cycling help

[Quest84]

I started cycling my tank on 1/16/2012 dosed it to 4ppm using Blue Ribbon ammonia (no surfectants and doesn't fizz when shaken)

I have the heater on 78-80 degrees, bubble wand going, and plenty of bubbles from the 2 HOB filters

on 1/17 added two seeding sponges directly to my aquaclear 70, my friend had the same filter and gave me his from his cichlid tank.


1/22 PH = 7.6
Ammonia = 0.25 - 0.50 dosed it back up to 4 ppm
Nitrite = 0 ppm


1/24 PH = 7.6
Ammonia = 0.25 -0.50
Nitrite = 0 ppm
Nitrate = 20-40 ppm

should I keep dosing the ammonia back up to 4 ppm? why is there no nitrite showing up but I have nitrates?

 

[jlk]

Check your tap water for nitrate as well. It is possible that you may not see nitrites because you used seeded media. Just keep dosing the ammonia back up daily when it drops (once a day) & testing your parameters & you should be fine!

 

[Quest84]

thanks, just checked my tap water for nitrate and its 5ppm. so are we almost cycled or i haven't waited long enough for the nitrite to show up?

 

[jlk]

Have a bit of patience! We will need to watch is your ph (drops or jumps) and your ammonia levels. If your ammonia starts consistently zeroing out in 24hrs and your seeing a huge amount of nitrates, then you will most likely be fully cycled without ever seeing nitrites. Lets wait & see! Keep us posted!

 

[Quest84]

PH has been stable, checking it every day. I did a 40-50% PWC just to make sure and added a pinch of fish food. Ammonia has been dropping from 4ppm down to 0.50-1 ppm overnight, i have been dosing it back up to 4 ppm the last 2 days. Nitrites are still at 0, Nitrates are between 120-160ppm

I aso have a few questions about my plants. I was told at Petco that Anacharis and Anubias are low light plants so i bought a few of each. My anubias seem to be doing ok with only one of them showing a yellow leaf. My anacharis doesn't seem to be doing so well, they are falling apart and are a brownish color. I added some Nutrafin plantgro

My lighting is a 48'' T12 Fluorescent with 2 GE eclolux 40w bulbs, but i have only been using one bulb. The tank size is 55 gal and temp is about 80 degrees...is my lighting ok for live plants? thanks in advance for any advice

 

[jlk]

Your numbers look great! I would say you are pretty close to being fully cycled. Im not an expert on plants/lights but i think you may need to run both bulbs- i would ask in the planted tank area. That said, I have never been able to grow any anacharis purchased from petco/petsmart and gave up on it- it always turned brown & fell apart. Anubias will survive almost anywhere!

 

[Quest84]

thanks JLK..I was a little nervous about doing a fishless cycle at first, but after reading the guide to fishless cycling and the advice that you, mumma, librarygirl and a few others have given me, its has been so easy I'm not even in my second week yet, and its almost done!! can't wait to get some fish in here, im really excited lol

thats good to know about the anacharis, maybe the plants coming from Petco aren't that good. I think i will give java fern a try, add a few more anubias, and a few other low light plants until I upgrade my lighting

thanks for helping me, i appreciate it

 

[jlk]

Your welcome! Glad to help & look forward to seeing your new fish pics soon! I love anubias, btw- great, indestructible (well, almost indestructible) plants!

 

[Quest84]

I think I am finally done cycling my tank!!

ammonia has been dropping down to 0 overnight for a few days
nitrites = 0
nitrates = 160+

I noticed a slight drop in PH from 7.4 to 7.2, but I am planning on adding some fish on Monday. Tomorrow I will do the huge water change to get the nitrates in a safe range

I have an extra sponge floating around in my tank, will this work to seed a QT tank? or will i need to take one from the filter?

to everyone who helped me through the cycle

 

[librarygirl]

Congrats! Looks good! The seeded media helped a lot in avoiding the nitrite spike.

Is it a sponge filter or a loose sponge? Sorry, didn't quite understand. If it's a sponge filter connected to an air pump then yes it should be fine to use for a QT.

