Fishless Cycling Question?

[jlk]

This is just my opinion, but the carbon at this point is nearing the end of its 'usefulness' right now. If you leave it be, it just becomes real estate for your good bacteria to grow on (which has already happened by this point). You wont need to change it monthly- you can just leave it be. So, this leaves you with the following options: leave it & dont worry about it though it may become clogged up at some point with debris & Im not sure how easily this will be to de-clog. Switch out the carbon right now for another type of media (theres no fish yet) and wait for your tank to stabilize before getting fish (this may take anywhere from a few days to longer). Or, in another month or two, start to very gradually replace the carbon with other media until its all replaced (this will take few weeks).

The water change schedule Librarygirl is suggesting is 50-60%, one time a week. This means empty this much water out of the tank & refill with temperature-matched, properly conditioned water. Its more effective & changes a larger volume of water vs two smaller water changes. Hope this makes some sense!

 

[jlk]

JLK are you still going to talk to me tonight about tank prep? If not no worries I'm not going to get any fish till next weekend anyways.

Its pretty easy because your temp isnt turned up! The night before purchasing fish, you will need to skip the ammonia (your tank should be zeroed) and do as close to a 100% wc as possible with temperature matched, properly conditioned water. Let your tank run for atleast 15-20mins & check your nitrates. If they are higher than the amount of nitrates in your tap water, you will need to do another big wc, wait & retest nitrates. Ideally, you want to drop them down to the level of your tap water. It may only take one wc but it can possibly take multiple wcs. So, dont be discouraged! Just dont forget the water conditioner! Thats about it for your tank!

If your not familiar with 'drip acclimation', check out U-Tube for how-to videos that can demonstrate this better than I can explain it! Its a pretty straight forward process for acclimating your fish to their new tank. Think I tackled all the important details so you should be good to go!

 

[Stephen Rollins]

All the answers I need. That is so awesome. I was scared about the tank prep. . It sound like it was going to be hard. But not at all. I'll just have to stick with testing and adding ammo every night till next weekend when I get fish. I still need to put driftwood and plants in. I saw librarygirls tank and like the coconut cave idea I just hope what I do with the tank the fish will be happy .

Oh and when I do have fish in the tank do I still need to test daily? And what do I have to watch out for? Meaning if certain levels get too high, I have to do more WC 's

 

[jlk]

You will need to test daily for atleast 2wks after adding fish then you can switch to once a week before a water change or more often if you feel the need to just check on things. Newly cycled tanks can be a bit tempermental and occasionally there may be some fluctuations until its better established- a couple of extra water changes until things stabilize should be all thats needed. Eventually, you will be able to reduce testing to once a month or less (what you feel comfortable with). Anytime you add new fish, you should test daily for atleast week after to make sure things are stable (new fish=increase bioload/ammonia). Anytime there is something amiss in your tank (ie, strange behavior, not eating, swimming funny, disease, etc), water parameters should be the very first thing you should check.

In the first 2 weeks of daily tests after adding fish, you will be able to get an idea of how quickly your nitrates are rising. This will help give you a better idea of a water change schedule as well. 50% is the general recommendation though a higher bioload/more fish may indicate more frequent and/or bigger wcs. As your fish grow, you may need to further adjust your wcs as well. Dont hesitate to ask if your unsure or if you hit a snag once everything is up and running (or any other reason)!!

 

[Stephen Rollins]

You will need to test daily for atleast 2wks after adding fish then you can switch to once a week before a water change or more often if you feel the need to just check on things. Newly cycled tanks can be a bit tempermental and occasionally there may be some fluctuations until its better established- a couple of extra water changes until things stabilize should be all thats needed. Eventually, you will be able to reduce testing to once a month or less (what you feel comfortable with). Anytime you add new fish, you should test daily for atleast week after to make sure things are stable (new fish=increase bioload/ammonia). Anytime there is something amiss in your tank (ie, strange behavior, not eating, swimming funny, disease, etc), water parameters should be the very first thing you should check.

In the first 2 weeks of daily tests after adding fish, you will be able to get an idea of how quickly your nitrates are rising. This will help give you a better idea of a water change schedule as well. 50% is the general recommendation though a higher bioload/more fish may indicate more frequent and/or bigger wcs. As your fish grow, you may need to further adjust your wcs as well. Dont hesitate to ask if your unsure or if you hit a snag once everything is up and running (or any other reason)!!

