DG can be a bit aggressive, but was afraid that if I just got two DG one would get picked on. Also, once the cycle is finished, I don't want to just rush in and get all the fish - which fish would you get first?

 

[BigJim]

You're right about the corys. They're much more fun in a big group. Not sure about the gouramis. I think three in a 20g might be a little tight. Maybe someone with some more experience can chime in.

Start with the corys. They're pretty hardy and can tolerate your tank stabilizing after the cycle.

 

[supradupafast]

I'll have to agree with BigJim,
3 DG's in a 20gal will be tight. Fun part of having CC's in large groups is you will have alot of Babies.. Those CC's love to breed. Depending what filter you are using, but every 2nd week, I have at least 5-6 baby CC's in my canister. I dump em' back in the Tank and let nature take it's way. So Far, I've had 6 Survive, and are now 3/4".
Depending what you want, but there are some nice colorful fish that will do well in a 20Gal with CC's.
I have some Columbian Tetras with 1 Apistogramma and 3 Bamboo Shrimps.

 

[AgilityIG]

Would it be better to just put in two dwarf Gourami with my little pack of CC's? I have quite a bit of cover for everyone to hide/pick out territory. I was afraid with just two that I would end up with one bully and one poor little picked on one. I could rule out the Gourami all together and go with a small school of Tiger Barbs, but don't want to end up with too many fish for my tank.

On the cycling end of things, it has been 48 hours since I added a bit of ammonia to get back up to 4ppm. My tank is looking a lot clearer (I think I had a bacterial cloud) today. I just did another test:

ammonia 2ppm
nitrItes 0.25ppm

I seem to be having trouble getting down past 2ppm on the ammonia. I will add more tonight to get back up to 4ppm and check again tomorrow.

Someday I WILL have fish! LOL

 

[supradupafast]

Hehe...
One day.. yes... Fishless Cycling requires Alot of patience.
It is also a personal choice. I rather do it the old fashion way but that requires water changes every 3-4 days for about 1 month.

As for the DG's, A pair in a 20 Gal is ok. They should swim together. They are quite shy and non-aggressive (most cases).
As for my Gouramis (Striped Gouramis) , they hide from me all the time, and only show themselves when I am far from the Tank..
Make sure they have plenty of shade.. (Plants are Best!)

Are live plants something you were interested in?