 

[jlk]

Congrats!!!! Yes, a big water change to get your nitrates as low as possible. Make sure you temp-match the water & dont forget the conditioner. If you are not familiar with 'drip acclimation', check out U-Tube for how-to videos. How long has the sponge been in your tank? Its possible it may have some bb but I dont know how much. If your not adding fish to your main tank immediately, you will need to keep dosing amm to keep it cycled. If you remove a filter from the main tank for the qt tank, you may cause a mini-cycle in the main tank but the qt should be instantly cycled. Just keep an eye on everything & monitor both tanks conditions so you know what to expect. Congrats again!!!!

 

[Quest84]

thought i was done just double checked levels again and had nitrites show up, I added the ammonia late last night because I forgot..is it possible it just hasn't turned it into the nitrate yet?

i am kind of confused now because I haven't been seeing nitrites at all but have had nitrates of 160+ for over a week.

I've had the sponge in the tank for almost 2 weeks. It is a filter sponge from an AC70 but its just floating in the water. when i setup the QT should i use the floating sponge or one from the filter?

 

[jlk]

Its possible because you didnt give things a full 24hrs, you are seeing some nitrites. You have had nitrites but you never saw them on a test because they were converted before you tested. Worth redosing amm & giving it a full 24hrs to make sure everything is being converted. I suspect the sponge may not have enough bb to support a qt tank but I dont know this for fact. My suggestion would be to use it & monitor the qt closely. If you see spikes of amm/nitrite, you can either do daily water changes or move a filter from your main tank to the qt. Just realize that your main tank may experience a mini cycle because you will be removing a portion of bacteria. Keep us posted!

 

[Quest84]

just took another water test

ammonia = 0ppm overnight for almost a week
nitrite= 5.0 ppm
nitrate = 160+ ppm
PH is dropping a little each day

i guess i am not cycled yet, just wondering why i had such high nitrate without nitrite showing up, now all of a sudden the nitrite is at 5ppm?

should i do a pwc now that the PH is dropping?

 

[jlk]

Yes, a water change will keep your ph from crashing. I honestly am not sure why you have had such high nitrates with no detectable nitrites but now you are seeing nitrites all of a sudden. After the water change, only dose your amm to 2ppm & see how things look in 24hrs.

 

[Hholly]

I hate to bum you out but when you test your nitrates are you following the instructions to a T? You really have to shake that bottle #2. Since you didn't get nitrite readings before, it may be that you hadn't gotten to that part of the cycle yet. Not sure why you already had the high nitrate readings without first seeing nitrites. Did you start with seeded material?

 

[librarygirl]

just took another water test

ammonia = 0ppm overnight for almost a week
nitrite= 5.0 ppm
nitrate = 160+ ppm
PH is dropping a little each day

i guess i am not cycled yet, just wondering why i had such high nitrate without nitrite showing up, now all of a sudden the nitrite is at 5ppm?

should i do a pwc now that the PH is dropping?

Bummer. But at least the nitrites showed up before you got fish. It's possible the sponge you got had some nitrates in it. Hopefully the nitrite phase won't last long for you. Yep do a large water change to get PH stabilized and then redose ammonia and let's check again in 24 hours.

 

[Quest84]

my friend gave me two Aquaclear 70 sponges from his cichlid tank. I put them directly into the filter and I let the new sponge that came with the filter float in the tank.

pretty sure i'm checking nitrates right..adding 10 drops shake a few times,hit bottle #2 on counter for 30 seconds then add 10 drops..shake for a min, then wait 5 mins for results

I'll do the water change and then add 2 ppm ammonia
the only thing that is different now is some of my anacharis died, the first water change i did a gravel vac, and then just used the aqueon water conditioner instead of the stress zyme (Maybe the stress zyme does actually work lol)

 

[Jmedic25]

You may want to switch to seachem prime for your dechlorinator. Its the best IMO. I read your whole post and didnt see anyone answer about your lights. I think you lost your anacharis because your lights are underpowered. One watt per gallon is what you need for low light plants. Check out Ahsupply.com if your into DIY lighting. Thoes kits are well priced and outstanding.

 

[Quest84]

Thanks Jmedic, I have a t12 with 2 40w bulbs..thats 80 watts correct? or does it only count as 40?

at first I was only using one bulb, rookie mistake...using both now