Thank you for that throe explanation !! Greatly appreciated

And as far as my cycle is concerned. It is complete right ?

 

[jlk]

Is it safe to say your cycled? Yes, but you will need to maintain your cycle until you have fish that will do this for you. If your not planning on fish this weekend, keep a close eye on your ph because it may start to drop again over the course of next week. If it does, it just means you need to do a water change. Pics are expected when your all done!!!

 

[Stephen Rollins]

Is it safe to say your cycled? Yes, but you will need to maintain your cycle until you have fish that will do this for you. If your not planning on fish this weekend, keep a close eye on your ph because it may start to drop again over the course of next week. If it does, it just means you need to do a water change. Pics are expected when your all done!!!

If my ph starts to drop then I have to do another 100 % water change?

And of course I will post pics.

 

[jlk]

Yes, a big water change! Just consider it practice for when your getting your tank ready for fish. You likely will never have to do this again once you have fish (unless you have to move the tank or completely redo it) so over the long haul, its really just a minor inconvenience.

 

[Stephen Rollins]

Yes, a big water change! Just consider it practice for when your getting your tank ready for fish. You likely will never have to do this again once you have fish (unless you have to move the tank or completely redo it) so over the long haul, its really just a minor inconvenience.

What if the ph drops when fish are in?

 

[jlk]

It shouldnt. Cycling a tank to 4ppm is designed to be overkill & ph drops are common when doing this. Your fish will continually produce small amounts of ammonia (vs dumping 4ppm at once) that your bb should handle without a problem. Your weekly wcs will restore buffer levels that are being used to process the ammonia. Your daily checks in the first 2 wks after introducing fish will also clue you in if ph is going to be an issue. If it turns out to be issue, we can address it. That said, its not likely that your going to have a problem with ph stability!

 

[Stephen Rollins]

It shouldnt. Cycling a tank to 4ppm is designed to be overkill & ph drops are common when doing this. Your fish will continually produce small amounts of ammonia (vs dumping 4ppm at once) that your bb should handle without a problem. Your weekly wcs will restore buffer levels that are being used to process the ammonia. Your daily checks in the first 2 wks after introducing fish will also clue you in if ph is going to be an issue. If it turns out to be issue, we can address it. That said, its not likely that your going to have a problem with ph stability!

Ok if you say so

 

[librarygirl]

I have the marine land magnum 350 canister filter system. It's rated at 350 gallons an hr for up to 100 gallon aquarium.

The filter media I have in it now is black diamond premium activated carbon. Are you saying I don't have to change it ? I have been getting mixed reviews and was told to use the ceramic tube type instead. But if I can continue to use the carbon media then I will.

As far as the nitrate test is concerned, I do all the steps you mentioned except shake the # 1 bottle the instructions didn't say to do that just the # 2 bottle for 30 seconds then add and shake the tube for 1 min.

I'm still indecisive about the eel.
But I do have a question for you. When you say weekly 50 - 60 % water changes is that done all at once or split up ? What I mean is are you saying to empty 50 - 60 % at one time and refill with conditioned water ? Or do two 25-30% water changes within a couple days apart from each other? This I've not been able to understand.

My tank measures 48x15.5x17.5

Good your filtration seems sufficient. So the only thing you have in the canister is carbon, or do you have sponges and/or other types of media? The ceramic rings are good but if you don't have them don't worry about it. Ask Jlk said you can either leave the carbon or switch it out now before you get fish and let the cycle resettle. Try shaking/banging bottle #1 too. The instructions don't say anything about shaking #1 (or even the otehr bottles for the other tests) but I've gotten inaccurate readings by not shaking, so I shake/bang all of my test bottles for a few seconds before using them.

YOu can do eitehr one larger water change per week or break it up into two smaller ones (as long as it adds up to about 50% of the water changed weekly). Even if your nitrates stay low it's good practice to clean the water regularly and vacuum as well. Clean water does wonders for fish's health and immune systems.

