Hi!
I am fishless cycling a 36 gallon bow front freshwater tank with play sand substrate. I started this cycle 7/26/04 using Albertson's brand clear ammonia.
At the beginning of the cycle I added way too much ammonia (test read 8 ppm) and on 7/30/04 I changed out enough water for the test to read 5 ppm.
On 8/29/04 I added two large pieces of driftwood that I had previously soaked for about a month and about 10 additional pounds of play sand.
As of 9/30/04 I finally registered .25 Nitrite and 10 ppm Nitrate.
10/01/01 Nitrite tested at .50
10/02/04 Nitrite tested at 2
10/03/04 Nitrite tested at 5
10/04/04 Nitrite tested at 5
At this point I decided that I'd order plants thinking the cycle was soon to be over (10 Vals, 2 anubias, 2 bunches Rotala and some Java Moss).
10/05/04 Nitrite tested at 3
10/06/04 Nitrite tested at 2 - Nitrate 20 ppm
10/07/04 I planted the above plants and did not test
10/08/04 Nitrite tested at .75 - Nitrate 20 ppm
10/09/04 Nitrite tested at .25
10/10/04 Nitrite tested at .25 - Nitrate 80 ppm
10/11/04 Nitrite tested at .10 maybe - Nitrate 80 ppm
My confusion is that this morning my ammonia tested at 4 ppm. During the nitrite spike, my ammonia would test between 1 and 2 ppm and I would add enough ammonia to bring it up to 3 or 4 ppm and the next day it would drop to about 1 or 2. Today there was no drop in the ammonia from yesterday and nitrite is almost at 0.
These are my current numbers:
Ammonia - 4 ppm
Nitrite - .10
Nitrate - 80 ppm
pH - 8.0-8.2 (this has not changed throughout the cycle)
Temp - 80-82
I do not currently have kH or gH test kits.
This is my current set up:
36 gallon All-Glass Bow Front
Rena XP1
Play Sand Substrate
150 watt Rena Heater (not needed at present)
2 20 watt daylight lights and lots of indirect sunlight
Lake driftwood, river rocks and plants
This cycle has taken a frustratingly long time and I'd just like to know if I'm almost there or doing something wrong?
Any input would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you for your time!
Christine :0)
(Edited to add photo)
I am fishless cycling a 36 gallon bow front freshwater tank with play sand substrate. I started this cycle 7/26/04 using Albertson's brand clear ammonia.
At the beginning of the cycle I added way too much ammonia (test read 8 ppm) and on 7/30/04 I changed out enough water for the test to read 5 ppm.
On 8/29/04 I added two large pieces of driftwood that I had previously soaked for about a month and about 10 additional pounds of play sand.
As of 9/30/04 I finally registered .25 Nitrite and 10 ppm Nitrate.
10/01/01 Nitrite tested at .50
10/02/04 Nitrite tested at 2
10/03/04 Nitrite tested at 5
10/04/04 Nitrite tested at 5
At this point I decided that I'd order plants thinking the cycle was soon to be over (10 Vals, 2 anubias, 2 bunches Rotala and some Java Moss).
10/05/04 Nitrite tested at 3
10/06/04 Nitrite tested at 2 - Nitrate 20 ppm
10/07/04 I planted the above plants and did not test
10/08/04 Nitrite tested at .75 - Nitrate 20 ppm
10/09/04 Nitrite tested at .25
10/10/04 Nitrite tested at .25 - Nitrate 80 ppm
10/11/04 Nitrite tested at .10 maybe - Nitrate 80 ppm
My confusion is that this morning my ammonia tested at 4 ppm. During the nitrite spike, my ammonia would test between 1 and 2 ppm and I would add enough ammonia to bring it up to 3 or 4 ppm and the next day it would drop to about 1 or 2. Today there was no drop in the ammonia from yesterday and nitrite is almost at 0.
These are my current numbers:
Ammonia - 4 ppm
Nitrite - .10
Nitrate - 80 ppm
pH - 8.0-8.2 (this has not changed throughout the cycle)
Temp - 80-82
I do not currently have kH or gH test kits.
This is my current set up:
36 gallon All-Glass Bow Front
Rena XP1
Play Sand Substrate
150 watt Rena Heater (not needed at present)
2 20 watt daylight lights and lots of indirect sunlight
Lake driftwood, river rocks and plants
This cycle has taken a frustratingly long time and I'd just like to know if I'm almost there or doing something wrong?
Any input would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you for your time!
Christine :0)
(Edited to add photo)
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