The (almost) Complete Guide and FAQ to Fishless Cycling

[Deckape]

now when i get the 40 gallon tank i plan on getting the aquaclear filter that does up to 70gallons. can i also add my other filter that does 20gallons to it as well? after the tank is cycled of course. And how many goldfish can I put in a 40gallon 3 right? I plan to stick with the ones that only get 6' I wanna have a telescope an oranda and a ryukin? or however its spelled

You sure can add the other filter. It is a good idea. I like redundant, parallel filtering. That way if one goes down, then the other can help. I have an Aquaclear 70 and 50 on my 55 gallon. I wish I had two 70s. You have it right 3 goldfish are all you should put in a 40 gallon.

Edit : Recommend putting the 70 and any other filter on while cycling. The 20 can at least seed the tank. Any media or substrate even from the bowl can also help kick start the process.

 

[Christina717]

now all the goldfish I said can they all go together because i read some goldfish are faster and will eat all the food

 

[redsea]

Wow, this must have taken a long time to make! This is great! I have already given many people the link to it! I have learned more about cycling from it too!

 

[Deckape]

now all the goldfish I said can they all go together because i read some goldfish are faster and will eat all the food

That is a question I can't answer. Will have to hope someone with more experience with goldfish comes by to answer. You can always start a new thread.

 

[Ozydego]

Yeah, I would start a thread in the fish section and it wil get answered a lot quicker

 

[Clausura]

Hi guys, I have a question to ask. 10 days ago, I got these readings;

NH3: 1ppm, No2-: 5ppm, NO3: 160ppm.
So I did a WC of 50% as directed by the guide, removed my Bogwood and cleaned it of fungus and BBA. Now there is only gravel in my tank.
10 days after, I have a reading of :
NH3: 1ppm, No2-: 1ppm, NO3: 10ppm and PH is 6.8 before adding ammonia.
I have not noticed any increase of nitrates for these 10 days. Is this normal or has my cycling stalled? Anyone can enlighten me? Its in day 27 of cycling.

 

[eco23]

Hi guys, I have a question to ask. 10 days ago, I got these readings;

NH3: 1ppm, No2-: 5ppm, NO3: 160ppm.
So I did a WC of 50% as directed by the guide, removed my Bogwood and cleaned it of fungus and BBA. Now there is only gravel in my tank.
10 days after, I have a reading of :
NH3: 1ppm, No2-: 1ppm, NO3: 10ppm and PH is 6.8 before adding ammonia.
I have not noticed any increase of nitrates for these 10 days. Is this normal or has my cycling stalled? Anyone can enlighten me? Its in day 27 of cycling.

Is the ammonia still dropping every day? Have the nitrItes been increasing or decreasing on their own?

Also make sure you're doing the nitrAte test correctly, it's really easy to get false results. Make sure you shake the #2 bottle for 30 seconds, the entire tube for a full minute, let it sit for 5 minutes and record your results then

 

[Clausura]

Is the ammonia still dropping every day? Have the nitrItes been increasing or decreasing on their own?

Also make sure you're doing the nitrAte test correctly, it's really easy to get false results. Make sure you shake the #2 bottle for 30 seconds, the entire tube for a full minute, let it sit for 5 minutes and record your results then

Yup the ammonia is dropping from 4ppm to 1ppm everyday. The nitrites are also dropping if I am correct; the colours are very difficult to distinguish between 1ppm and 5pmm although the purple isnt that dark anymore. Yup did the nitrates test as instructed. O hope that the nitrates test is a false result although to get it everyday for 10 days even after following the instructions is worrying me. However, the thought of ammonia dropping everyday is quite reassuring.

 

[eco23]

Yup the ammonia is dropping from 4ppm to 1ppm everyday. The nitrites are also dropping if I am correct; the colours are very difficult to distinguish between 1ppm and 5pmm although the purple isnt that dark anymore. Yup did the nitrates test as instructed. O hope that the nitrates test is a false result although to get it everyday for 10 days even after following the instructions is worrying me. However, the thought of ammonia dropping everyday is quite reassuring.

As long as the ammonia is dropping every day, and the no2 is moving everything is good. I'm surprised the nitrAtes aren't steadily climbing...but we won't worry unless the ammonia stops converting.

Id like to see the ammonia dropping from 4ppm down to zero in 24 hours, and the nitrIte should absolutely spike then drop suddenly...but we won't pull any fire alarms yet. If you'd like you can do another water change and add in a small pinch of fish food. Maybe that will line things up a little better.

