My 40b fishless cycle log!

[eco23]

I see you redid the test. I was just about to say.....redo the test. lol. This happened to me the other night. The night before I had gotten 20-30 nitrates. I shook the first bottle, added drops, shook the tube, shook the second bottle for what I counted as 30 sec, then shook the tube for what I counted was a full minute. Well I almost fainted when the tube was stilll yellow 5 mintues later. I redid the test and whew it came back 30-40 nitrate. So I was going to suggest doing the test one more time just to be sure, but you did. So I guess this was a useless response.

Haha! It's okay, you're a librarian so you've just got to make sure everything is referenced and in the right locations (and charge us a fee if the tubes aren't returned in a timely fashion). I've actually called API and asked if they'd consider putting the instructions on the bottles as well as the booklet...and I got the standard "thank you for your recommendation sir" response that I expected. I wonder what % of people with API kits actually have no idea what their reading is?

 

[FishN00b83]

So this is what I got after adding 2ppm ammonia and letting it sit for a few hours. If my nitrites drop to 0 by tomorrow morning, I'm guessing that could mean I'm cycled?


Ammonia - 1
Nitrites - 1.5
Nitrates - 15

 

[eco23]

So this is what I got after adding 2ppm ammonia and letting it sit for a few hours. If my nitrites drop to 0 by tomorrow morning, I'm guessing that could mean I'm cycled?

Ammonia - 1
Nitrites - 1.5
Nitrates - 15

Uhh...this one I have no idea. I'd be very careful and not call anything cycled until you know that very odd bio-filter of yours is solid.

 

[FishN00b83]

Well, right now I dont have money for fish, I just bought 175 bucks worth the plants (and they wont get here for at least an other week). So I'm guessing maybe 2 weeks from now I can start looking at fish. I really wanna make sure this tank is safe first as well.

 

[eco23]

Well, right now I dont have money for fish, I just bought 175 bucks worth the plants (and they wont get here for at least an other week). So I'm guessing maybe 2 weeks from now I can start looking at fish. I really wanna make sure this tank is safe first as well.

That's awesome you've got a time frame like that ($175 on plants?!?!). I think that'll be plenty of time to make sure this thing is stable. Once you can get it to zero out every day, just keep doing it until you're ready for fish. If it appears cycled and is consistently dropping ammo and no2 for 2 weeks...I think it'd be safe to say it's stable.

 

[FishN00b83]

That's awesome you've got a time frame like that ($175 on plants?!?!). I think that'll be plenty of time to make sure this thing is stable. Once you can get it to zero out every day, just keep doing it until you're ready for fish. If it appears cycled and is consistently dropping ammo and no2 for 2 weeks...I think it'd be safe to say it's stable.

lol a lot of the fish I want love hiding spots, so, they're gonna get hiding spots...lots of em haha

As for the cycle, after I dosed up to 2ppm, my nitrites spiked again. I read in an article that the bb just about doubles every 24 hours. So hopefully it will be able to handle the 2ppm by tomorrow afternoon. I'm leaving for the weekend tomorrow night, so if it can handle the 2pmm, before I leave I'll dose it up to 4ppm. Hopefully when I get back Sunday night everything will be ok.

 

[FishN00b83]

Day 9

Ph - 6.6 - it definitely crashed from yesterday
ammonia - 0
nitrites - 1
nitrates - 20

Im going to do a big PWC and redose ammonia to 4ppm. I'm going away for the weekend and I need to make sure the bacteria have something to munch on while im gone.

 

[FishN00b83]

Day 11

Ph - 6.2
ammonia - 0
nitrites - 5+
nitrates - 30-40

The ph is still falling and my nitrites are getting really high again. I'm gonna do a water change to try to get the ph up some. Any other ideas as to what is going on here? Is this tank on the right track now, or is it still screwy?

 

[eco23]

It's crashing hard on you. Did you do that pwc in the last couple days we talked about? If not, knock it out ASAP because you're reaching the point where nitrification can be severely inhibited by the low pH. If you did the pwc and it's dropped already, you're gonna need to pick up (preferably) some crushed coral or aragonite to buffer the water.

 

[FishN00b83]

I did a 50% water change right before I left. Im doing another one now. My ph should be back to normal after this no? If not, how much CC do you think I should throw in there? I can prob get to the LFS before they close tonight.

 

[eco23]

I did a 50% water change right before I left. Im doing another one now. My ph should be back to normal after this no? If not, how much CC do you think I should throw in there? I can prob get to the LFS before they close tonight.

