First Aquarium - Fishless Cycle Advice

[Trickerie]

Hey all,

I have recently set up my very first aquarium. Its only a 10 gallon and I plan to fill it with neon tetras (or any other fish people may suggest?) I started a fishless cycle using Ace Hardware's Ammonia. Ammonia is being eaten at about 5ppm->0ppm every 3 or 4 days. However, nitrites haven't started to go down yet and read constantly off the charts. I'm keeping the tank at 86 degrees. Any advice?

Mark

 

[jlk]

Hi Mark! Welcome to AA!! How long ago did you start your cycle? How long have your nitrites been off the charts? How does your ph look? Some more information will help us to help you better!

 

[Trickerie]

Hi Mark! Welcome to AA!! How long ago did you start your cycle? How long have your nitrites been off the charts? How does your ph look? Some more information will help us to help you better!

Ive had the tank set up and the filter running for quite some time, but took me forever to find the right ammonia. I started with the ammonia probably 2 weeks ago, and the nitrites have been like that since last week. As for the PH, its (testing it right now...) 7.5.

 

[jlk]

Thanks! You are on track & actually a bit ahead! Just keep an eye on your ph- crashes can stall a cycle. When you redose your amm again, I would only dose it to 4ppm. Dosing to 5ppm may be a bit of an overkill. If your nitrites do not start to come down in the next week, then its time for a water change to bring them down to a readable level (2ppm or less). You will want to start checking for nitrates as well to see if any of the nitrite is being processed, too. Ill post the fishless cycle guide below if you have not read it already. Good luck & keep us posted!

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...guide-and-faq-to-fishless-cycling-148283.html

 

[Trickerie]

Thanks for the advice. I have tested for nitrates, and there is quite a high reading of that as well, but I was told that was because that reading includes both nitrites and nitrates in the test?

 

[jlk]

What type of test are you using? You will need to check your tap water for ammonia, nitrite, & nitrate as well so we know where you are starting from.

 

[Trickerie]

Im using the AP Freshwater Master Test Kit

Didnt think of testing my water. Good idea.

 

[jlk]

Ok! The API test kit has seperate tests for nitrite (no2) & nitrate (no3). Completely different tests. The nitrate test is very finicky- the bottles need to be shaken & banged on a hard surface for a full min before testing (some of the reagants can clump) to get an accurate result.

 

[Trickerie]

Ok thats what probably happened. I just shook the bottles a ton and tested again and the nitrates are only reading 5ppm now.

 

[jlk]

Good to know! You can will be to gage your progression from nitrites to nitrates by checking to see if your nitrates are increasing.

 

[Trickerie]

A little update. Ammonia just reached 0 again today, so I tested everything. Nitrites still reading the highest levels the API Master Kit tests, nitrates still not increasing. PH, water temp and everything else is steady. Dosed back up to 4ppm of ammonia.

One other thing I've noticed is, since my tank is small the water level decreases very quickly and needs to be replenished. Could this have any effect on the cycle?

 

[jlk]

Replenishing the water (as long as its conditioned) should have no substantial effect other than helping to replenish buffers that are utilized by your bacteria which helps keep your ph stable.