Fishguy2727
Aquarium Advice Addict
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- Sep 24, 2010
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I don't think that would be an issue either, it would help it go faster than doing nothing.
BostonRedSox said:Ok I started fishless cycling. I'm working on getting the ammonia to 4ppm right now. I have no seeding material so this should be interesting. Wanted to go ahead and do it to see what happens during the 10 days I will be gone. O yeah I will be leaving in exactly a month today so have a few more days than I thought. Wish me luck!
Fishguy2727 said:Mind sharing that info? Bacteria dying give off an insignificant amount of nutrients. Definitely not enough to keep the colony going. They live because as they die they feed themselves?
Sorry, doesn't add up.
They will not keep growing, that is the point. As the supply of ammonia drops off so does the population of bacteria. Once there is nothing rotting providing ammonia there is no food for bacteria and therefore no bacteria.
Or we can skip all this and do it right with a bottle of ammonia for a buck or two from almost any store.
BostonRedSox said:Well guys put a cap full of ammonia in and got a ammonia reading of 8ppm!!! Soooo did a 30 to 35% water change. Already one rookie mistake!!!
Well it looks like I got it to 4ppm. I ask my wife and she also said it looks like 4ppm. Its hard for me to tell really. If I over shoot and am at possibly 6ppm is that detrimental to my cycle? I did put in prime also. Thanks for the reminder. Thanks for all your help to this point!
eco23 said:No biggie. Remember the basic rule is that a 50% pwc reduces levels by half, 25% pwc reduces by a quarter, etc... So you may have to change a bit more to hit the desired 3-4ppm range. Just remember to dechlorinate every time you add new water.
ryan-peddle said:And guys this isn't an argument over which cycling process is this best just give him your thoughts so we can help him out helping is what this forum is for not arguments right....?
Bacteria have effectively no bioload or mass. Bacteria dyiing will produce effectively no ammonia.
So no, the bacteria dying because there is no food will not feed the bacteria and keep it alive.
Like I've already said, I have extensive experience with this, I've documented some of the testing that I've done on a different forum, and it can be found easily enough. Agree with it or don't, it beats pure speculation.That doesn't prove that there were bacteria. You can cycle with fish and never detect ammonia or nitrite, depending on tank size and the fish used. This doesn't mean it was already cycled and there was an adequate colony of nitrifying bacteria living without food.
Nuadu said:I have just gone through a similar, though shorter, experience as the OP. I have been working through a fishless cycle on my 55g tank for about 2 weeks now, and was at the point where I was going from 4ppm to 0 in 24 hours; the nitrites were off the chart but have not yet seen more than negligable nitrates.
We just went out of town for 4 days and got back last night - before we left, I added enough ammonia to get up to about 8ppm and we departed. When we got back last night, I tested the water again and came back with 0ppm ammonia, and NO nitrites - first time I've seen that yet! And negligable nitrate.
I added my usual ammonia to get back to 4ppm and will test this afternoon to see what happened. I was pleased to see that the nitrites had completely gone - I was planning to do a PWC but maybe I don't need to now, as I wait for the nitrate to spike.
Is your tank heavily planted? If so, it's possible the plants are using the nitrAtes and keeping them from hitting high levels. I'd test the bio-filter a couple more times to ensure it can convert 3-4ppm down to 0 with 0 no2 in 24 hours...if so, do a big water change, ensure nitrAtes are under 20 and add fish!
Nuadu said:eco - no plants at all. Right before we left, I added an Aquaclear 50 to the Aquaclear 70 I already had running as well (I used the sponge and two bags of bio pellets in the 50). Maybe that had something to do with it?