First fishless cycle, am I doing it right?

[Franny]

So I'm in the process of doing my first fishless cycle, only a few weeks ago I'd never even heard of cycling and I'm determined to do things the right way before I get any fish.

I have a 20Litre (5gal I think) tank that I intend to keep a single Betta in. Heater at 80F and filter, fake plants and one ornament. I dosed the tank up to 4ppm with pure ammonia 10 days ago and it's continued to read 4ppm every day I've tested the water.

There are no nitrites or nitrates present and my pH level is 7.6 I haven't used any seeding material as I don't have access to any.

Am I doing something wrong or is my tank just taking it's time dropping the ammonia levels? Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

[KPhilly]

You can crank it up a bit more to about 86. Could be taking its time. IMO every cycle is different and your tank is brand new. I just started mine, today is the third day. You can go follow my thread about it and maybe it will help give you some ideas.

 

[jlk]

Welcome to AA!!! Did you properly dechlorinate the water before adding ammonia? On a 5g tank that is going to house a single betta, 4ppm of ammonia is beyond overkill. I would do a 50-60% water change with temperature matched, properly conditioned water to drop your ammonia level down to @2ppm. Increasing the heat to 84-86f is a good idea but you have to add extra aeration as your good bacteria are very oxygen dependent. Adding a bubbler/airstone and dropping the tank level a bit so the filter splashes will help. Please ask if you have questions!

 

[Franny]

Thank you Yeah I chlorinated, I'll try a water change tonight. I didn't know the size of the tank affected how much ammonia you should add, all the guides I've read just say 4-5ppm but I'll try what you said, thank you

 

[Franny]

Ok, I've done a 50% water change and re-tested. My ammonia is showing between 1 and 2ppm, is this still too high? If not do I just wait for it to drop on its own now?

 

[jlk]

That's fine! Now just some patience and wait for it to drop.

 

[Franny]

Lovely, thank you so much for your help