I wanted to get your opinions on this. My understanding is that often during fish less cycling, there is a stall when nitrites spike. This happened to me recently, as my tank was dosed to 4ppm Ammonia and cycled it in three hours... But nitrite conversion was very slow. Suddenly a thought occurred to me:
I have the same filters that Ive had the entire time cycling with high ammonia. My ammonia feeding bacteria have colonized and thrived on every surface and filter and have densely populated the tank. Now that I have nitrite for my nitrite feeding bacteria, they would thrive...but they have NO REAL ESTATE to grow on and outcompete the established colonies!
This doesn't happen when cycling with fish because there isn't enough ammonia produced quickly enough to take up all the 'real estate.'
One solution people use is to not feed ammonia for a couple of days... This likely works by killing some of the established colonies and freeing space, but it is slower and unnecessary.
I have just done this so I will let you know the results, but here was my solution:
I have four removable filters (and then four bio wheels). I removed two filters and shook them in the tank. I replaced two with new filters and then shook off the old two and placed just straight in my tank. I let ammonia fall to zero before doing this.
If my theory is right, both types of bacteria will land and seed on the new media, but the fact that nitrite is high and ammonia is low... Means that the nitrite bacteria I want can easily outcompete on this new real estate and grow healthy colonies. I will let you know if this makes a dramatic change in my cycling time frame. If this works, it would be wise to continue to hake off filters in this manner to eventually allow both bacteria to establish an equilibrium on ALL filter media and rocks etc so that you don't replace one filter and completely wipe out a colony. I would never do that anyway, but just for those who might not understand the implications.
46g Bowfront
Temp 79
Ph 7.9
GH 180 ppm
KH 180 ppm
NH3/NH4+ 0 Cycles 4ppm to 0 in 2 hrs
NO3 4.3 ppm
NO4 1 ppm
NO3 steady at 4+ for about 7 days
I am making a hypothesis:
Nitrite levels will fall to zero in 24-48 hours,
At which point I will dose ammonia to 4ppm and within 24 hours will have only NO4.
Will post results.
-PapaJ
PS: if someone has already posted this idea, I apologize but did not find it and if it is correct then it should be stickied at the top. I think that appropriate fish less cycling procedure (perhaps using Stability also) should be able to be tested by forum members and yield relatively consistent results with a tank fully cycled to full capacity in seven days, fourteen max. This is my quest.
I have the same filters that Ive had the entire time cycling with high ammonia. My ammonia feeding bacteria have colonized and thrived on every surface and filter and have densely populated the tank. Now that I have nitrite for my nitrite feeding bacteria, they would thrive...but they have NO REAL ESTATE to grow on and outcompete the established colonies!
This doesn't happen when cycling with fish because there isn't enough ammonia produced quickly enough to take up all the 'real estate.'
One solution people use is to not feed ammonia for a couple of days... This likely works by killing some of the established colonies and freeing space, but it is slower and unnecessary.
I have just done this so I will let you know the results, but here was my solution:
I have four removable filters (and then four bio wheels). I removed two filters and shook them in the tank. I replaced two with new filters and then shook off the old two and placed just straight in my tank. I let ammonia fall to zero before doing this.
If my theory is right, both types of bacteria will land and seed on the new media, but the fact that nitrite is high and ammonia is low... Means that the nitrite bacteria I want can easily outcompete on this new real estate and grow healthy colonies. I will let you know if this makes a dramatic change in my cycling time frame. If this works, it would be wise to continue to hake off filters in this manner to eventually allow both bacteria to establish an equilibrium on ALL filter media and rocks etc so that you don't replace one filter and completely wipe out a colony. I would never do that anyway, but just for those who might not understand the implications.
46g Bowfront
Temp 79
Ph 7.9
GH 180 ppm
KH 180 ppm
NH3/NH4+ 0 Cycles 4ppm to 0 in 2 hrs
NO3 4.3 ppm
NO4 1 ppm
NO3 steady at 4+ for about 7 days
I am making a hypothesis:
Nitrite levels will fall to zero in 24-48 hours,
At which point I will dose ammonia to 4ppm and within 24 hours will have only NO4.
Will post results.
-PapaJ
PS: if someone has already posted this idea, I apologize but did not find it and if it is correct then it should be stickied at the top. I think that appropriate fish less cycling procedure (perhaps using Stability also) should be able to be tested by forum members and yield relatively consistent results with a tank fully cycled to full capacity in seven days, fourteen max. This is my quest.