Fishless Cycle

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There must be something to that sand. Also the way you oxygenated in creative areas helped. Plus the fact that the tank sat for quite a while before you started...that would have let some of the beneficial bacteria get into the tank even though it couldn't colonize without ammonia...then again...do you have city water with chloramines? If so, there was ammonia in your tank the whole time. You actually started cycling the day you filled it up with water!
 
There must be something to that sand. Also the way you oxygenated in creative areas helped. Plus the fact that the tank sat for quite a while before you started...that would have let some of the beneficial bacteria get into the tank even though it couldn't colonize without ammonia...then again...do you have city water with chloramines? If so, there was ammonia in your tank the whole time. You actually started cycling the day you filled it up with water!

Lol. That's true, although I called the water management office and they told me that they add chlorine, chloramine, and something else but they don't add ammonia and the guy I spoke to also had a fish tank!
 
fddlss said:
Lol. That's true, although I called the water management office and they told me that they add chlorine, chloramine, and something else but they don't add ammonia and the guy I spoke to also had a fish tank!

Chloramines are a chlorine/ammonia mixture. I run a water purification company and know all about them. Even if you add Prime or another dechlorinator, it doesn't actually remove them, it just detoxifies them and still leaves food for the bacteria. I guarantee that's what happened. Makes perfect sense now...you're still gonna have a really fast cycle, especial,y since you didn't know you had started that early, lol!
 
Yeah, I had an epiphany when I was typing about the sand, lol. I don't want to upset anyone, but I really recommend that pwc tomorrow. You may actually be done with your cycle and not even know it because the nitrItes are so high. I'm not a master on types of fish and compatibilities, etc... But fishless cycling is something I have an ungodly amount of experience with recently.
 
Yeah, I will do a 50% WC today, wait an hour or so and test for nitrites. Should I add ammonia as I've been adding daily? Add it before the PWC? after? don't add any? Wait? Thanks.
 
Yep, just do your 50% pwc, remember to use your Prime, and just dose it up like normal. 3ppm is a good amount right now.
 
So, I do a 50% PWC, add dechlorinator before refilling the tank, refill it, wait a little bit, raise ammonia to 3ppm and wait 24 to check for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates?
 
fddlss said:
So, I do a 50% PWC, add dechlorinator before refilling the tank, refill it, wait a little bit, raise ammonia to 3ppm and wait 24 to check for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates?

Yeah. If you're using something like a Python to refill it you add the Prime directly to the tank. First turn off the filter, take out the water you're removing, pour in the amount of Prime for the total volume of the tank (not just what you're replacing), swish it around real good then refill the tank and turn your filter back on

If you're just using buckets it's better to just add Prime to the individual buckets.
 
And yeah, you only need to test the ammonia for now to make sure you got the dosage right. Let it circulate about 20 minutes to make sure it's spread through the tank. You don't need to worry about nitrItes for 24 hours.
 
Great, thanks. I use a Python. Just out of curiosity why add prime for the total volume and not just for the water I'm replacing?
 
I use a Python (couldn't live without it). It's because you're adding tap water directly into the tank and you need to have enough Prime to neutralize it before it does any damage. Up to 5x the dose is safe in certain situations, but the rule with a python is to use the total volume of the tank. Mine is 48 gallons, so I add a full capful after I've drained it and swish it around real good. Turning the filter off keeps the chlorine from being sucked ip into the filter (where all the nice bacteria is) before the Prime has a chance to neutralize it.
 
Got it. It's basically a precautionary measure. I can't wait to go home today, do the WC and then test for ammonia/nitrites/nitrates tomorrow. Thanks for all your help.
 
No problem. Don't be surprised if it's still a few days...but you're super close and the pwc is the right thing to do :)
 
Ok my friend, I got home, tested the water and I got the following readings:

Ammonia: 0 PPM
Nitrites: 0 PPM
Nitrates: More than 80 PPM (same "blood" red as before)

I will now do a PWC to reduce the nitrates. I just turned off everything, I will now remove about 80% of the water, pour some dechlorinator, clean the sponges with aquarium water (I never cleaned it and it got really dirty when the sand settled). Finally I will fill it up with water, what a little bit and test for nitrates. If it's below 10 PPM I'm done! I will still continue testing the water for tomorrow and Sunday to make sure it's really stable and cycled. I will continue to add ammonia until I get the fish to feed the bacteria in the mean time. About 3 ppm is fine, right?
 
fddlss said:
Ok my friend, I got home, tested the water and I got the following readings:

Ammonia: 0 PPM
Nitrites: 0 PPM
Nitrates: More than 80 PPM (same "blood" red as before)

I will now do a PWC to reduce the nitrates. I just turned off everything, I will now remove about 80% of the water, pour some dechlorinator, clean the sponges with aquarium water (I never cleaned it and it got really dirty when the sand settled). Finally I will fill it up with water, what a little bit and test for nitrates. If it's below 10 PPM I'm done! I will still continue testing the water for tomorrow and Sunday to make sure it's really stable and cycled. I will continue to add ammonia until I get the fish to feed the bacteria in the mean time. About 3 ppm is fine, right?

You got it right!!
 
Thanks! and thanks everybody for your help! I'm so happy! I had to go somewhere so I plugged everything back and I will do the PWC right now, it's late but I don't care
 
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