Stuck on what to do?

[PattyCakes81]

My ammonia went from 2ppm to 0.25ppm in 7 hours. I know this is a good thing. Means the BB is doing its job. Do I dose back up now or wait 24 hours? Doing fishless cycling.
8:34am:

3:37am:


Any advice and tips will be greatly appreciated!

 

[Spongeandgary]

what does BB stand for? Ive never done fishless cycling. Ive always added fish a few at a time. Each time you add fish it increases the bio load and the system has to re-adjust back to equilibrium.

 

[PattyCakes81]

what does BB stand for? Ive never done fishless cycling. Ive always added fish a few at a time. Each time you add fish it increases the bio load and the system has to re-adjust back to equilibrium.

Beneficial Bacteria

 

[Spongeandgary]

Gotcha. What are you using for the byproduct of organic material of decomposition?

 

[PattyCakes81]

Gotcha. What are you using for the byproduct of organic material of decomposition?

I am using Ammonium Chloride Solution by Dr. Tim's Aquatics:
www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=24530
And following the fishless cycling stickie on here.

 

[Spongeandgary]

Interesting product.....given what i know about the nitrogen cycle i would recomend continuing treatment until you see ammonia and nitrite spike right after treatment and return to 0ppm....when everything is at equilibrium ammonia and nitrites which can be both lethal to fish are 0ppm. When that occurs the nitrates will rise. 1 thing to note, i dont think it will be an issue but since the chemical is ammonium chloride when it goes into solution it will be in ammonium ion and chlorine ion for. Chlorine as we know is toxic to fish. Generally chlorine in water will dicipate and put of the water in about 24 hrs or a dechlorinating product can be added to speed it up. Like i said ive never used the product so i dont know if tjat would be an issue or not Im just going off of what i know about chemistry

 

[librarygirl]

The general guideline is to dose once in 24 hours even if you test sooner and the ammonia has dropped. You have some nitrites and nitrates too so it looks like you're doing well.

 

[PattyCakes81]

The general guideline is to dose once in 24 hours even if you test sooner and the ammonia has dropped. You have some nitrites and nitrates too so it looks like you're doing well.

So if it drops to 0ppm before the 24 hours is up, it is okay? I don't want to starve the beneficial bacteria.
I guess I'll wait to 8:34 tomorrow morning.
Are you sure the bacteria doesn't store off id I wait that long? I don't want to mess up.

 

[Spongeandgary]

You should prob be ok...the bacteria natrually occur in the water and the colonies wont stabilize until you have a constant supply of food for then ( after the fish are added) its always best to add a few fish at a time rather than a bunch all at once...that will prevent major ammonia and nitrite spikes....reguardless you may have some increase in both after adding fish...just wait for them to go down the add more until you have added all the fish your going to stock there will always be changes.

 

[PattyCakes81]

Yay zeros and lots of nitrates!

Going to dose back up a few more days to double check that the bacteria converts ammonia>nitrites>nitrates in 24 hours.
Yes baby!

 

[Spongeandgary]

Cool. Just make sure you do water changes before adding fish. Extremely high concentrations of nitrates can be lethal to fish as well

 

[PattyCakes81]

Cool. Just make sure you do water changes before adding fish. Extremely high concentrations of nitrates can be lethal to fish as well

I will thank you. The night before getting fish I am going to do a big water change of about 90% to get nitrates real low. To give the best possible environment I can in a fish tank.

 

[Spongeandgary]

Let me know how things go...id like to know, ive never tried that method. Ive always done the traditional cycling

 

[PattyCakes81]

Let me know how things go...id like to know, ive never tried that method. Ive always done the traditional cycling

I will keep you updated. The way things are going I might be able to get fishes next week! Yay

 

[librarygirl]

So if it drops to 0ppm before the 24 hours is up, it is okay? I don't want to starve the beneficial bacteria.
I guess I'll wait to 8:34 tomorrow morning.
Are you sure the bacteria doesn't store off id I wait that long? I don't want to mess up.

I'm sure. It would take more than a few days without ammonia before the bacteria starved. Congrats on the cycle, by the way, looks like you're about done. What fish are you getting?

 

[PattyCakes81]

I'm sure. It would take more than a few days without ammonia before the bacteria starved. Congrats on the cycle, by the way, looks like you're about done. What fish are you getting?

Thanks I will ultimately be getting these fish:

What and how many do you think I should buy first?

 

[loachlover1980]

Hello PATTYCAKES, I've just recently compleated my fishless cycle and I checked out books from the library and for a fishless cycle they all agree on 3 fish a week for the first four Weeks, then up to 5 at a time after the bb has built up even more from the first rounds of fish.

 

[PattyCakes81]

Hello PATTYCAKES, I've just recently compleated my fishless cycle and I checked out books from the library and for a fishless cycle they all agree on 3 fish a week for the first four Weeks, then up to 5 at a time after the bb has built up even more from the first rounds of fish.

Oh okay. Sounds good.

 

[librarygirl]

Actually you'll lose bacteria after the cycle. Dosing to 4 ppms of ammonia is way more than any fish could produce unless you massively overstocked the tank. The bacteria will adjust down to the fish in the tank, so right after the cycle your biofilter will be the strongest it'll ever be. I'd add the CPDs or corys first, test for a week, if levels are good then add the other (CPD or cory), then if levels continue to be ok add the gourami last and the shrimp and snails.

 

[PattyCakes81]

Actually you'll lose bacteria after the cycle. Dosing to 4 ppms of ammonia is way more than any fish could produce unless you massively overstocked the tank. The bacteria will adjust down to the fish in the tank, so right after the cycle your biofilter will be the strongest it'll ever be. I'd add the CPDs or corys first, test for a week, if levels are good then add the other (CPD or cory), then if levels continue to be ok add the gourami last and the shrimp and snails.

What do you recommend? My fish are coming on Wednesday. Do I dose 1ppm until then? Or stop adding ammonia? Will the bacteria die?