The (almost) Complete Guide and FAQ to Fishless Cycling

[librarygirl]

I am totally confused when visiting that website..none of them say active next to it. I see slate bottom filter and mag filter

Scroll down the page to the table; it has three columns and says Filter type , slate bottom filter, mag filter. Then look under the MAG filter column. They have a 4" black 20 PPI and a 3" Black 40 PPI. The word "Active" is hard to see; it's in a teal color font.

 

[Christina717]

ohh yes I see it now thnx...I went on the site and was all over the place, must of over looked it

 

[eco23]

day 9
ammonia: 4ppm redosed to 4ppm
high ph: 8-8.4 (why so high?)
nitrIte: 0
Nitrate: Did not test
Im hopeing im right on track with things I want my goldfish and im also thinking about getting 1 snail to keep it company!

You added crushed coral, right? If so, that's the reason for the pH swing. No biggie...that just means it will hold steady.

 

[Christina717]

yeah I did add crush coral but now since its so high I took it out, (took it out yesterday morning) and its still high....a really bright purple> I am planning on buying the active sponge tomorrow when i wake up saw some reviews and it looks promising!

 

[eco23]

yeah I did add crush coral but now since its so high I took it out, (took it out yesterday morning) and its still high....a really bright purple> I am planning on buying the active sponge tomorrow when i wake up saw some reviews and it looks promising!

That's fine, but if you see the pH dropping again, or if you do any big water changes...I'd add it back in. The purpose of it is to slowly dissolve into your water and hold the pH steady. When it comes to cycling...being high is much better than being low.

 

[Lunchbox209]

Hey eco i have a question ok so I got home right now and I tested my ammo to see how much of a pwc i would have to do because i over did it on the ammo last night and the reading was very close to 8ppm and right now I got a .25 ammo reading I tested three times is this ok and should I just dose it again but only to 4ppm

 

[eco23]

Hey eco i have a question ok so I got home right now and I tested my ammo to see how much of a pwc i would have to do because i over did it on the ammo last night and the reading was very close to 8ppm and right now I got a .25 ammo reading I tested three times is this ok and should I just dose it again but only to 4ppm

So are you saying it dropped from 8ppm down to .25 overnight? If so, that's unreal. I'd just pick a time of day to do your testing...and every 24 hours at that time dose it back up to 4ppm.

 

[Lunchbox209]

That's what I said I already had the gravel vac in my hand while waiting for It to turn green but no It stayed yellow I was shocked all my other test go like this
Ph 7.0
Ammo.25
Nitrite 5.0
Nitrate 20
How long should I let the water circulate after I redose the ammo before checking it

 

[eco23]

That's what I said I already had the gravel vac in my hand while waiting for It to turn green but no It stayed yellow I was shocked all my other test go like this
Ph 7.0
Ammo.25
Nitrite 5.0
Nitrate 20
How long should I let the water circulate after I redose the ammo before checking it

Depends on the GPH of your filter...20 minutes or so is a good frame. Just record how much ammonia it takes...that way you can add in the same amount every day and you won't have to retest after putting it in.

 

[Lunchbox209]

Will do thank you
You deserve an award for awesomeness

 

[eco23]

Will do thank you
You deserve an award for awesomeness

You guys putting in the effort to provide a nice, safe, cycled and established tank for your fish is award enough for me . Thanks though.

 

[Christina717]

Day 10
ph: 7.6 (might put a small bag of crushed coral in again)
High ph: 8.0
Ammonia: 2 ppm
NitrIte: 0 ppm
NitrAte: did not test

 

[Christina717]

I was just wondering should I be testing for NitrItes on a regular basis? I test ammonia everyday and ph. if not when should I start...I dont wanna waste all the formula.

 

[Ozydego]

If it's the API master test kit, don't worry, you won't run out, once the tank is established the testing schedule goes down, every 2-3 days, then 4 then weekly if you want to go that long... I've heard the test kit solutions can last a year or so... I waited to test mine and I got a shock when I finally did test it, nitrites off the chart, if anything, at least every other day until you start seeing them, then every day, an that's when I would start testing nitrates EOD till you start to see them skyrocket as well, makes for good days when they start shooting up and that ammonia is always 0 after a 4ppm dose the day before

 

[kindafishy]

I know that no two cycles are the same BUT...

