Cycling.

[jlk]

You are off to a good start! I would check your tap for nitrates as well (if you havent already done so) so you know where your starting from. Lets leave your ammonia where it is for right now & see if your filter will zero out the ammonia in 24hrs before dosing it back up to 4ppm.

 

[Maxkolbe]

This is probably a stupid question but will the bacteria turn 4ppm of ammonia into 4ppm of nitrates or will it be more or less. I assumed it would stay the same but that's not what my water tests are showing.

 

[Rendao]

This is probably a stupid question but will the bacteria turn 4ppm of ammonia into 4ppm of nitrates or will it be more or less. I assumed it would stay the same but that's not what my water tests are showing.

In my experience ( just finished a cycle ). Your best bet is to try and keep the ammo at 4. It will turn into nitrites but there is no set amount, could be none could be over 5. The ammo is like the food to create trites and trates. Bear with it though it is well worth doing and the folks on here are the best, and pretty ****ed knowledgable.

 

[jlk]

This is probably a stupid question but will the bacteria turn 4ppm of ammonia into 4ppm of nitrates or will it be more or less. I assumed it would stay the same but that's not what my water tests are showing.

Hi Max! This is a great question & i have actually asked this before!!! Unfortunately, i never got an exact answer of what the conversion rate is (x amm> y nitrite> z nitrate). I believe the conversion of amm>nitrite is a more direct one (ie 1ppm amm> 1ppm nitrite) but the conversion of nitrite>nitrate is exponential. I can only guess here but i think its something like a 1>5 or 1>10 ratio. How are things looking today?

 

[Maxkolbe]

Just tested
Ammonia 2ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate between 5 and 10ppm
Ph 8.4

I think I should bring it back up to 4ppm, sound about right?

 

[jlk]

Sounds good! Just remember it will only take a small amount of amm to bring it from 2 to 4 (vs 0 to 4). Keep us posted!

 

[Maxkolbe]

Do I just add the amount needed to bring it from 0 to 2?

 

[Rendao]

Do I just add the amount needed to bring it from 0 to 2?

Hi, just add a little a t a time, and check it as you go, you will find the right amount soon as you go!

 

[jlk]

If your amm is at 2ppm, i would only add half the dose to get it to 4ppm instead the full dose thats needed to bring it from 0 to 4ppm.

 

[Maxkolbe]

Dosed back up to about 4ppm I'm thinking about getting another smaller filter since I'll most likely overstock the tank. if I did would it disrupt the cycle?

 

[librarygirl]

Dosed back up to about 4ppm I'm thinking about getting another smaller filter since I'll most likely overstock the tank. if I did would it disrupt the cycle?

Nope, it'll be fine. Add one if you want.

 

[Maxkolbe]

Just tested
Ammonia 2ppm
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 10ppm

Am going to add more ammonia.

 

[Maxkolbe]

Added more ammonia.
This is probably a hard question to answer but based on these results do you think it sounds like my cycle is nearly finished.
I'm asking because we'll be going out of town for the holidays soon and I don't think I'll be able to trust whoever watches the house to cycle the tank for me.
If not what can I do to speed it up?

 

[librarygirl]

Added more ammonia.
This is probably a hard question to answer but based on these results do you think it sounds like my cycle is nearly finished.
I'm asking because we'll be going out of town for the holidays soon and I don't think I'll be able to trust whoever watches the house to cycle the tank for me.
If not what can I do to speed it up?

It's hard to tell, really. You did use some seeded media right? When the tank can turn the 4 ppm of ammonia to 0 ammonia in 24 hours consistently for at least a few days and nitrites stay at 0 then I would say yes. Right now it's hard to tell where you are since it's fairly early and ammonia isn't going to 0 yet; you may or may not get nitrite which is another phase of the cycle but since you have seeded media you may or may not get them, we probably won't know until ammonia starts to zero out.

Other than adding more seeded media there isn't much to do to speed it up. Adding some small fish now wouldn't be a good idea if no one is going to be home to test the water and do water changes as needed if the toxins spike with the fish in the tank. How long are you going out of town? Days? Weeks?

 

[Maxkolbe]

We are going to be gone for four days and we're leaving Sunday. If my tank isn't cycled by then I could have whoever is watching the house add an amount of ammonia that I know my bacteria will be able to handle whenever they come over. OR I could add more than usual right before we leave. Unfortunately I've taken the cartridges out of every tank we own trying to do this cycle so I don't want to risk putting the fish in these tanks in danger. I'll continue to test the water and keep my fingers crossed.
I did have an idea though. Would it help to add some plant food or dirty water from another tank or would that just promote algae growth?

 

[librarygirl]

We are going to be gone for four days and we're leaving Sunday. If my tank isn't cycled by then I could have whoever is watching the house add an amount of ammonia that I know my bacteria will be able to handle whenever they come over. OR I could add more than usual right before we leave. Unfortunately I've taken the cartridges out of every tank we own trying to do this cycle so I don't want to risk putting the fish in these tanks in danger. I'll continue to test the water and keep my fingers crossed.
I did have an idea though. Would it help to add some plant food or dirty water from another tank or would that just promote algae growth?

Four days isn't that long. Finding someone to dose the appropriate amount of ammonia is a good idea if you can do it, as long as they don't overdose. Four days shouldn't be long enough for the bacteria to die off.

Dirty water from another tank probably won't hurt but it may not do much either; most of the bacteria are on surfaces and not in the water itself. I'm not sure about the plant food but I don't think it would help the cycle itself either (and as you said may be more likely to produce algae).

 

[Maxkolbe]

Tested again
Ammonia - 2ppm
Nitrite - I believe 0 but the test was acting weird. Most of the water was blue but some purple had settled to the bottom? It turned blue if I shook it though.
Nitrate - 10
PH- 8.4

Am going to add more ammonia and some fish food for phosphates. (I read that that helps)

 

[Deckape]

Tested again
Ammonia - 2ppm
Nitrite - I believe 0 but the test was acting weird. Most of the water was blue but some purple had settled to the bottom? It turned blue if I shook it though.
Nitrate - 10
PH- 8.4

Am going to add more ammonia and some fish food for phosphates. (I read that that helps)

Looks like you're on your way, very good advice given by all. The only thing you need to do is continue your patience. Good job everyone! Your fish will thank you!

 

[Rendao]

Yeah, nice one. You are definitely on your way. You could always look into plants while you are waiting. It's good to spend some time just looking at how you want the tank to be.

 

[senemedar]

Tested again
Ammonia - 2ppm
Nitrite - I believe 0 but the test was acting weird. Most of the water was blue but some purple had settled to the bottom? It turned blue if I shook it though.

What test are you using? I had a similar issues with AquaOne tests, and turned out they're just rubbish :/