Day 27 Fishless Cycle, Where are the Nitrites??

[eco23]

do you think adding live plants could be a benefit?

Plants will reduce ammo and no3, but not significantly affect the cycle one way or the other. Plants actually benefit from the water conditions during a cycle, and it also gives you something to do while the tank sits empty.

 

[Ruth87]

ok will have a think Wil post again with an update and hopefully a Nitrite explosion *fingers Crossed* Just to add i didn't have any seeding material could this be the problem?

 

[eco23]

There's also the risk / reward of adding plants directly in without sanitizing them. You can get some beneficial bacteria, by throwing them in, but you could also get pond snails and parasites.

 

[eco23]

ok will have a think Wil post again with an update and hopefully a Nitrite explosion *fingers Crossed* Just to add i didn't have any seeding material could this be the problem?

A member found a website that claims to sell seeded sponges. I don't know the rules on advertising, so I'll PM you the site. It couldn't hurt and might be a big help. Seeding material isn't mandatory though...just speeds up the process.

 

[Ruth87]

thanks, really fab to get solid advice Really dont fancy the snail issue tho i know someone who now has an infestation from this (the only other person i know with a tank hence the lack of seeding material and the fact they are cycling with fish and don't test the water at all *sigh*)

 

[Cloudrider]

Hi

Just wanted some peace of mind that the cycling is working. My tank reduced the first lot of AMM from 5ppm to almost 0ppm in roughly 3 weeks without showing any Nitrites. As advised I topped up to the Amm to 4ppm and the Amm is dropping roughly 3ppm today but I am still getting 0ppm Nitrites and Nitrates. Is this normal? If so any ideas when i might start to see Nitrites etc?

I've boosted the tank temp to about 82 as sugested in the fab guide on the forums.

I've read about adding some fish food to help would this work?

Many thanks everyone

Ruth

I'm guessing here. What filter are you running? What do you have in the filter? Is it possible that ammo carb in the filter is removing the ammo hence no no2?

Cr

 

[Ruth87]

erm.... I have a 101f Aqua one filter which just has a sponge in it.. no carbon as far as i know but i am very new to this

 

[eco23]

erm.... I have a 101f Aqua one filter which just has a sponge in it.. no carbon as far as i know but i am very new to this

If it's a cartridge that sounds like it has little rocks in it when you shake it...that's carbon. I don't think there's any chance that carbon is removing that much ammo though. Just stay on the track you're on, you're doing fine so far... give your bacteria a little pep talk, lol.

 

[Ruth87]

nope no little rocks just a sponge, i shall be wish the bacteria a good nights sleep and tellin them to get procreating!! silly bacteria

 

[Cloudrider]

erm.... I have a 101f Aqua one filter which just has a sponge in it.. no carbon as far as i know but i am very new to this

Well like Eco said, give them a pep talk. When I cycled mine, it was going nice then it stopped. I believe I had a ph crash. But then again,im new to this also.

Ronnie

 

[Ruth87]

So when I get a live plant what is the best way to ensure a zero snail population as the first time i set up my tank (dont ask went horribly wrong before i knew the ways of fishelesscycling etc) i just put them in and ended up wth two snails which i did manage to remove.. but really dont want this to happen now.

 

[Ruth87]

just wondering if the addition of an air pump would help as the pet shop told me a filter wud produce enuf aeration?

 

[eco23]

Another member here (Mr Limet) taught me a neat trick. I dipped and lightly swished the plant in a bowl of hydrogen peroxide for 30 seconds, then rinsed it off real good in the sink. 3-4 dead snails were left in the bowl. It can also help prevent parasites.

An air stone or bubble wand is a HUGE help. It is certainly possible you don't have enough surface agitation. A guy at the lfs told you this? Someone there actually knows what they're doing? Lol. If you don't have an air stone, you can lower your water level a few inches and let the water from the filter splash into the tank to help break the surface.

Have you seen the guide in my signature? Check it out if you haven't.

 

[Ruth87]

yeh the pet shop guy said i didnt need an air pump at all cos of the filter but when i was younger and had tanks with my parents we always had one n was wondering if it was something i am missing as I have read in a book that the warmer water required for tropical fish doesnt hold as much oxygen

 

[eco23]

yeh the pet shop guy said i didnt need an air pump at all cos of the filter but when i was younger and had tanks with my parents we always had one n was wondering if it was something i am missing as I have read in a book that the warmer water required for tropical fish doesnt hold as much oxygen

Oh, sorry I misread. I thought you said he recommended it...I guess they are still all idiots, lol. It'll help a lot with your cycle to have more aeration and surface agitation. Once you have fish its not needed if you have enough surface agitation from a powerhead or the HOB splashing into the water to sufficiently oxygenate the water.

When I switched to a canister filter I turned off my airstones to appreciate the silence of the filter, but I got a bio-film on top of the water pretty quickly so I turned it back on. I'd recommend getting one for aeration, the bio-film potential and to help cycling...plus they look cool

 

[Ruth87]

OK definately time for a trip to the pet shop to ignor what they say buy a pump n let them test my water! I will never listen to a pet shop worker again... ever

 

[Hubert90]

OK definately time for a trip to the pet shop to ignor what they say buy a pump n let them test my water! I will never listen to a pet shop worker again... ever

Ya not all but most of the workers knows nothing.

 

[eco23]

Ya not all but most of the workers knows nothing.

There are plenty who might know...but either don't care or aren't allowed to say anything. I was at Petsmart last week chatting with a guy who works there part time while he's in college for marine biology (obviously understands the nitrogen cycle). He told me it was against Petsmart company policy to mention fishless cycling. It's sad and borderline criminal IMO.

 

[Hubert90]

There are plenty who might know...but either don't care or aren't allowed to say anything. I was at Petsmart last week chatting with a guy who works there part time while he's in college for marine biology (obviously understands the nitrogen cycle). He told me it was against Petsmart company policy to mention fishless cycling. It's sad and borderline criminal IMO.

O really? That's sad, I wouldn't even work near a store with that policy. But I guess thats how they make their money. Really disgusting. Blah

 

[Ruth87]

when ifirst asked in the pets at home about it they looked totally confused like i was speaking a foreign language but she got some one who did know a bit n she was trying to talk me into not doing it n then ws trying to tell me to just start it off fishless n then add mollies of platties