The (almost) Complete Guide and FAQ to Fishless Cycling

[Irish.OG87]

That's some baby makin mood lighting, hahaha! Don't ask Paul about his cycle, it'll only depress you, lol.

probably...but to be honest...getting my new light will keep me entertained for a bout a month or so. tbh i cant wait to get fish in my tank and see the look on their fishie faces, pristine crystal clear water and a pimped out light hahahaha, disco fever baaaby!!!!

 

[cichlidpaul]

lol
hay dont take the p***

 

[cichlidpaul]

mate where you gone thought you were going to keep your good work up with helping me out lol

 

[eco23]

mate where you gone thought you were going to keep your good work up with helping me out lol

Say what? Aren't you supposed to be asleep? Lol. Did I miss a question? Sorry dude.

 

[shammond15731]

Checked my levels again today ammonia was down to 2ppm again but still no nO2 I also checked the ph since I haven't done that yet and it was 8.4 is that good or bad?

 

[eco23]

Checked my levels again today ammonia was down to 2ppm again but still no nO2 I also checked the ph since I haven't done that yet and it was 8.4 is that good or bad?

Hi Stacy! The pH shouldn't be an issue, only extreme levels tend to influence the cycle. I don't think there is any cause of concern for you, although it is a bit odd that the ammo is dropping that much and no nitrItes have appeared. I'd bet they'll start showing up pretty quickly and will sky rocket up. I think I said this before, but you must just have some constipated bacteria, lol. If it's eating that much...they'll have to go eventually.

If the ammo is still dropping and no2 has still not appeared in a few days...you could take a sample to the lfs to get tested. I've heard of people getting bad batches of the API kit solutions, so it's always a possibility.

 

[Cloudrider]

Well today I tested and The ammo was again at 0. The no2 was........ drum roll please......... blue. Was it the color blue that was on card, not totally. BUT it was NOT purple. PH is still holding at 7-7.2
SO I dosed up ammo again and will check it tomorrow.

Ronnie

 

[Irish.OG87]

Well today I tested and The ammo was again at 0. The No was........ drum roll please......... blue. Was it the color blue that was on card, not totally. BUT it was NOT purple. PH is still holding at 7-7.2
SO I dosed up ammo again and will check it tomorrow.

Ronnie

i wud dose it back to 2ppm of ammonia and make sure the No2 is dropping to zero consistently. Just dose it back up if in 24hrs it is zero ammo and no2 and no3 is below 20-30 ur cycle is completely finished. The reason you do a pwc at the end of ur cycle is if the no3 is waaay high from the constant breakdown of ammonia.

 

[eco23]

Cloudrider, I'd keep it at 4ppm. We'll worry about changing doses later down the road if needed. Sorry Pigeonfood, lol.

 

[Irish.OG87]

Cloudrider, I'd keep it at 4ppm. We'll worry about changing doses later down the road if needed. Sorry Pigeonfood, lol.

Its ok...ur the man for this stuff....figured i cud try and help, thx for stealin my rep points. lol

btw i thought about what we were talkin about last night, its been on my mind all day.

 

[eco23]

Its ok...ur the man for this stuff....figured i cud try and help, thx for stealin my rep points. lol

btw i thought about what we were talkin about last night, its been on my mind all day.

I tried to replace your rep points, but it said I've got to spread some love around first, lol. Are you talking about the career path or the mood lighting from your new fish tank light? Haha!

 

[Cloudrider]

I tried to replace your rep points, but it said I've got to spread some love around first, lol. Are you talking about the career path or the mood lighting from your new fish tank light? Haha!

I gave him some points. Now to test tank again to see just how it's doing.yea I know, overkill but wife wants to see the blue. She is getting excited.
Ok ammo gone. No2 is purple. Wife upset. Lol. I explained it's only been 8 hours. Lol

Ronnie

 

[eco23]

I gave him some points. Now to test tank again to see just how it's doing.yea I know, overkill but wife wants to see the blue. She is getting excited.
Ok ammo gone. No2 is purple. Wife upset. Lol. I explained it's only been 8 hours. Lol

Ronnie

Just FYI...I read through your posts on this thread and saw you've got a 150 gallon tank. The bigger they are, the longer they can take. I explained it earlier in the thread (good luck finding it, lol) where I compared it to a farm. I was being silly, but I think it actually explains it. Seems like everything is going great, but just a heads up...might want to warn the wife (or not) haha!

 

[Cloudrider]

Wife actually ok. I am thinking that the cycle completed last nite. Maybe adding fish Saturday. Purple color is ok tonite as I dosed ammo back up at lunch today. It's been 4 weeks for the cycle. Not to bad. I was just teasing her about no2 being purple now when it was blue at lunch. Yes with help of the fish less cycle guide, I think I am almost there. Will know for sure tomorrow when I test again. But I'm betting will be a nice blue color.
will be time to party.
Ronnie

 

[eco23]

Wife actually ok. I am thinking that the cycle completed last nite. Maybe adding fish Saturday. Purple color is ok tonite as I dosed ammo back up at lunch today. It's been 4 weeks for the cycle. Not to bad. I was just teasing her about no2 being purple now when it was blue at lunch. Yes with help of the fish less cycle guide, I think I am almost there. Will know for sure tomorrow when I test again. But I'm betting will be a nice blue color.
will be time to party.
Ronnie

Awesome. Make sure it's dropping 4ppm ammo down to 0 and 0 no2 within 24 hours. Remember the huge pwc (with dechlorinator), and turn the temp down so you don't cook the fish!

Post some pics here when you get some swimmers

 

[Irish.OG87]

Awesome. Make sure it's dropping 4ppm ammo down to 0 and 0 no2 within 24 hours. Remember the huge pwc (with dechlorinator), and turn the temp down so you don't cook the fish!

Post some pics here when you get some swimmers

does he really need to do the pwc? i mean do we even know wat is no3 lvls are?, if no3 its low enough i wudnt know why u wud have to do it,

 

[eco23]

does he really need to do the pwc? i mean do we even know wat is no3 lvls are?, if no3 its low enough i wudnt know why u wud have to do it,

The completed cycle virtually always causes ridiculously high no3 levels. They've gotta be below 20 to stock.

The other reason is to get a head start. Once you have fish the no3 will constantly climb. Weekly pwc's, plants and late stages of the nitrogen cycle can help keep them in check...but it's best to get them as absolutely low as possible before you ever add fish.

You also need to restore the nutrients and buffers to the water. The last couple days of a cycle eats a huge chunk of those things, and can unstabilize the water.

Sorry, lol. I'll try and give you some points again, haha.

 

[Irish.OG87]

Its fine...was just curious.

 

[Cloudrider]

Awesome. Make sure it's dropping 4ppm ammo down to 0 and 0 no2 within 24 hours. Remember the huge pwc (with dechlorinator), and turn the temp down so you don't cook the fish!

Post some pics here when you get some swimmers

Ammo 0 this morning. No2 = 0!!!!!!!!! No3 have not checked again. Will do that this evening. Temp already lowered to 78. Planning the pwc this evening.

Party Time.

 

[eco23]

Ammo 0 this morning. No2 = 0!!!!!!!!! No3 have not checked again. Will do that this evening. Temp already lowered to 78. Planning the pwc this evening.

Party Time.

Fantastic job! Just a warning...don't freak out if you've got low levels of ammo or no2 in the hours after the big pwc. If your tap water has chloramines, it will test positive for them and you can watch the transition from ammo > no2 > no3. Your new bio-filter will gobble it up...just didn't want you to have a stroke if it looked like things had gone backwards. Congratulations! I can't wait to see pics!