Fishless cycling readings so far

[eco23]

You only use carbon to remove medicine from a tank or bad odor. If it's in a cartridge don't throw the actual cartridge away, just either cut it open and shake out the carbon, or just leave it alone for the time being. Cloudiness can be part of the cycle. I wouldn't worry about that for now. If you do cut the carbon out, don't rinse it tap water as that will kill the bacteria in it. You can shake out as much carbon as possible, then fill up a bucket with water from your tank and swish it around to get the leftovers out. The carbon cartridges these stores sell is just to make $ having to buy something every month and does more harm that good. Make sure you pop the cartridge back in where it was after you remove the carbon. Problem is that the ammonia is absorbed by the carbon and doesn't leave as much for the bacteria. Can also give you false readings because it looks like the bacteria is eating the ammonia when in fact it's the carbon soaking it up

 

[cichlidpaul]

ive all ways thought it was used for polishing the water well i have some in my external filter so i guess i will have to get it out then

 

[cichlidpaul]

ive all ways thought it was used for polishing the water well i have some in my external filter so i guess i will have to get it out then

its not cloudy as such just got white skin like flakes floating around and some have web like stuff coming off them i hope thats good lol

 

[eco23]

its not cloudy as such just got white skin like flakes floating around and some have web like stuff coming off them i hope thats good lol

Hmm... New to me. I think in one of the posts I've read I've heard of something like that, but I have no idea. If I was forced to guess I think some type of algae? Maybe dead algae killed by the UV light? Is the UV light a new addition? I guess you should start 2 new threads. I'm 99% sure I'm right about the UV light interfering with the cycle, but you should at least start a thread about the white stuff. You can still include a link here as I'm sure everyone will ask a bunch of the same questions I have already asked you.

 

[eco23]

After a little google research, it seems like it could be anything from algae, to a fungus, to a normal bacteria bloom to a bunch of dead bacteria (maybe from the water change without dechlorinator?), I'd definitely start a new thread with a link here. This site is usually busiest in the late afternoon/evening my time. I'm on the US East coast, so I'll let you do the time zone math

 

[cichlidpaul]

Yep new to me too but what you are saying might just be right as this stuff is white , the uv is not new its been in the filter since i started the cycle but not always on but im 99% sure this stuff started befor i turned the light on i have started a thread about it and got told it was bacteria but im not convinced as i have never in my life seen this

 

[eco23]

Yep new to me too but what you are saying might just be right as this stuff is white , the uv is not new its been in the filter since i started the cycle but not always on but im 99% sure this stuff started befor i turned the light on i have started a thread about it and got told it was bacteria but im not convinced as i have never in my life seen this

I've never heard of anything like that being normal during a cycle. I've heard of bacteria blooms making water cloudy, but never anything like you're describing. There's a lot of people who know a whole lot more than I do so I could definitely be wrong... But than again so could they. One thing I've learned on this site is that it doesn't matter what the number of posts next to a persons name is, whether it 2 posts or 2 million, sometimes they're right, sometimes they're wrong. I always try to get a bunch of different answers and go with the concesus of what people agree on.

 

[eco23]

I'll keep an eye on your threads tonight and see if I can move the conversation along. I'm gonna send you a friend request so I can watch the threads a little easier.

 

[cichlidpaul]

lmao at a guess i think we are 5 ish hours in time differance
thats what i was told bacteria bloom hmmm would like to see this in another tank though not to sure if we have to use a dechlorinator over this side of the pond never used one befor so really confused

 

[eco23]

lmao at a guess i think we are 5 ish hours in time differance
thats what i was told bacteria bloom hmmm would like to see this in another tank though not to sure if we have to use a dechlorinator over this side of the pond never used one befor so really confused

If you're on city water, there's chlorine and/or chloramines in it. Especially if you're in the UK and not a third world country. Hope you're not an Arsenal fan as my beloved FC Barcelona just knocked them out of Champions League

 

[cichlidpaul]

cool nice one eco sure do i will try and get a pic of this stuff so you and others can see it just not sure the camara will pick it up but i will do my best

 

[cichlidpaul]

lmao well done i say to Barca im from Birmingham about 140 mile from Arsenal im a Aston Villa fan lol

 

[cichlidpaul]

White stuff

ok the pics not good but you can make out what im talking about

[/ATTACH]

 

[eco23]

ok the pics not good but you can make out what im talking about

<img src="http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=32485"/><img src="http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=32487"/>

Very odd, I defer to someone who knows more than I do. Are you sure the ammonia you're using is pure? Does it say "No dyes, perfumes or surfactants"?

 

[cichlidpaul]

yep im sure as i have seen it on sale from an aquatic shop online that is why i got it

told you it was strange eco never befor in my life and ive had my fair share of tanks scratching my head im lost

 

[eco23]

If it's floating around in there, I dont know why the filter isn't picking it up. I saw you had a thread asking about it, I'll keep my eye on it. I'm sure somebody knows exactly what it is and can help.

 

[cichlidpaul]

just had a good look at the intake to the filter and their the white stuff stuck on it so it is being sucked in but where is it all coming from now im worryied about opening the filter incase its full of the bloody stuff and its pumping it back in to the tank , might be like some cheap scifi movie lol

 

[eco23]

just had a good look at the intake to the filter and their the white stuff stuck on it so it is being sucked in but where is it all coming from now im worryied about opening the filter incase its full of the bloody stuff and its pumping it back in to the tank , might be like some cheap scifi movie lol

You've got filter media in there, right? Like a cartridge or other type of mechanical filter? It's probably blocked up at the intake and in the filter and that's why it's not filtering out. Turn off the filter so it doesn't launch the stuff out, fill up a bucket with water from your tank, take it all apart and rinse it all in the tank water. You might have to do that periodically to get all the stuff out. Make sure you don't use tap water cause it'll kill the bacteria on the filter pads.

 

[cichlidpaul]

lol yep i have media in their take a look at this link it will tell you about the filter
All Pond Solutions - 2000EF Plus Aquarium External Filter - All Pond Solutions

its not blocked up it still pumping like a good one

 

[eco23]

Wow dude, that thing is fancy. I saw your other thread about the UV light, and I have to say I still think I'm right about the UV absolutely ANNIHILATING the bacteria you're trying to grow. Like the others said, the bacteria does grow everywhere, but mostly in the filter. On the description for the filter you have it says "The built in UV sterilizer exposes passing water to lethal doses of ultraviolet light, killing, sterilizing or otherwise irreparably damaging many micro-organisms." Call me crazy, but that can't be good for bacteria growth!

I've got to run out for a bit, but I'll check in on you a bit later. God knows if we don't figure it out now, that stuff's going to start showing up in my tank in a week, lol!!