 

[Clausura]

As long as the ammonia is dropping every day, and the no2 is moving everything is good. I'm surprised the nitrAtes aren't steadily climbing...but we won't worry unless the ammonia stops converting.

Id like to see the ammonia dropping from 4ppm down to zero in 24 hours, and the nitrIte should absolutely spike then drop suddenly...but we won't pull any fire alarms yet. If you'd like you can do another water change and add in a small pinch of fish food. Maybe that will line things up a little better.

Ok will do! I will do the water change on Monday, buy the java ferns and attach them to the bogwood and put them in the tank since I'll be doing a WC. Is it also possible that the nitrate test liquid does not work properly anymore?

 

[eco23]

Ok will do! I will do the water change on Monday, buy the java ferns and attach them to the bogwood and put them in the tank since I'll be doing a WC. Is it also possible that the nitrate test liquid does not work properly anymore?

They have an expiration...but I can't remember how long it is. The date of manufacture is printed on the bottles. Usually the problem is from not shaking them hard and long enough. The #2 solution solidifies and you've got to shake the heck out of it....same for combining them together in the tube.

 

[Christina717]

ahh what should I do my water temp is at 70F. Im only on my 3rd day of cycling. is their anything I can do to raise the temp? I only get paid on Thur!

 

[eco23]

ahh what should I do my water temp is at 70F. Im only on my 3rd day of cycling. is their anything I can do to raise the temp? I only get paid on Thur!

70 won't hurt. If it's higher it can help the beneficial bacteria colonize faster, but they'll grow just fine at 70.

 

[Christina717]

alright thnx just got home from work and was like ahh! when i looked at it. I will buy a heater though since you never know and anything to help move this along faster will be a good investment, since this will take a while.
Ammonia is still at 4ppm going to check it again on Tue. should I be checking for anything else?

 

[eco23]

alright thnx just got home from work and was like ahh! when i looked at it. I will buy a heater though since you never know and anything to help move this along faster will be a good investment, since this will take a while.
Ammonia is still at 4ppm going to check it again on Tue. should I be checking for anything else?

You can save your testing solution for now. Just check the ammonia every couple days, and when you see it start to drop you can start looking out for nitrItes. Once the nitrItes really start building up you can start testing for nitrAtes.

Monitoring your pH will become a very important aspect...but you don't need to worry about that until you're much further along in your cycle.

 

[Christina717]

alright thnx Im hoping everything goes smoothly

 

[Clausura]

Hi there once again!

Ok, I ran the tests again and this is what I got:

Ph: 6.8, NH3: 2, Nitrite: 1ppm, Nitrate: 5ppm!

Now my nitrates are dropping without me doing any water changes. Is that abnormal? From my understanding, nitrates should be building up instead of dropping. Eco suggested that I should reset by doing a water change. What percentage of water change should I carry out? 50% or 90%?

 

[librarygirl]

Hi there once again!

Ok, I ran the tests again and this is what I got:

Ph: 6.8, NH3: 2, Nitrite: 1ppm, Nitrate: 5ppm!

Now my nitrates are dropping without me doing any water changes. Is that abnormal? From my understanding, nitrates should be building up instead of dropping. Eco suggested that I should reset by doing a water change. What percentage of water change should I carry out? 50% or 90%?

Hm, nitrate should be rising, they typically don't leave the aquarium unless you do a pwc to get them down or live plants are using them (do you have live plants in the tank)? Nitrite should be rising by now too I think, I read your previous posts here and it seems nitrite has been stuck at 1 for a while. The ammonia level at 2 above; is that after 24 hours of dosing it to 4? If so it seems conversion has slowed a bit since, if I'm remembering what I just read correctly, it was dropping to 1 every 24 hours. I'd do a large pwc, since you're doing one anyway, you may as well do a very large one (90% is good) -- don't forget to use dechlorinator! and match the temp of the new water with the tank water as closely as you can-- and add a small bit (like 1 flake) of ground up fish food; grind it until it's a powder, and then put that in. And don't forget to redose ammonia afterwards.

 

[Christina717]

update: Just got a heater from my friend, she used to have angel fish, but anyways I raised the temp to about 84F. Im on my 5th day of cycling. My ammonia is still at 4ppm. Is this normal? or am I impatient?

 

[eco23]

update: Just got a heater from my friend, she used to have angel fish, but anyways I raised the temp to about 84F. Im on my 5th day of cycling. My ammonia is still at 4ppm. Is this normal? or am I impatient?

Perfectly normal . I think it was day 7 before I saw any change.