The (almost) Complete Guide and FAQ to Fishless Cycling

[Clausura]

Sounds like you are hours or a couple days away from being cycled. pH stability is a beautiful thing .

Thanks eco! From the tap, after leaving the water un a cup for 24 hrs, the pH is 7.2. In my tank now, its about 6.8. Will this difference be an issue when I am making water changes, especially when it is stocked?

 

[eco23]

Thanks. I'll try to hang in there but this is getting frustrating.

On the Penguin 330 there are two activated carbon cartridges. Will that slow down the cycling process and will it be beneficial besides getting rid of odors? If it doesn't do much I want to take it out and place more rings in there for bacteria to grow on.

Carbon only remains active for about a month then becomes inert. Once that happens it simply becomes part of your bio-filter. The carbon won't cause any difficulty cycling...but in general it's not needed. I wouldn't recommend replacing it now because since your filter media holds the majority of your beneficial bacteria...throwing it away would cause losing a lot of the beneficial bacteria you're trying to grow.

I know it's frustrating . Just keep with it, your fish are thankful (or at least will be when you get the no2 below .25).

 

[Rhino]

Thanks again eco! Always have the right answers.

 

[Manix]

Carbon only remains active for about a month then becomes inert. Once that happens it simply becomes part of your bio-filter. The carbon won't cause any difficulty cycling...but in general it's not needed. I wouldn't recommend replacing it now because since your filter media holds the majority of your beneficial bacteria...throwing it away would cause losing a lot of the beneficial bacteria you're trying to grow.

I know it's frustrating . Just keep with it, your fish are thankful (or at least will be when you get the no2 below .25).

I guess it's already inert since a month went away. Alright I won't take it out, but I think what I'll do is place the rings behind the carbon cartridge because it has a compartment with free space. So it will be Rings > Carbon Cartridge > Bio-Wheel.

Thanks

 

[eco23]

I guess it's already inert since a month went away. Alright I won't take it out, but I think what I'll do is place the rings behind the carbon cartridge because it has a compartment with free space. So it will be Rings > Carbon Cartridge > Bio-Wheel.

Thanks

Sounds good. You'll actually want to keep the carbon filter first to keep the bio-media free of debris. It just helps keep it cleaner, and the bacteria can benefit from coming into contact with the chemical compounds (ammonia, no2) but not being covered with organics (fish poo, plant pieces, etc...). Let us know how it's going

 

[Clausura]

Hi guys, just checked my levels today.
pH is 6.8, nitrites is 0.25 and ammonia is 1ppm.

My ammonia levels have been increasing for 3 days in a row, after dosing to 4ppm.
The day before it was 0.25, then yesterday was 0.5 and today is 1ppm. Is there something whacky going on? I only have plants and driftwood in my tank. I have not tested for nitrates so far, although last time I checked it was quite high. Will high nitrate levels stall your cycle?

Am really quite frustrated, this cycling is never ending, always something coming up that is not bringing it to completion. It has been 7 weeks since I started fishless cycling.

 

[Clausura]

Ok I have dosed to 3ppm of ammonia tonight. Will see if the dosage will drop to the lower levels after 24 hrs.

 

[eco23]

Hi guys, just checked my levels today.
pH is 6.8, nitrites is 0.25 and ammonia is 1ppm.

My ammonia levels have been increasing for 3 days in a row, after dosing to 4ppm.
The day before it was 0.25, then yesterday was 0.5 and today is 1ppm. Is there something whacky going on? I only have plants and driftwood in my tank. I have not tested for nitrates so far, although last time I checked it was quite high. Will high nitrate levels stall your cycle?

Am really quite frustrated, this cycling is never ending, always something coming up that is not bringing it to completion. It has been 7 weeks since I started fishless cycling.

I've never seen the no3 actually cause a stall, it's normally the act of producing those nitrAtes which is responsible. Doing a water change is kind of like filling your car up with gas. The further you drive (more conversion) the more fuel you use (nutrients, alkalinity) and when you get far enough down the road (high nitrAte) it's time to gas up again (do another pwc) . As long as the pH is good it's probably best to change some water.

 

[Clausura]

Ok eco, I will do the pwc tomoro. Any recommendation on hoe much to change? 75% or 90%?

 

[eco23]

Ok eco, I will do the pwc tomoro. Any recommendation on hoe much to change? 75% or 90%?

As much as you feel like carrying. Theres no such thing as too much. I'd do a minimum 50%, but the more you do the better...and it'll save you some time when the cycle is done when you're trying to get the no3 as low as possible.

 

[Manix]

Today I asked my LFS to give me a tiny bit of gravel from the fish tank. It took me an hour to place them in my HOB filter. Hope the bacteria is still alive to help with the process. It took 1 hour to get them in because I was trying to separate and plant my new dwarf hairgrass.

