Half Through Fishless Cycling: A Question

[nerdelish]

Hi everyone,

I am new to the forum and very new to the hobby. This is my first time setting up an aquarium. I have a 29 gallon tank and I have decorated it with lava rock, driftwood, and some hardy live plants.

Though this is my first time posting, I have been lurking around the forum for a few weeks reading posts to learn about aquarium setup. I have been following the instructions on this thread for my fishless cycling process. http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...guide-and-faq-to-fishless-cycling-148283.html

I am half way through the process and I have a question about water changes and nitrite/nitrate readings.

I have been dosing the aquarium with ammonia up to 4ppm, letting it dive down to 1ppm and then dosing it back up to 4ppm. I just started to get nitrite and nitrate readings a few days ago. I have been using the API master test kit to monitor my progress. Today my reading was as follows:

Ammonia: 1 ppm
Nitrite: 5 ppm
Nitrate: 5 ppm

Now, in the post I linked above it says to keep dosing the aquarium until both nitrates and nitrites are unreadable and then do a partial water change. My nitrite reading are getting pretty close to becoming "off the chart" but my nitrate reading is still pretty low.

So my questions is this: Do I need to do a partial water change yet or should I continue to add 4ppm ammonia until my nitrate levels are off the chart?

 

[ScotJudd]

Hi. When cycling I like to keep my nitrite and nitrate levels no higher than mid-scale. Once off the scale you can't tell if the levels are falling or rising. I water change, with conditioned water of course, to bring down the readings and then reload ammonia to 4ppm.
When ammonia and nitrite are zero after 24 hours then you're done. Water change to bring nitrates to under 20ppm and add stock. If you've cycled but are not ready for stock then dose the tank daily to 1-2ppm ammonia just to keep the filter fed and ticking over.
The theory is that you can fully stock but I tend to be cautious and stock to about 25%, see that they are healthy and that your maintenance routine is effective and then slowly add more stock, making sure that you don't over feed.


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[nerdelish]

Thanks for the help! I just did a 50% water change and added ammonia. I feel much more comfortable being able to see what is going on.

I had a minor panic attack when my Penguin Filter wouldn't start up after the change but I got it working by pumping the intake tube up and down. Whew.

Thanks again for replying to my post. I appreciate it.

 

[ScotJudd]

You're welcome. Good luck with the cycling, the wait is well worth it.


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[nerdelish]

Thanks!

I just noticed today that there are small "white" particles floating around my tank. Is it algae? Do I need to worry about it? If so, what should I do?

 

[nerdelish]

I just did a 50% water change yesterday. I tested my levels after the change and they were:
Ph: 7.4 (it's been a steady 7.4 throughout this process)
Ammonia: 1ppm
Nitrite: 1 ppm
Nitrate: 5 ppm

I added ammonia up to 4ppm and measured again today.

Suddenly my PH has dropped to 6.7 ppm. Is this bad? If so, what should I do?

 

[sinibotia]

You should immediately add some crushed coral sand into your tank or your filter. The bacteria consume calcium carbonate in the cycle. Calcium carbonate buffers your water to maintain a stable pH so if your pH has crashed it means your water has none left- and your bacteria need it to grow, and your fish will need it so your pH doesn't swing wildly. Crushed coral or aragonite sand contain a lot of calcium carbonate which will dissolve in your tank to a certain point and keep dissolving slowly to maintain an even level of it. You could also do water changes to add some more calcium carbonate back into the system!

 

[nerdelish]

Would a local big chain pet store have crushed coral sand? If so I can pick some up tomorrow. My power went out tonight so there is not much I can do with the tank now. If it goes without power for a few hours am I going to have to start all over again?

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[sinibotia]

Would a local big chain pet store have crushed coral sand? If so I can pick some up tomorrow. My power went out tonight so there is not much I can do with the tank now. If it goes without power for a few hours am I going to have to start all over again?

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Yes, they absolutely would! I got a bag of it at Petco a few months ago.

