Fishless cycle ammonia

[Azure Lord]

I am currently on day 11 and my ammonia has shown no sign of decline. No nitrites or nitrates. Has it stalled or not working and what should i do?

Its a 10 gallon tank with a tetra pf10 filter with a pollishing pad and carbon in the bio filter and s bio sponge. A 50 watt heater keeps the temperature at about 76* and ph stays at roughly 7.8. The kh is usually 9 and gh is generally about 15.

 

[Gibberwatt]

It isn't really a surprise that it is taking this long. The bacteria have to establish, and that will take a little time. If you want there are some inoculations you can get at petsmart, but they don't seem to work very well

 

[JoeH2014]

Have you tried some of the great guides on here to follow? Look for the (almost) Complete Guide and FAQ to Fishless Cycling. It's a great guide for your first time.

The biggest thing I can tell you would be to do whatever you can to get your hands on a friend's filter media or gravel. That stuff is loaded with bacteria and will help you get started.

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[Azure Lord]

I have and i want to grow my own bacteria.

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[dalto]

It takes time for a new bacteria colony to establish. What are your ammonia levels at now?

 

[Azure Lord]

About 5ppm. May be a little more....but its not 8ppm.

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[JoeH2014]

I have and i want to grow my own bacteria.

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Well, be prepared to wait quite a while then if you want to do this without any assistance. If you're using a friends filter media or gravel, you'll still be growing your own bacteria, but you'll also just get a boost on the production.

 

[AtHomeWithTwins]

If your not going to use seeded media, the only other thing that will speed up the process is to crank the heat up in the mid 80's.

 

[GrumpyGills]

Not that I am an expert since I am currently stalled with high nitrites, but my way of seeding my tank without any seeding material was to buy a bunch of plants and put them in the tank without washing them. Two days later my ammonia dropped after previously sitting doing nothing for 2 weeks.

Of course now it has been another two weeks and my nitrites won't go down so what do I know...

 

[Azure Lord]

Yeah its not the kind of heater you can 'crank'

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[PNWaquarist]

If you want there are some inoculations you can get at petsmart, but they don't seem to work very well

I had success with Dr. Tim's One & Only bacteria. Cycled my tank in nine days.

 

[Fresh2o]

I had success with Dr. Tim's One & Only bacteria. Cycled my tank in nine days.

That's about the only "bacteria in a bottle" I've heard with consistently positive feedback.
I used seeded media from another one of my tanks. About 9 days start to finish.
Starting from scratch may take a while.

 

[Azure Lord]

Ok so cultivating my own....im pretty much on track?

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[ranicrab]

I think you are! We didn't seed and it really did take 6-8 weeks - could have been shorter but we didn't have the heater for the first week and also

 

[ranicrab]

Oops - we also have plants that were competing with the bacteria! It is worth the wait though, good luck!

 

[Masha]

Seeing no decline in ammonia and no nitrites after 11 days IS a bit slow. My experience was that it would start declining a bit after about 4 days. But of course, your water conditions are sure to be very different from mine so don't feel discouraged because of that.

All the same, it may be worth just going over the basics to make sure you are not accidentally doing something wrong. Not dechlorinating can harm the cycle, and apparently adding too much dechlorinator might also cause problems, so be careful not to overdose too much. Also check that you are doing the testing correctly, or not accidentally dosing way too much ammonia.

Keep in mind: if you do decide to use bacteria in a bottle, they are not all created equal. Most of the brands contain heterotrophic bacteria, which in practice means you will have to keep dosing that stuff to maintain the bacterial colony, as they can't reproduce themselves. The kind that grows without prompting is autotrophic bacteria, which is the best kind to have as once you have a colony of them, they keep themselves going. I believe Dr Tim's is autotrophic.

But let's hope your cycle gets itself off the ground without needing to buy anything more - good luck!

 

[Azure Lord]

If it hasnt started by sunday night i may consider a dr tims after a 20% wc. But acording to the bsics im doing everything right.

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