You really can't overdose on crushed coral in your situation. Try to pick up a mesh media bag (also sold at the store), and toss a small handful into it. The CC works best in the filter somewhere, but any place in the tank will be a help. Aragonite sand works too, but it's more expensive. They also sell buffering powders, but I personally prefer a natural approach like coral.

 

[FishN00b83]

I like the natural route myself, so I just put a small handful of CC in the tank. I tested it a few mins later and the ph is back up. I didnt try the high ph test, I'll give that a shot in the morning.

After a 75% water change and ammonia redosed to 4ppm w/ the CC this is what I got.

ph - 7.6 (+?)
Ammonia - 4ppm
Nitrites - still off the charts (That's kind of strange to me)
Nitrates - 20

 

[FishN00b83]

Day 12

ph - 6.4 it dropped again from last night (why is this happening?) I put more CC in the media bag and shook it around. Hopefully that helps

ammonia - 2ppm
nitrites - 5+ still off the chart
nitrates - 40 - 80 sometimes I can tell, sometimes I cant.

At the rate that the tank is dropping ammonia and producing nitrates, shouldnt the nitrites be dropping a little?

 

[librarygirl]

Day 12

ph - 6.4 it dropped again from last night (why is this happening?) I put more CC in the media bag and shook it around. Hopefully that helps

ammonia - 2ppm
nitrites - 5+ still off the chart
nitrates - 40 - 80 sometimes I can tell, sometimes I cant.

At the rate that the tank is dropping ammonia and producing nitrates, shouldnt the nitrites be dropping a little?

PH seems dangerously low. If you can, maybe do a water change to get it back up and see if the CC can keep it at the higher level. How long have the nitrites been that high? If you do a pwc to get the PH back up it might lower the nitrites too. Ammonia dropped from 4 to 2 over the weekend, if I'm reading this right, so at least some conversion is starting to happen!

 

[FishN00b83]

PH seems dangerously low. If you can, maybe do a water change to get it back up and see if the CC can keep it at the higher level. How long have the nitrites been that high? If you do a pwc to get the PH back up it might lower the nitrites too. Ammonia dropped from 4 to 2 over the weekend, if I'm reading this right, so at least some conversion is starting to happen!

I did a big water change yesterday and added some CC. I tested the water this morning and the ph was very low again. I added more CC.

I redosed the ammonia up to 4ppm last night around 6pm. I woke up this morning and tested everything at it was already a below 2ppm. Im dropping ammonia fast, and producing nitrates, but my nitrites wont come down.

 

[Bubble_B0y]

stable pH is very important during cycling.
The rate at which beneficial bacteria grow is affected by the pH. And constant fluctuations will inhibit the process.
A lower pH slows production of the beneficial bacteria.


I would add 1-2 inches of crushed coral sand to your substrate. That should stabilize the pH FOREVER!

 

[eco23]

I would add 1-2 inches of crushed coral sand to your substrate. That should stabilize the pH FOREVER!

Sorry man, I agree with everything except that particular point. Having CC or aragonite as your substrate will permanently hold it steady, but due to the fact it also permanently causes pH, kH and GH in the tank to be high. That's great for certain species, but doing water changes with unaltered tap water will cause sudden fluctuations which stress fish during pwc's.

Increasing the amount you have, and putting it in a mesh bag in your filter should it steady for cycling, but it gives you the option of removing it if you choose after the tank is cycled.

I have ridiculously soft water, so I permanently run a small bag in my filter, but it's just enough to hold pH steady without actually raising the pH or other values to high levels. Doing that in the future would probably be a good idea for the OP since he definitely has low alkalinity in his water (causing the fluctuations)...but I personally wouldn't use it as substrate unless you plan on keeping certain fish, and / or plan on buffering the new water before water changes so it doesn't cause sudden shifts. JMO.

 

[FishN00b83]

Well I put about 2 handfulls in a media bag and put it right in my filter. Why is this happening almost two weeks after I started my fishless cycle? Wouldn't low ph show up right away?

 

[jetajockey]

I do water changes with extremely soft water into aragonite substrate tanks all the time without any problem, so I've never experienced specifics of that potential danger of unaltered tap water into a buffered tank, apart from just hearing people warn against it.

I do agree not to put aragonite or cc in the substrate though unless you plan on having a high ph down the line, plus it can look bad unless the rest of the substrate matches the addition.

 

[eco23]

Well I put about 2 handfulls in a media bag and put it right in my filter. Why is this happening almost two weeks after I started my fishless cycle? Wouldn't low ph show up right away?

The nitrification is what causes the fluctuations IMO/E, so I wouldn't expect it to start being an issue until you've gotten deeper into your cycle and there's conversion happening.