The (almost) Complete Guide and FAQ to Fishless Cycling

[Cloudrider]

Pwc not a big deal. Have python. Hey ma, no buckets. Lol. I may wait till tomorrow for the pwc as I just dosed the ammo back up. Want to see what it does tonite after the food, etc. Water doesn't seem to bad. Not really a lot of bubbles in soap.
Ronnie

 

[eco23]

Pwc not a big deal. Have python. Hey ma, no buckets. Lol. I may wait till tomorrow for the pwc as I just dosed the ammo back up. Want to see what it does tonite after the food, etc.
Ronnie

Sounds good. I'm out cooking ribs and the rain just started hitting my iPad...so time to eat! Talk to you later.

 

[Cloudrider]

I also turned on the powerhead and have it sitting where it is making lots of bubbles. Let it run for last few hours after I explained to wife why. Now when I started to disconnect wife said no. Will grow bacteria faster. Lolololol

 

[eco23]

I also turned on the powerhead and have it sitting where it is making lots of bubbles. Let it run for last few hours after I explained to wife why. Now when I started to disconnect wife said no. Will grow bacteria faster. Lolololol

Hahaha! We've got her sucked in now too, lol. The rest of our girls normally just yell at us for staring deeply into an empty fish tank all day

 

[jmartin71]

Ok filling tank to start and I planted the plants tonight but my water is all murky. Is this from the substrate from planting plants? And anyone now approximate amount of ammo for a 90 gallon?

 

[eco23]

Ok filling tank to start and I planted the plants tonight but my water is all murky. Is this from the substrate from planting plants? And anyone now approximate amount of ammo for a 90 gallon?

Cloudiness could be from the new substrate and the plants churning it up if you didn't rinse the heck out of it (even if you did sometimes), or hopefully from bacteria entering the tank (bacterial bloom). All the ammo is different strengths, so there's really no one size fits all answer. Even if you have the same brand as someone else, the ammonia gasses out and causes different solution strengths. I'd just start small, wait a bit for it to circulate, test, add more if needed, circulate, test, etc...

Good luck starting your cycle! It seems boring at first, but trust me...in a week you'll be staring at your empty tank more than the TV, lol.

 

[royta]

Did a 60% PWC. Parameters prior to PWC were 0 ammonia, 5.0+ nitrites, and 0 to 5 nitrates. Added 2 ml ammonia after PWC. Ammonia is now at 1.0 to 2.0, which is strange as I thought I'd be closer to 3.0. I'll recheck this evening along with nitrites and nitrates.

6 hours later ammonia is at 0.50 and nitrites are at 2.0. Ammonia is getting gobbled up fast. I added 2ml of ammonia and will check again in the morning.

 

[jmartin71]

Ok Eco I can't get the 405 working

 

[eco23]

Ok Eco I can't get the 405 working

I just installed mine a few days ago...what's the issue?

 

[jmartin71]

I just installed mine a few days ago...what's the issue?

Ok I got it couldn't get it to start pumping it was sputtering but it's purring now!! Ok so should I wait to water clears before ammo or just go ahead and throw it in. How long after I put it in should I test?

 

[eco23]

Ok I got it couldn't get it to start pumping it was sputtering but it's purring now!! Ok so should I wait to water clears before ammo or just go ahead and throw it in. How long after I put it in should I test?

Sorry, be back in a few...

 

[jmartin71]

Well Ammo is in and in 30 mins I will test everything out!! All I know is my tank is murky murky murky. I can just see light on my heater!! So now it's a waiting game!! I waited down my drift wood it's all floating so I'm not sure what to do there I hope this is not a bust with the plants and everything I would hate to have to empty and start over!!

 

[eco23]

Well Ammo is in and in 30 mins I will test everything out!! All I know is my tank is murky murky murky. I can just see light on my heater!! So now it's a waiting game!! I waited down my drift wood it's all floating so I'm not sure what to do there I hope this is not a bust with the plants and everything I would hate to have to empty and start over!!

Sorry man...business. I wouldn't worry about the cloudiness...it wont effect the cycle regardless, plus there's not anything to look at yet anyway, lol.

Is it real driftwood you added? Is the water tea colored? If so, look up tannins.

Did you mean wait to test until ammo circulated so you knew how much was in? With a 405 it'll be pretty quick, maybe 10 minutes. Once you've got it up to 4ppm, just take a rest for a few days, hopefully when you check back you'll see a drop. Remind me, did you add seeding material?

 

[jmartin71]

Sorry man...business. I wouldn't worry about the cloudiness...it wont effect the cycle regardless, plus there's not anything to look at yet anyway, lol.

Is it real driftwood you added? Is the water tea colored? If so, look up tannins.

Did you mean wait to test until ammo circulated so you knew how much was in? With a 405 it'll be pretty quick, maybe 10 minutes. Once you've got it up to 4ppm, just take a rest for a few days, hopefully when you check back you'll see a drop. Remind me, did you add seeding material?

Yes it's real driftwood and so for water is not tea colored. I was worried about tannins. So I added 5ml of ammo and first test after 30 mins came up .50ppm so I added 8ml of ammo this time and test due in 5 minutes!!

Seeding material 30% of my filter from my 26gal and about 3lbs of gravel from LFS!

 

[eco23]

Yes it's real driftwood and so for water is not tea colored. I was worried about tannins. So I added 5ml of ammo and first test after 30 mins came up .50ppm so I added 8ml of ammo this time and test due in 5 minutes!!

Seeding material 30% of my filter from my 26gal and about 3lbs of gravel from LFS!

Sounds good, just get it up to 4ppm and let that thing sit. The seed material should help tremendously. Make sure you keep a close eye on the tank you removed it from to make sure it doesn't have any ammo spikes since it just lost a portion of it's bacteria.

BTW, did you forget to prime the 405? I remembered the first time, but every time I've opened it since I forget to prime it. That thing loves to spit air and it scares the crap out of my tetras, my danios couldn't care less...they like playing in the bubbles.

 

[jmartin71]

I read a few pages back about smelling the ammo to make sure it does not have a scent so I forgot to mention that I did that and it was like the scene from Anchorman where it says:

Ron Burgundy: It's quite pungent.
Brian Fantana: Oh yeah.
Ron Burgundy: It's a formidable scent... It stings the nostrils. In a good way.
Brian Fantana: Yep.

 

[eco23]

I read a few pages back about smelling the ammo to make sure it does not have a scent so I forgot to mention that I did that and it was like the scene from Anchorman where it says:

Ron Burgundy: It's quite pungent.
Brian Fantana: Oh yeah.
Ron Burgundy: It's a formidable scent... It stings the nostrils. In a good way.
Brian Fantana: Yep.

60% of the time...it works every time. hahaha!

 

[jmartin71]

60% of the time...it works every time. hahaha!

That doesn't make any sense LOL one of my favorites!!

Well I must bid you a goodnight as I have hit 4ppm of Ammo after 22ml of Ammo!!

I really hope the cloudiness goes away tonight or wifey might be mad in Morning!!

 

[eco23]

That doesn't make any sense LOL one of my favorites!!

Well I must bid you a goodnight as I have hit 4ppm of Ammo after 22ml of Ammo!!

I really hope the cloudiness goes away tonight or wifey might be mad in Morning!!

I'm heading off too, keep us posted, good night.

 

[Cloudrider]

Ok ph down to 6.0. Pwc here I come. So much for wife's mothers day present. Lol.