new tank doing a fishless cycle - first time

[awilson133]

i will on sat so be sure check in as i start my fishless cycle! i figured 50% when you said big water changes but wasnt sure..anyways that helps a lot thank you very much! ill be checking up here to see how heatherw cycle is going

 

[HeatherW]

I think everything is still looking good. tested water today
Temp = 86.2 (think I am finally stable)
Ammonia - 2.0
Nitrite - 0
PH 7.4 (think this is where it should be. both of my other tanks hold a pretty stable 7.4 PH)

so I wait until tomorrow to see if my ammonia is down to 1.0ppm or do I just go ahead and dose it back up today?

 

[jlk]

Looks good, Heather! It helps to know your other tanks hold stable at 7.4- then this is where you should be leveled out at. A bit odd that your amm is dropping but your not seeing any nitrites. May be worthwhile to give your nitrates a check to see if they have increased at all. You can either dose it back up to 4 or wait til tommorrow to see if it drops further. Once it starts consistently dropping to 1 or 0 in 24hrs, you will need to dose the amm daily to keep your bacteria fed.

 

[HeatherW]

am I stalling?

tested water today and not sure what to make of the results. pretty sure I am reading the ammonia correctly.
temp - 86.7
ammonia - 3.0
nitrite - 0
PH - 7.4
nitrate - 5

ammonia went UP from yesterday, but I did NOT add any to the tank. am I stalling? should I do a PWC? pretty sure it was a 2 yesterday and pretty sure it is a 3 today. in either case it has not dropped. am I still ok? for arguments sake we could say they were both 2s or both 3s, but not dropping.

 

[jlk]

Your fine!! No need for a wc yet. Just some patience (i know this is really hard!). No need to dose amm-lets wait til we start to see it start to drop. Keep us posted!

 

[HeatherW]

well, things seem to be moving slower now.
temp - 86.4
ammonia - 2.0
Nitirites - 0
PH - 7.6

added a little water today to top off the tank and added a pinch of fish food. we will see if that helps anything tomorrow. trying to be patient...

 

[jlk]

Your amm is moving (slowly) & your progression is pretty typical for a tank with no cycled media to jump start everything. Keep us posted!

 

[HeatherW]

still holding steady
temp - 86.5
ammonia - 2.0
Nitrite - 0
PH - 7.6

 

[jlk]

Perfectly normal!

 

[HeatherW]

no changes. how long until I see some movement again?
temp - 86.4
ammonia - 2.0
Nitrite - 0
PH - 7.6
added some more water to top off the tank from evaporation

 

[jlk]

The amm>nitrite phase can last 2wks, sometimes longer. You will just have to wait it out or consider getting your hands on some established media to speed things up.

 

[HeatherW]

The amm>nitrite phase can last 2wks, sometimes longer. You will just have to wait it out or consider getting your hands on some established media to speed things up.

well I can't seem to find anyone with any established media so I guess I will just wait it out. should I dose the tank back up to 4.0ppm or just wait? should I switch over to testing every other day or keep testing daily. I am testing my other tanks daily so it is not that much more work to test the other tank too. I have laready ordered me another test kit the ammonia bottles seems to be getting low and since I have never done this before I didn't want to run out! more test tubes will make my job go faster I think

 

[jlk]

Im sorry! I thought i posted the link for the 'active' filters from Angelsplus. They have helped quite a few members get their tanks cycled. For this size tank, I would look into getting atleast 2 or 3 filters (4inch, 'active'). You can either hook them up with an airpump or cut them up & place them in your filters. Heres the link:

Sponge Filters for aquariums

 

[jlk]

Forgot- i would leave your ammonia for now & keep testing daily for it to drop below 2 before redosing. It should (hopefully!) drop more soon!

 

[HeatherW]

thanks! trying to figure out if I want to go that route or not. how much of a difference do you think it makes. I keep spending more and more $$ and just trying to figure out if it is worth it or not.

 

[jlk]

Your tank will cycle without using seeded media. It just a question of patience (which I find alot of people dont have, lol). How much of difference it makes depends on how much seeded you use- a single piece would help but not dramatically with a large tank. If you stuff your filters full of cycled media, you could add fish at the same time & your tank would be cycled. All a relative matter of context (or 'content', should i say) and the monetary aspect involved. This is up to you!

 

[HeatherW]

still holding... still thinking about the filters too. how many@ 2 or 3??

temp - 87.1
ammonia - 2.0
Nitrite - 0
PH - 7.6

 

[jlk]

More cycled media, the better but anything will help.

 

[HeatherW]

still holding. got the rest of my gravel and plants in so now I just need me some fish!!
temp - 87.6
ammonia- 2.0
nitriites - 0

 

[HeatherW]

I gave in!

Well, I gave in to the want everything now crowd!! ordered me 4 angels plus active filters - they should be here in a few days. I am going to put 3 in the large 90 gallon that I am doing a fishless on and then the other one I will put in the 20 gallon that I am doing the fish in cycle on. I think I am almost done on the 5 gallon.

so... still checking the tank and still no signs of change.
temp - 87.1
ammonia - 2.0
Nitrites - 0
PH - 7.6
nitrAtes - 5