Typically, what kind of time frame can one expect between a Nitrite/trate spike and the end of the cycle?

My tank is now cycling Ammonia from 4ppm => 0 pretty much overnight, Nitrites/trates are off the charts (yup, did a large pwc), but no drop yet in Nitrites (other than with the pwc obviously, but I know that doesn't count).

About how much longer might I be looking at for 1) Nitrites to go to 0 and 2) the end of the cycle ?

It's not that I am impatient (ok, maybe a weeee bit....), it is just that I am going to have to order these guys ==> and that could take a week or more ( ah the joys of living in the middle of freaking nowhere...), so I am trying to orchestrate the timing of it all as best I can.

Are we talking days, weeks? For info : I am on day 8 of my cycle.

 

[Ozydego]

When the trites drop, it is then only to test and see if you can convert Ammo to trates in 24 hours, I would say after your second successful "test" it would then be safe to order the fish... My cycle took ~30 days, you are on day 8. Unless you had some really good seeding material, it could still be a while. Don't order fish until you know the BB can handle the load, what you don't want to happen is the cycle stall after you order and then have a bad situation where you have fish and huge levels of trites and trates. Patience is the key... You could order plants right now and get them situated... That's what got me through the month of waiting.

 

[kindafishy]

Yes, but what I actually wanted to know was if there is a general sort of time-frame for nitrItes to start dropping...

I mean, is there some sort of guideline? For instance, is there maybe a correlation between the time needed for nitrItes to show up / time needed for them to go to 0? Given that my cycle started quite quickly (nitrites showed up on day 5), can I assume that the next phase might go as quickly?

Good idea about the plants, by the way!

 

[eco23]

Yes, but what I actually wanted to know was if there is a general sort of time-frame for nitrItes to start dropping...

I mean, is there some sort of guideline? For instance, is there maybe a correlation between the time needed for nitrItes to show up / time needed for them to go to 0? Given that my cycle started quite quickly (nitrites showed up on day 5), can I assume that the next phase might go as quickly?

Good idea about the plants, by the way!

There's so many factors at play that formulating a fairly accurate time frame is close to impossible. I agree to not place any orders until the no2 drops to zero on it's own at the very earliest. That will give you several days to test the bio-filter before the fish arrive.

The nitrIte spike phase tends to take a bit longer for several reasons. For one, the no2 to no3 bacteria is deprived of any food source until the ammo to no2 guys start pumping out the nitrItes (their food source). They don't even start colonizing until the first bacteria has been well established. The two types of bacteria also have several preferences that differ from the other which can change the time frame (things like pH).

The other aspect is simply murphy's law. If you are in a hurry...it will take forever. If you're in no rush and have patience...everything will go like clockwork.

 

[Christina717]

Day 11

Ammonia: 4ppm (redosed it back to 4)
Ph: 7.4
NitrIte:0
My ammonia has been dropping but no NitrItes yet?

 

[librarygirl]

Typically, what kind of time frame can one expect between a Nitrite/trate spike and the end of the cycle?

My tank is now cycling Ammonia from 4ppm => 0 pretty much overnight, Nitrites/trates are off the charts (yup, did a large pwc), but no drop yet in Nitrites (other than with the pwc obviously, but I know that doesn't count).

About how much longer might I be looking at for 1) Nitrites to go to 0 and 2) the end of the cycle ?

It's not that I am impatient (ok, maybe a weeee bit....), it is just that I am going to have to order these guys ==> and that could take a week or more ( ah the joys of living in the middle of freaking nowhere...), so I am trying to orchestrate the timing of it all as best I can.

Are we talking days, weeks? For info : I am on day 8 of my cycle.

Are you using seeded media? A nitrite spike 8 days in is very fast, which is good, just wondering how it's happening so quickly. How long have the nitrites been high and the ammonia falling to 0? My nitrites were high for 2.5 weeks before they came down. Everyone's cycle is different though but the nitrite phase can take longer than the ammonia conversion phase if that helps. To be safe, I'd wait until nitrites fall to 0 before ordering fish. Then you can just keep dosing ammonia nightly to hold the cycle until the night before the fish arrive. You don't want to rush it and then have fish in the middle of a nitrite spike.