What kind of filter do you have? Your bacteria should be fine for many hours without power but there are a few precautions you could take- but only if you have a canister filter or something like it. Any filter that is contained like that may (unlikely) run out of oxygen over the course of the power outage which would kill the bacteria. If you shut off the valves and open up the filter it'll make sure they're getting oxygen.

If you have a HOB filter or some kind of internal filter- no worries, your bacteria will definitely be fine.

 

[nerdelish]

It's a peguin 200 biowheel. So I think I am okay? What does HOB mean?

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[sinibotia]

It's a peguin 200 biowheel. So I think I am okay? What does HOB mean?

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"hang on back". Make sure the biowheel stays wet. If you can remove it and put it inside the tank, or just spin it frequently enough to keep it damp. That's all you need to do!

 

[nerdelish]

Thanks for the help. I put my biowheel in the tank. Power was off from 8:30 pm until 6:30 am. Hopefully everything is okay...

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[nerdelish]

Update

Did a 50% water change this morning. This afternoon, test read pH at 6.6.

Did another 50% water change and will get the coral sand this evening.

 

[sinibotia]

I would pick up a KH test kit, although they can be hard to find.

 

[ScotJudd]

Kh and Gh test kit by API is available on lots of sites, including Amazon. If your Kh is low then add Bicarbonate of soda to raise it until you can get some crushed coral. It's safe to use even with fish. I add half a teaspoon, 2.5ml, to about 2 gallon bucket of water on every water change, this raises Kh by about 6 degrees and stabilises Ph. You could calculate the amount needed for your whole tank. Even if you decide not to use Bicarb in the long run its a good short term solution and Ph should level out at about 7, no lower.


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[nerdelish]

I picked up some aragonite sand at the store (didn't have crushed coral) and placed about a half cup in a mesh bag inside the tank for now. I wasn't sure how much should go in. I will keep the bicarbonate of soda in mind.

Will my pH constantly need to have help or will it level off once the fishless cycle is complete?

I am looking on Amazon for a Kh/Gh kit. Are there other test kits I should consider as well? I have the API Master Kit.

 

[nerdelish]

Tested tonight:

pH: 7.00
Ammonia: .50 ppm
Nitrite: 5 ppm
Nitrate: I guessed about 6ppm because bit darker than five but not close to 10ppm.

My nitrites keep showing up strong but I haven't seen much of a move in nitrates since they started to show up. Did the pH have something to do with that?

 

[nerdelish]

Zero ammonia but minimal nitrates

My ammonia was at zero today! However, I still haven't been getting much of a read on nitrates.

I know once ammonia hits zero you're supposed to be nearing the home stretch...but the guide I've been using also says I should be seeing off the charts nitrates. Can it cycle without getting more than 6ppm nitrate readings? Could my test be faulty? I've been carefully timing the nitrate stuff.

 

[ScotJudd]

Hi.
Your cycle is not complete until 4ppm ammonia is zero after 24hrs AND your nitrites are zero too. Nitrates will be high, certainly into the high range, above 40ppm.
The API NITRATE liquid test is the only tricky test to do. Follow the instructions to the letter. Give bottle no2 a really good shake before even starting the test, the liquid is of a structure that doesn't mix that easily with water and needs really 'breaking up' before the test. Add the 10 drops of bottle no1 and then shake bottle no2 again before adding 10 drops. Start a timer. Shake the test tube aggressively for 1 minute and then leave to stand for the remaining 4 minutes. Check the colour against the chart. Any earlier or later will give a false reading. Seems a bit of a phaff but you soon get into the swing of it. Just a tip here, put a piece of white paper behind the test tube and compare the test tube colour to the chart, don't hold the test tube against the chart as your eyes can find it hard to perceive the colour with all the test chart colours and using natural light from a window can help avoid artificial light affecting the colours.
While I'm waiting for the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate tests to develop I can test Gh, Kh and Ph as they are instant results. The whole process takes about 10 minutes. Wash out the test tubes and caps well with tap water to avoid residual chemicals affecting the following tests.
Too much info I expect, but there's no point testing if it's not done right. Good luck.


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[Chels10117]

HOB means Hang on the back filter. I belive.

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