But the gravel was submerged in LFS tank water the entire time inside the bag.

 

[eco23]

Today I asked my LFS to give me a tiny bit of gravel from the fish tank. It took me an hour to place them in my HOB filter. Hope the bacteria is still alive to help with the process. It took 1 hour to get them in because I was trying to separate and plant my new dwarf hairgrass.

But the gravel was submerged in LFS tank water the entire time inside the bag.

As long as it stayed wet it's alive . Just be aware that gravel doesn't contain a ton of beneficial bacteria, so don't expect miracles...it will help tremendously though.

 

[Kirx]

Thank you guys! I had no idea how unreliable the no3 tests were. I'll just go ahead and ignore any abnormal results from now on, keep an eye on the nitrites for any evidence of them dropping, and proceed as I think necessary with a 50% water change if the test results start to show nitrates off the charts or absolutely no change in weeks. Now that I know there's no way of nitrates randomly decreasing, I can wait in peace

Will update you when I'm cycled, wahoo! And good luck Pearls, sounds like you're almost there...just a little more patience

For no3 API, i think u need to shake bottle #2 pretty hard and longer time for the liquid inside to beproperly mixed before start any test. I used to shake the bottle for 15 minutes before any test just to make sure. U could try it out and see how it goes. For saltwater, i'm using Sera test kits.

 

[Clausura]

Hi guys. On Saturday, I did a 90% pwc as my ammonia didn't seem to be going down increasing from 0.25 to 0.5 to 1ppm. Now after the pwc it's even worse! Seems that after 24 hrs there's hardly any conversion at all! Its at 3ppm after dosing 4ppm fron the day before. What is happening? Nitrites is at 0ppm and nitrates is at 20ppm. I am really so tired and frustrated of waiting. Seems to be like going on forever and seems like its stall after stall. I feel like giving up this fishless cycle. pH is at 7.2, holding constant since Sunday. Please help! Don't know what's wrong!

 

[eco23]

Hi guys. On Saturday, I did a 90% pwc as my ammonia didn't seem to be going down increasing from 0.25 to 0.5 to 1ppm. Now after the pwc it's even worse! Seems that after 24 hrs there's hardly any conversion at all! Its at 3ppm after dosing 4ppm fron the day before. What is happening? Nitrites is at 0ppm and nitrates is at 20ppm. I am really so tired and frustrated of waiting. Seems to be like going on forever and seems like its stall after stall. I feel like giving up this fishless cycle. pH is at 7.2, holding constant since Sunday. Please help! Don't know what's wrong!

Geez. I thought you'd be finished up by now . Things like that happen within the few days following a pH crash, but since the level has been steady recently, I'm stumped to be honest. Any chance you forgot to use the dechlorinator during the pwc?

 

[Clausura]

Geez. I thought you'd be finished up by now . Things like that happen within the few days following a pH crash, but since the level has been steady recently, I'm stumped to be honest. Any chance you forgot to use the dechlorinator during the pwc?

Nope, i put in Prime while the water was filling up, enough for the whole tank. I just put in a bubble wand just now, maybe there was not enough oxygen in the tank as the water surface keeps being covered by this brown layer so I cleared the layer and agitated the surface with a bubble wand. Hopefully I will be able to see something positive tomoro

 

[eco23]

Nope, i put in Prime while the water was filling up, enough for the whole tank. I just put in a bubble wand just now, maybe there was not enough oxygen in the tank as the water surface keeps being covered by this brown layer so I cleared the layer and agitated the surface with a bubble wand. Hopefully I will be able to see something positive tomoro

Brown layer? (sorry if I missed it earlier)

 

[Manix]

How much of the good bacteria would I be disturbing by washing the rings and sponge in tank water?

I'm still in the process of cycling. Does it set it back a day or two since I'm disturbing the media?

 

[eco23]

How much of the good bacteria would I be disturbing by washing the rings and sponge in tank water?

I'm still in the process of cycling. Does it set it back a day or two since I'm disturbing the media?

A light swish in tank or dechlorinated water to remove debris shouldn't be an issue. Just don't go crazy with it.

 

[Clausura]

Brown layer? (sorry if I missed it earlier)

Yup there is always this layer on the surface of my tank water. I use paper towels laid on the surface to remove it. The filter outlet is on one end of my tank. Since my tank is 4 feet long, the other end does not get disturbed much and will form this stagnant layer. I read that this protein layer will reduce gas exchange between air and water. So to remove this layer or stop it fron forming the forumers' advise to agitate the surface with bubbles. Hope I am making sense here.