The (almost) Complete Guide and FAQ to Fishless Cycling

[awilson133]

okay cool and when ammonia drops i add more until nitrItes rise, then when everything levels out 90% water change?

[Mumma.of.two]

Originally Posted by awilson133

okay cool and when ammonia drops i add more until nitrItes rise, then when everything levels out 90% water change?

Add ammonia again when it reaches 1ppm The ammonia will begin to drop by itself and the nitrite will rise. The nitrite will then drop as the nitrate will rise. When you dose ammonia and 24 hours later ammonia and nitrite are 0 and nitrate has risen you are cycled.

[awilson133]

okay thank you so when the nitrites rise i still add ammo? sorry for so many questions, i just wanna do this right. so bare with me.

[Mumma.of.two]

Originally Posted by awilson133

okay thank you so when the nitrites rise i still add ammo? sorry for so many questions, i just wanna do this right. so bare with me.

Yes you add it right up to the end. Every time it falls to 1ppm or below.

[awilson133]

Alright then! Thank you

[Stefernini]

4 days in and these are my readings




I dosed ammo back to 4 after this. Should I do a water change or wait until the nitrates are off the chart like the nitrites?

[librarygirl]

Originally Posted by Stefernini

4 days in and these are my readings


Attachment 73607

I dosed ammo back to 4 after this. Should I do a water change or wait until the nitrates are off the chart like the nitrites?

Wow that's great for 4 days in; nitrites don't usually show for a few weeks. Have you tested your tap water for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate just to see if it contains any of those things? If not it's a good idea to test tap water just to get a baseline. I wouldn't worry about a water change yet, let's see what happens in a few days.

[Stefernini]

Thank you so much for the reply Library girl! I just tested again with the same results other than my ammo is down to 1ppm from a redose to 4 last night! I'll put it back up to 4 and wait on the water change then.

My tap water is 8 ph 0 ammo 0 nitrites 0 nitrates.

I have not used any seeding material either. Is this normal for tanks with eco complete and plants?

[librarygirl]

Originally Posted by Stefernini

Thank you so much for the reply Library girl! I just tested again with the same results other than my ammo is down to 1ppm from a redose to 4 last night! I'll put it back up to 4 and wait on the water change then.

My tap water is 8 ph 0 ammo 0 nitrites 0 nitrates.

I have not used any seeding material either. Is this normal for tanks with eco complete and plants?

I'm not sure, but it could be, I think the Eco complete might have something in it (bacteria, not sure) but it looks good so far.

[Stefernini]

Well, I dosed it back to 4 last night and ammo is 0 today. So now I just have to wait for the nitrite eating dudes to show up right? Nitrites are still off the chart.

[Bettafanatic]

Hi I'm cycling a ten gallon tank and no nitrites have appeared. You say to be patient but I've been cycling for two months and doing everything everyone tells me.

[Hholly]

Originally Posted by Bettafanatic

Hi I'm cycling a ten gallon tank and no nitrites have appeared. You say to be patient but I've been cycling for two months and doing everything everyone tells me.

Is your ammonia going down?

[blackmolly]

Originally Posted by Bettafanatic

Hi I'm cycling a ten gallon tank and no nitrites have appeared. You say to be patient but I've been cycling for two months and doing everything everyone tells me.

sometimes you never even see nitrites! if you have a low nitrate reading and are sucking up 4 ppm or so of ammonia in <24 hours, i'd say go ahead with fish.

[Bettafanatic]

No my ammonia hadn't changed at all. It's the same every time. Since the ammonia isn't going down, then I doubt nitrates are there. Any suggestions?

[Hholly]

Originally Posted by Bettafanatic

No my ammonia hadn't changed at all. It's the same every time. Since the ammonia isn't going down, then I doubt nitrates are there. Any suggestions?

Could there somehow be some chlorine or something that's inhibiting bacteria growth? Maybe drop a raw shrimp in there for a few days. If the ammonia isn't converting yet that would seem to mean something is inhibiting bacteria. Hmmm???

[Bettafanatic]

There might be chlorine. I didn't dechlorinate the water. I'll dechlorinate it and keep trying. I'll keep you updated.

[librarygirl]

Originally Posted by Bettafanatic

There might be chlorine. I didn't dechlorinate the water. I'll dechlorinate it and keep trying. I'll keep you updated.

You never dechlorinated the water? If not that's almost definitely why your cycle hasn't started, too bad you wasted all this time though.

[Hholly]

Do you have some Prime or other water conditioner? Any time you add water to your tank, you need to add this stuff first, or add it to the new water ahead of time. If I were you, I would go back to the beginning of this thread and review all the steps. Good luck!

[Bettafanatic]

Thank you so much! I will dechlorinate the water and try again. I read in an article that no dechlorination was needed because there are no fish, so i just assumed. I'll dechlorinate today thank you!

[Hholly]

Keep us posted how it goes.