audiophile42
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2006
- Messages
- 10
Hello all,
I've been lurking this forum for about a month, and have learned a TON. I did my research before I started buying stuff, and planned out my cycle and stock. I've got a 50gal, with two Aqua Clear 70/300s.
I set it up two weeks ago (2-10). A friend directed me to this site when I started researching, and also gave me something to jump-start my cycle. It some AQ 110 bio-media from a well established 125g.So I've got a clean tank, check, two good filters, check, established media with bacteria some gravel from it too boot, check, 10% pure ammonia from ace, check, and an AP master test kit. So I got all the things necessary to start the cycle.
When I started, I accidently dosed too high, around 7ppm ammonia. After a few days, that started to go down. Within a week, my tank was chewing through about 3ppm a day, and nitrItes were climbing fast. They got, really, really high, maxed on the test kit. I let it sit for a few days, and made sure that ammonia was around 2-3ppm to keep the bacteria alive. The nitrites didn't show any sign of coming down, and nitrates were really high too (hard to judge different shades of red on AP kit). So I hopped on a few forums, including my favorite AA , and figured I needed to do a pwc. Originally I did two 40% pwc's, and the nitrAtes came down, but the nitrItes were still way up there. So over the past few days, I've done several BFWC (think of the BFG, then you'll get what it means....), around 80-90%. The last time I did it, I got nitrItes down to .5ppm. I've kept the ammonia around 2ppm for the past week. I come home from school today, and my nitrItes are up at 2-3ppm already.
I know everyone says patience is the key to doing the fishless cycle. I did my research, set it up properly, and used a bunch of established media. My ammonia to nitrite bacteria are just chewing through the stuff (dose 2-3ppm in the morning, down to .5ppm in the afternoon), but my nitrite to nitrates seem to be lagging HORRIBLY. It's been two weeks since I started my cycle with lots of established media, and my nitrite to nitrate bacteria still aren't keeping up. I've read that high nitrite and nitrate levels can inhibit bacteria growth, so that's why I did all those pwc's and bfwc's. I thought that two weeks with established media is on the long side, so I decided to post my situation on here. I'm not a person wanting to start a tank and throw fish in immediatly. I've been researching non stop, have learned a LOT, and have been patient setting things up and planning.But I'm at a loss as to why these nitrites aren't going to nitrates quicker.
Once again, I want to say thanks to all the people on this forum, it has tons of useful information and is very accepting (where-as someothers just link to the search button...). BTW, just in case you were wondering, I'm setting up an african tank with 3-4 clown loaches and a bristlenose pleco. If anyone is interested, I can upload some pics of my fishless tank. All my friends and family don't understand cycling (although I've explained it to them several times), and are joking that I'm keeping pet water and pet rock. I'll show them.... they'll be jealous.... soon enough.... Anyway, back to the point. If ANYONE could help me with my current situation, offer any advice or insight, I would be very grateful. Thanks in advance,
I've been lurking this forum for about a month, and have learned a TON. I did my research before I started buying stuff, and planned out my cycle and stock. I've got a 50gal, with two Aqua Clear 70/300s.
I set it up two weeks ago (2-10). A friend directed me to this site when I started researching, and also gave me something to jump-start my cycle. It some AQ 110 bio-media from a well established 125g.So I've got a clean tank, check, two good filters, check, established media with bacteria some gravel from it too boot, check, 10% pure ammonia from ace, check, and an AP master test kit. So I got all the things necessary to start the cycle.
When I started, I accidently dosed too high, around 7ppm ammonia. After a few days, that started to go down. Within a week, my tank was chewing through about 3ppm a day, and nitrItes were climbing fast. They got, really, really high, maxed on the test kit. I let it sit for a few days, and made sure that ammonia was around 2-3ppm to keep the bacteria alive. The nitrites didn't show any sign of coming down, and nitrates were really high too (hard to judge different shades of red on AP kit). So I hopped on a few forums, including my favorite AA , and figured I needed to do a pwc. Originally I did two 40% pwc's, and the nitrAtes came down, but the nitrItes were still way up there. So over the past few days, I've done several BFWC (think of the BFG, then you'll get what it means....), around 80-90%. The last time I did it, I got nitrItes down to .5ppm. I've kept the ammonia around 2ppm for the past week. I come home from school today, and my nitrItes are up at 2-3ppm already.
I know everyone says patience is the key to doing the fishless cycle. I did my research, set it up properly, and used a bunch of established media. My ammonia to nitrite bacteria are just chewing through the stuff (dose 2-3ppm in the morning, down to .5ppm in the afternoon), but my nitrite to nitrates seem to be lagging HORRIBLY. It's been two weeks since I started my cycle with lots of established media, and my nitrite to nitrate bacteria still aren't keeping up. I've read that high nitrite and nitrate levels can inhibit bacteria growth, so that's why I did all those pwc's and bfwc's. I thought that two weeks with established media is on the long side, so I decided to post my situation on here. I'm not a person wanting to start a tank and throw fish in immediatly. I've been researching non stop, have learned a LOT, and have been patient setting things up and planning.But I'm at a loss as to why these nitrites aren't going to nitrates quicker.
Once again, I want to say thanks to all the people on this forum, it has tons of useful information and is very accepting (where-as someothers just link to the search button...). BTW, just in case you were wondering, I'm setting up an african tank with 3-4 clown loaches and a bristlenose pleco. If anyone is interested, I can upload some pics of my fishless tank. All my friends and family don't understand cycling (although I've explained it to them several times), and are joking that I'm keeping pet water and pet rock. I'll show them.... they'll be jealous.... soon enough.... Anyway, back to the point. If ANYONE could help me with my current situation, offer any advice or insight, I would be very grateful. Thanks in advance,