I have a 36 gallon bowfront and an 10 gallon that i recently got. I didnt add any ammonia the first week was waiting to get dr tims pure ammonia in the mail. Well now that i added that into both tanks they are at 4.0 and 0 nitrite and 0 nitrate and has been like this for 12 days now. Iv only added the ammonia once and it hasn’t gone down at all. Am i doing anything wrong? I do have a couple live plants not sure which and i use api stress and coat as conditioner for water. I only changed water in the 36 gallon when i replaced substrate from dirt to sand and then i added the dr tims ammonia the first week.
Am i cycling wrong?
- Thread starter Gera956
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Hi gera.
Im assuming you added dr tims ammonium chloride as an ammonia source? Not dr tims one and only?
On the face of it you are doing things correctly. You could add some bottled bacteria like dr tims one and only or fluval cycle to speed things up, but im far from convinced that such products actually work.
One question though. Have you checked the ammonia levels by testing or just relied on the dosing instructions on the bottle? Some batches of dr tims have been reported to be stronger than it says on the bottle and has resulted in incorrect dosages. They changed the concentration a couple of years ago but i think some bottles carried dosage instructions for the older concentrations.
Im assuming you added dr tims ammonium chloride as an ammonia source? Not dr tims one and only?
On the face of it you are doing things correctly. You could add some bottled bacteria like dr tims one and only or fluval cycle to speed things up, but im far from convinced that such products actually work.
One question though. Have you checked the ammonia levels by testing or just relied on the dosing instructions on the bottle? Some batches of dr tims have been reported to be stronger than it says on the bottle and has resulted in incorrect dosages. They changed the concentration a couple of years ago but i think some bottles carried dosage instructions for the older concentrations.
Yup it is the dr tims ammonium chloride. I use a master test kit to test everything. Iv read and seen on other places is that im supposed to add ammonia when it drops lower then 2.0 but it has only stayed at 4.0 the one time i put it in in both tanks so i never added more since then.
You are doings correctly. I can suggest some bottled bacteria as per my previous post. It cant hurt. The bacteria also grows a little faster in a heated tank. Also you could add some established media or sponges from a cycled filter if you know someone who would give you some, or even some gravel from an established tank into your tank.
10 days is typical for ammonia to start dropping if you havent done anything to speed up the process. So 12 days isnt the point to start worrying.
10 days is typical for ammonia to start dropping if you havent done anything to speed up the process. So 12 days isnt the point to start worrying.
Whichever cycling method you use, it will take time. Personally I don’t care for the bacteria in a bottle but some folks here do. I can suggest a small piece from an established filter and mixing it in with yours, that will definitely speed up the process.
fishwonder
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You didn't mention what type of filter you are using and what media is in that filter. That's where your bacteria is going to live.
