fishless cycling ALMOST done,Nitrite 0 but Amm. .50

[shar]

Hi All,
I hope the next time I post I'll be talking about the new bala's in the tank.

Fishless cycling 120 gallon. Just now for the 1st time nitrites are 0 :D but the ammonia is .50.

in a nutshell

Amm. .50
NitrIte 0 (1st time)
Kh 80
PH 6.0
NitriAte 10 (1st time checking)
Temp 82 (lowering to 78 now that cycle hopefully almost complete)

Did a water change on 7/17/04 as we had a Ph crash(thanks for info RTR)

Should we dose the tank as usual and see what tomorrow's test brings? or is there something else that should be done?

Thanks,

Shar

[anonapersona]

No ammonia is good.

0.50 ammonia is not good.

Keep going, it will balance out, but you are not there yet. The pH crash has hurt the ammonia consuming bacteria, they will come back, be patient.

[shar]

Thank-you, we will stay the course.

[daveedka]

Agreed with anonapersona, just make sure you keep your Kh climbing. I still see a ph of 6.0, I don't know hoew to convert your KH 80 ( I am not at home to refernce things, and was trained on ppm) but the ph itself indicates a low kh. Are you still in the process of slowly raising it? other than that you will be fine with some patience, and since the ammonia eaters tend to show up faster (IME) you shouldn't have long to wait.

In any case, keep bringing the ammonia level back up to 3-5 ppm each day untill the bacteria consumes it all in one 24 hour period.
dave

[shar]

I've been a bit concerned about the ph as well. After the 40% waterchange the ph came back up to 6.8 but dropped back to 6.0 24 hrs later and has stayed there since 7-19-04,but the KH has remained between 40 and 80.Haven't done anything more but dose with Ammonia.

Tonights readings:

Amm. 4.0
kh between 40-80
NitrIte 0
ph 6.0(as low as the card shows)
NitrAtes 80

Tonight the Ammonia is still high. From all that I'm trying to learn it's seems now my bacteria is not working as well as they should and my low Ph has something to do with that?

Is a water change in order now? and if so should I be doing one daily until the ph stays up? (tap KH is 120)

I'm not trying to rush anything,and I'm more than willing to be patient if that's what's needed right now(this tank has taught me all kinds of new things about being patient) but also want to head off another crash If we are heading that way.

thanks for any help...

Shar

[daveedka]

I would continue to slowly raise the KH via water changes and or adding a small amount of Baking soda to your change water. the tap Kh should be your goal for starters, if you want it higher, a small amount of baking soda will raise the Kh a bit. I use one level teaspoon of baking soda to raise 30 gallons of water 1 ppm. The fact that the Ph is returning to a low level, indicates the buffer is being eaten up quickly, I would also take some water to your LFS when possible and have it tested, this is a good way to verify your home test kits. Every once in a while you get a screwy test kit. If they try to sell you some ph Fixers just tell them you already have what you need, and they should leave you alone.
Dave

[shar]

thanks dave, we will start daily water changes and add some baking soda if that doesn't help.
I wanted to post our before and after readings after the water change we just did at 6:30 pm est.

Before:
amm 2.0
Kh 0 ( bad,dropped from last night)
NitrIte 0
ph 6.0
Nitrates 10


1 hour after 50% water change:

Amm 1.0
Kh 80
nitrIte 0
ph 6.8
Nitrates 80

Tap- kh 120 , ph 7.2

tonight going to dose and bring Amm. back up to 5 ppm,retest in 24 hrs,if ph and kh drops again will add the baking soda,

When we've completly cycled, the water becomes stable right? or will we have to continue with this to maintain it?

thanks,

Shar

[daveedka]

When we've completly cycled, the water becomes stable right? or will we have to continue with this to maintain it?

If I did the calculations correctly (not likely) your tap KH level will be fine for continued stability. The fishless cycle eats up buffer very quickly, once your tank is stocked and stable 120 should do nicely assuming good maintenance and water changes.

3* DKH is the low end of the safety zone IMO, definately the low end in a planted tank. that equates to 53.7 ppm if I understand the test kit instructions properly. Your tap far exceeds that.

On another note, your tap KH and PH correlation indicate a lot of Co2 ( once agian that's assuming I calculated things correctly). Let your tap water sit out in a shallow bowl overnight, and test the ph. KH shouldn't change, but If I had to guess I'd put the Ph somewhere in the 7.6- 8.2 range once the co2 gasses off ( just a s.w.a.g on my part). This is eventually the range your tank will stabilize at if you aren't injecting Co2 for plants. Your fish won't mind, I'm just giving you a heads up.
Dave

[shar]

Dave; thanks for doing the brain work on that! my mind gets so confunddled with learning all this, tho I am enjoying this learning process with the hope that one day there will be actual fishes swimming around:D

I see that once we are stable and with proper maintence we should be good, in a way I'm glad there's bumps now and not when we've got fish to worry about.

Did another 50% water change today, and added the siponed gravel gunk from the 35 hex to the cannister filter.

I'ts actually a non-planted tank at this point, tho Im open to adding plants later on, just have few fake ones for now.

I have the tap water sitting out and will check it tommorrow AM, thanks for the information, appreciate it very much.



Cheers!

Shar