This is my first post to this forum, hello everyone.
I kept tropical fish many years (nearly 50 years ago) and interested in starting up the
hobby again. Things have changed since I last kept fish. Never heard of the aquarium cycle
or used any test kits. However, I just did things based on a schedule my dad taught me
(e.g. water changes etc...)
I have now found an old tank and have started an fishless cycle.
I have de-clorinated the water before placing in the tank
I have added bottled ammonia to 2ppm. I am using the NT Labs water test kit to check parameters.
I am trying bottled bacteria. SeaChem Stabilty.
I've set the temperature of the water to 80F.
I followed the steps for using SeaChem Stabilty and nothing much happened for the first few days
on Day 6 the water test results were:
Ammonia 2.0 ppm
Nitrite 0.5 ppm
Nitrate between 5.0 to 10.0 ppm
PH 7
KH 4
GH 6
on the evening of Day 6 I noticed a BACTERIA BLOOM in the tank.
On Day 7 I tested the water parameters
Ammonia 0 ppm
Nitrite 0 ppm
Nitrate 0 ppm
I am not sure what was going on. I wonder if the bacteria bloom is the good bacteria from SeaChem Stabilty awakening
and consuming all the ammonia. Not sure why the Nitrate level is at zero ?
I also wondered if I was somehow close to the end of the cycle. So planning to re-dose ammonia to 2.0 ppm
and see if it all gets consumed within 24 hours for the next 3 days.
So I re-dosed ammonia and checked with my water test kit and verified it was 2.0 ppm
This morning (DAY 8) I tested the water and these are the results
Ammonia 2.0 ppm
Nitrite 0 ppm
Nitatrate 0 ppm
Also the bacteria bloom is beginning to clear
So I am wondering if anyone on the forum can clarify what is going on. Has the cycle reset itself ?
Has the bacteria bloom helped or hindered the aquarium cycle ?
I kept tropical fish many years (nearly 50 years ago) and interested in starting up the
hobby again. Things have changed since I last kept fish. Never heard of the aquarium cycle
or used any test kits. However, I just did things based on a schedule my dad taught me
(e.g. water changes etc...)
I have now found an old tank and have started an fishless cycle.
I have de-clorinated the water before placing in the tank
I have added bottled ammonia to 2ppm. I am using the NT Labs water test kit to check parameters.
I am trying bottled bacteria. SeaChem Stabilty.
I've set the temperature of the water to 80F.
I followed the steps for using SeaChem Stabilty and nothing much happened for the first few days
on Day 6 the water test results were:
Ammonia 2.0 ppm
Nitrite 0.5 ppm
Nitrate between 5.0 to 10.0 ppm
PH 7
KH 4
GH 6
on the evening of Day 6 I noticed a BACTERIA BLOOM in the tank.
On Day 7 I tested the water parameters
Ammonia 0 ppm
Nitrite 0 ppm
Nitrate 0 ppm
I am not sure what was going on. I wonder if the bacteria bloom is the good bacteria from SeaChem Stabilty awakening
and consuming all the ammonia. Not sure why the Nitrate level is at zero ?
I also wondered if I was somehow close to the end of the cycle. So planning to re-dose ammonia to 2.0 ppm
and see if it all gets consumed within 24 hours for the next 3 days.
So I re-dosed ammonia and checked with my water test kit and verified it was 2.0 ppm
This morning (DAY 8) I tested the water and these are the results
Ammonia 2.0 ppm
Nitrite 0 ppm
Nitatrate 0 ppm
Also the bacteria bloom is beginning to clear
So I am wondering if anyone on the forum can clarify what is going on. Has the cycle reset itself ?
Has the bacteria bloom helped or hindered the aquarium cycle ?