Problems getting 20gal FW cycled.

[librarygirl]

update....after dosing back to 4ppm of ammonia 2 days ago...today ammonia is about .25ppm, nitrites are off the charts and nitrates are >80ppm. So now I am going to do a PWC and dose tank back up to 4ppm of ammonia....everything seems to be going smoothly now.

That's great, congratulations! Just out of curiosity....did you add anything to the tank (ph Down, live plants, etc) or did you just do a water change?

 

[jahsublime]

well...I tried a couple things recommended to me...don't know if they helped, but everything really jump started 3 days after using them. A couple of products from Microbe-Lift... one was Special Blend and the other is Nite-out II. I followed the steps for fishless cycling and just added those products as instructed on the bottles...

 

[jahsublime]

ok...my ammonia is going from 4ppm to 0 in 24 hours...but the nitrites are coming down slower....should I keep dosing the ammonia up to 4ppm or only up to 1ppm at this point? Thanks again for all your help.

 

[eco23]

ok...my ammonia is going from 4ppm to 0 in 24 hours...but the nitrites are coming down slower....should I keep dosing the ammonia up to 4ppm or only up to 1ppm at this point? Thanks again for all your help.

If the no2 is dropping, either way will work. 1ppm every 24 hours is fine...but I wouldn't go more than 3-4 days at that dose before moving the level back up to 3-4ppm if the cycle isn't done by then.

 

[jahsublime]

wow....right on with the part about the ph drop....holy cow....checked it this morning and it bottomed out...doing a pwc now...yikes!

 

[eco23]

wow....right on with the part about the ph drop....holy cow....checked it this morning and it bottomed out...doing a pwc now...yikes!

Good news, bad news. The good is that the pH drop most likely shows that your cycle technically completed. The bad is that it depending on how low it dropped and how long is stayed low, it might have hit the rewind button back a few days.

How low did it get and how long do you think it stayed at that level?

 

[jahsublime]

not really sure....i just changed out 10 gal...so 50%. it is going through 4ppm of ammonia in less than 24 hours....just waiting for the nitrites to drop as well.

 

[jahsublime]

the ph dropped down in the low 6 range...usually its around 7.8. after changing 5 gal, I tested it and it was back up in the 7 range. I will test it again in 10 minutes as I changed out another 5 gal since the nitrites were still pretty high..

 

[eco23]

Yep, just do however much is necessary to get it back up to the tap water value. As long as you're dechlorinating and matching temps, a huge water change won't hurt anything.

As long as the pH didn't drop down extremely low and sit there too long, you'll probably only lose a couple days at worst. Just keep an eye on it as it finishes up...the pwc should restore the buffers and help keep it stable, but if it's happened once it can happen again.

 

[jahsublime]

thank you again...I will monitor the pH more closely now...

 

[jahsublime]

did a 50% pwc yesterday...brought the pH back up....dropped again pretty quickly though to about 6.8. Ammonia is going from 4ppm to 0ppm in approx. 12hrs. Today I finally had a significant drop in nitrites. Was off the chart this morning when I came home from work...when I got up this afternoon (about 6 hours later) nitrites are approx 2ppm. Should i dose the ammonia back up to 4 ppm again? It looks like I am getting close to the end here.

 

[eco23]

did a 50% pwc yesterday...brought the pH back up....dropped again pretty quickly though to about 6.8. Ammonia is going from 4ppm to 0ppm in approx. 12hrs. Today I finally had a significant drop in nitrites. Was off the chart this morning when I came home from work...when I got up this afternoon (about 6 hours later) nitrites are approx 2ppm. Should i dose the ammonia back up to 4 ppm again? It looks like I am getting close to the end here.

I would. Around 3-4ppm every 24 hours at this point is ideal IMO. The big drop in no2 signifies you're hours or days away . It is also the phase where pH drops are the most abundant. If you've already experienced your big overnight drop in nitrItes, the pH shouldn't be as big of concern...but obviously keep an eye on it and have the bucket on standby.

Since your water is obviously low in alkalinity, it's going to be important to have a strict pwc schedule once you have fish. Personally I'd view weekly 40% pwc's as minimal, and twice a week 25% as ideal. You want to replenish the buffers in the water to prevent any drops while the tank is stocked. However, cycling wreaks havoc on your pH, so once complete it shouldn't be as big of a deal

 

[jahsublime]

IT'S DONE!!!!! 0 ammonia....0 nitrites....nitrates are high, as to be expected. If I am going to put fish in tomorrow, should I just do the big water change or should I add a small amount of ammonia too?

 

[eco23]

IT'S DONE!!!!! 0 ammonia....0 nitrites....nitrates are high, as to be expected. If I am going to put fish in tomorrow, should I just do the big water change or should I add a small amount of ammonia too?

If you're adding fish tomorrow, no need to add more ammo. If the cycle just completed this morning, it's important to test the bio-filter one or two more times to ensure it can drop 3-4ppm down to zero with zero no2 in 24 hours...but you seem to be in good shape.

Make sure you turn your heater down to where you want for your fish, and be sure to get nitrAtes under 20 before stocking. Last thing is to do your massive pwc quickly, because you don't want the walls of the tank drying out and killing any bacteria on them. Great job sticking with it. Your fish will appreciate it.

 

[librarygirl]

IT'S DONE!!!!! 0 ammonia....0 nitrites....nitrates are high, as to be expected. If I am going to put fish in tomorrow, should I just do the big water change or should I add a small amount of ammonia too?

Congratulations! Another successful fishless cycle!

 

[jahsublime]

update...today, I checked the ammonia..it was at 2ppm , nitrites are at 0. I checked the pH and it had dropped out on me again. So, I just did a 50% pwc...and I am hoping this will put everything back in gear again.

 

[eco23]

update...today, I checked the ammonia..it was at 2ppm , nitrites are at 0. I checked the pH and it had dropped out on me again. So, I just did a 50% pwc...and I am hoping this will put everything back in gear again.

I see your future...it involves a bag of crushed coral. Buy a bag of that and a mesh media bag...stick a good sized handful in the bag and jam it down into your filter media or you can also add it in with your substrate.

It will raise your hardness and alkalinity and basically guarantees you won't have anymore crashes with your cycle. Normally I'm against altering your water chemistry once you have fish...but I'd probably permanently run a small bag of it to prevent any down swings once the tank is stocked. Being extremely diligent with pwc's once you have fish can protect against it (once or ideally twice a week), but the CC is an insurance policy for your water and your fish.

 

[jahsublime]

the pH of my tap water is pretty high though (around 8). don't know why it is crashing so hard. Before the end of my cycle, the pH was staying around 7.8.

 

[eco23]

Do you have a water softener or anything on the house? Try setting out a glass of water, throw an airstone in it for 24 hours and test it. There's probably something buffering your water, and once it gasses out the pH plummets.

 

[jahsublime]

after the pwc...pH is now 7.6. :/ I live in an apartment. So as far as i know there isn't any water softener or anything like that. I would assume it is straight city supplied water.