As for the drip acclimation, you can do it that way (just an airline tube and an airline valve is needed, or even you can just tie some knots in the airline tube to reduce the flow of the water to a slow drip). Alternatively you can float the bag the fish are in inside the tank, then add 1/4 cup of tank water to the bag every 15-20 minutes (add it slowly, dribble it in). Repeat this process until the volume of water in the bag doubles. Then pour out half of the water from the bag (not in your tank) and repeat the process again until the volume doubles. Then net the fish into the tank. Don't pour any of the bag water into your tank.

 

[Stephen Rollins]

Good your filtration seems sufficient. So the only thing you have in the canister is carbon, or do you have sponges and/or other types of media? The ceramic rings are good but if you don't have them don't worry about it. Ask Jlk said you can either leave the carbon or switch it out now before you get fish and let the cycle resettle. Try shaking/banging bottle #1 too. The instructions don't say anything about shaking #1 (or even the otehr bottles for the other tests) but I've gotten inaccurate readings by not shaking, so I shake/bang all of my test bottles for a few seconds before using them.

YOu can do eitehr one larger water change per week or break it up into two smaller ones (as long as it adds up to about 50% of the water changed weekly). Even if your nitrates stay low it's good practice to clean the water regularly and vacuum as well. Clean water does wonders for fish's health and immune systems.

As for the drip acclimation, you can do it that way (just an airline tube and an airline valve is needed, or even you can just tie some knots in the airline tube to reduce the flow of the water to a slow drip). Alternatively you can float the bag the fish are in inside the tank, then add 1/4 cup of tank water to the bag every 15-20 minutes (add it slowly, dribble it in). Repeat this process until the volume of water in the bag doubles. Then pour out half of the water from the bag (not in your tank) and repeat the process again until the volume doubles. Then net the fish into the tank. Don't pour any of the bag water into your tank.

Yes just carbon in the canister. There is a blue mesh like sock that fits around the canister as well.

I am going to start doing like you suggest as far as shaking all bottles

And yes I am going to drip acclimate

 

[Stephen Rollins]

Is it going to be a problem if I'm unable to add ammonia tonight ? I'm at the hospital with my wife and son. And I'm unable to get to my tank. I hope it doesn't mess anything up.

Will one day of not dosing with ammonia hurt the tank ?

 

[jlk]

Is it going to be a problem if I'm unable to add ammonia tonight ? I'm at the hospital with my wife and son. And I'm unable to get to my tank. I hope it doesn't mess anything up.

Will one day of not dosing with ammonia hurt the tank ?

I hope everything is ok!! Your tank will be fine if you dont dose for a day or even a couple of days, so dont worry!

 

[Stephen Rollins]

Things are okay my newborn son is having some breathing problems so they are keeping an eye on him.

I'm glad to hear that nothing would be wrong with the tank

 

[Stephen Rollins]

JLK I need your advise.

Long story short. I had to restart my cycle last Sunday.

Two days ago I dosed my ammonia after waiting for it to reach zero. Now the past two days my ammonia has been dropping slowly which is ok and not my issue. But my nitrites went from being 5 to now zero the past two days.

What do you make of this ?

 

[jlk]

Hi! Can you tell me what happened that you needed to restart it? A contaminent or something strange didnt get into the tank, I hope! If it was just a time issue, no big deal because I know you had much more important issues to deal with. I just need to know exactly where your at to try & figure out whats going on (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph levels, amm dosed & where they were & where they are now) so Im on the same page as you.

 

[Stephen Rollins]

Ok here we go.

I took Down the tank after segueing with my wife about the expense. She then came to here senses and allowed me to put it. Back together.

 

[Stephen Rollins]

Ok here we go.

I took Down the tank after segueing with my wife about the expense. She then came to here senses and allowed me to put it. Back together.

Oops I hit the submit button

It was down for about 5 days. I cleaned every thing out. I changed from having carbon in my filter to using ceramic rings.

When I started it back up I dosed it to 4 ppm of ammonia. I started it back up on Sunday the 3 rd. it took like 5 days for the ammonia to drop to 0 I had traces of nitrites and about 20 nitrates. Then it took till Monday for the ammonia to zero and my nitrates were zero also

Yesterday I was at
Ph 8
Ammonia