Teacher's Fishless Cycle

[Bubbles0oO]

I am Fishless cycling my teachers 10 gal. I have added everything needed, treated the water and put plants in. There were already some pond snails , so I left them alone. I have been testing for 3 days and here's what I've got

Day 1
Nitrates 7.0
Ammo 0ppm
Ph 7.6 ( I know oh isn't needed by I tested it anyway)

Day 2
Nitrates 7.0
Ammo 0 ppm
Ph 7.5

Day 3
Nitrates 7.0
Ammo 0ppm
Ph 7.8

Tomorrow is day four.
How site cycle going? I have been adding small bits of food to help it along but the tank hasn't had fish since last year ( water but no fish)
Any suggestions or advice?

I will be going to the LFS to get a light for it, anything else I should get? I know she needs water conditioner and plant health stuff, I'll be doing the maintenance on it.

Thanks for reading

 

[meegosh]

You say you are fishless cycling? What are you using for an ammonia source? It doesn't seem like anything right now. You should be dosing pure ammonia to 4ppm and keeping it there. What are you using to test? Strips or liquid reagent? What are your nitrites at? Have you tested your tap water? I bet the ~7ppm (don't know how you got such a specific #) of nitrates is standard from your tap, I get around ~10ppm out of mine.

 

[Bubbles0oO]

I don't have an ammo scource... Should I get one? What's the best one?I'm using liquid tests but I don't have a nitrite tester.. I haven't tested my tap water, and I just put t at around there didn't mean for it to be exactly

 

[meegosh]

You can use fish food but that can cause algae issues and is just plain messy. The best bet is to get surfactant free ammonia. Just read the bottle and make sure there isn't any crazy lavender oils or anything else. Ace Hardware sells Ace brand ammonia in 10% strength in quarts and gallons for a couple bucks. It says something like "Janitorial strength" on the bottle.

Another good check is to shake the bottle, if it bubbles/foams and doesn't go away quickly, leave it. If it bubbles a bit and then goes away quickly that is most likely the right stuff. Be sure to check the labels though!

 

[Bubbles0oO]

Ok cool , I'm planning on stockig with a few platys, I know they will breed but I keep all the fry and bring home the fish and plants over the summer

 

[Bubbles0oO]

Would it make a difference if I take a filter cartridge ( used) from one of my estAblished tanks and put it in the filter?

 

[jlk]

Would it make a difference if I take a filter cartridge ( used) from one of my estAblished tanks and put it in the filter?

This will help speed up your cycle but you have to add a source of ammonia for your bb to eat, grow & properly colonize. Pure ammonia as suggested is the most accurate, easiest & cleanest route. Heres the fishless cycle link & the ammonia calculator:

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...guide-and-faq-to-fishless-cycling-148283.html

http://www.fishforums.net/aquarium-calculator.htm

 

[Bubbles0oO]

Sorry for being thick headed but it I add the cartridge then fish a day later, could that work?

 

[jlk]

Its a cycled filter, correct? Yes, this should be fine to add a fish at the same time as the filter. Just make sure you test daily for any possible spikes. If there are, then water changes are necessary. Good luck!

 

[Big.Jon]

The ace hardware janitor stuff is great, but just a heads up you wont need hardly any of it to get your tank up to 4 ppm. I would suggest adding a teaspoon at a time or less. Anyways good luck glad to see you r doing a fishless cycle now.

 

[Bubbles0oO]

Hehe thanks guys, I'll update with today's readings. I won't put the cartridge in until monday because it's still in use in my tank lol

Edit: forget that I'm adding the stuff after spring break so the fishes aren't there alone and I can monitor it

 

[Bubbles0oO]

Well the readings havent changed , not really surprising though....

I got a new bulb for her fixture ( started off with replacing the bulb so if it's not the fixture I don't have to buy one)

It's a zoomed tropic sun 5500k 15 watts t8 daylight bulb ( dot know what that means but ok! I put All info on there)

 

[Scouser]

Well the readings havent changed , not really surprising though....

I got a new bulb for her fixture ( started off with replacing the bulb so if it's not the fixture I don't have to buy one)

It's a zoomed tropic sun 5500k 15 watts t8 daylight bulb ( dot know what that means but ok! I put All info on there)

Well 5500k refers to the colour of the light in the spectrum.





The T8 refers to diameter of the bulb.

It's broken down to 8ths or 0.125s of an inch

So your T8 is 8/8s of an inch.


Watt- that can be a difficult one to explain-

Here's a snippet I remember from school;

"The watt, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion"

Hope that useless info helps maybe? Lol

 

[Bubbles0oO]

Lol thanks!

Will this be ok lighting? I'm planning on bringing in some wisteria

 

[jlk]

Wisteria should be fine with a t8 bulb. It wont grow dramatically but it will def grow!

 

[Scouser]

Lol thanks!

Will this be ok lighting? I'm planning on bringing in some wisteria

Wisteria should be fine, if you want more showy plants without worrying about too much growth Anubias variants are quite beautiful plants.

That an maybe java ferns to add some height?

 

[Bubbles0oO]

Ok cool any ideas on transporting it?

I know if it drys out it'll die so fill the bag up all the way?

Edit: I have some Anubis in there with some ribbons I'm going to bring home, would it be a bad idea to add some of my tank water to her tank?

 

[Scouser]

Ok cool any ideas on transporting it?

I know if it drys out it'll die so fill the bag up all the way?

Edit: I have some Anubis in there with some ribbons I'm going to bring home, would it be a bad idea to add some of my tank water to her tank?

Just have enough water in the bag to keep the plant moist, even wrapping a wet kitchen towel with them should do.

Why would you add your tank water to her tank?

 

[Tetra1990]

Ok cool any ideas on transporting it?

I know if it drys out it'll die so fill the bag up all the way?

Edit: I have some Anubis in there with some ribbons I'm going to bring home, would it be a bad idea to add some of my tank water to her tank?

No real reason to add some of your tank water. It docent hold any beneficial bacteria. That stuff lives in the substrate and in the filter media.

 

[Bubbles0oO]

Ok lol I wot add water

Could I put the wisteria in a small cooler with tank water?
Would I have to acclamate it to her tank?