Newbie with Red Cherry Shrimps, need help asap!
- Thread starter boobiebutt
- Start date
Day 60 (6/10):
Ammonia - 1 ppm
Nitrite - 0 ppm
Nitrate - N/A
I think the cycle is almost done. I will retest the ammonia around 10-11 pm which will be about 24 hours from the last time I added ammonia to see if ammonia will be 0. If so I will add ammonia to make it approximately 3 ppm again. I will continue until ammonia/nitrites will both read zero after a 24 hour period for at least a few days.
I will update later tonight with another ammonia test.
Ammonia - 1 ppm
Nitrite - 0 ppm
Nitrate - N/A
I think the cycle is almost done. I will retest the ammonia around 10-11 pm which will be about 24 hours from the last time I added ammonia to see if ammonia will be 0. If so I will add ammonia to make it approximately 3 ppm again. I will continue until ammonia/nitrites will both read zero after a 24 hour period for at least a few days.
I will update later tonight with another ammonia test.
Retested and ammonia is still at 1 ppm. I added a little less ammonia then normal so it is about 3 ppm.
I will retest tomorrow to see if ammonia drops and nitrites remain at zero.
I will retest tomorrow to see if ammonia drops and nitrites remain at zero.
Day 61 (6/11):
Ammonia - 1 ppm
Nitrite - 0 ppm
Nitrate - N/A
I'm sort of stumped as to why my ammonia turns to zero after all those days I add exactly 4 mL of ammonia to the tank. But as soon as nitrites drop to zero, there is a little left over ammonia that is not converted.
I added only 3 mL yesterday and today since there was a little ammonia in the water.
I also won't be home this weekend but I got someone to add approximately 3 mL of ammonia a day until I will be back. I'd rather dose a little less ammonia then too much and stall the cycle like I have earlier in this thread.
Ammonia - 1 ppm
Nitrite - 0 ppm
Nitrate - N/A
I'm sort of stumped as to why my ammonia turns to zero after all those days I add exactly 4 mL of ammonia to the tank. But as soon as nitrites drop to zero, there is a little left over ammonia that is not converted.
I added only 3 mL yesterday and today since there was a little ammonia in the water.
I also won't be home this weekend but I got someone to add approximately 3 mL of ammonia a day until I will be back. I'd rather dose a little less ammonia then too much and stall the cycle like I have earlier in this thread.
Day 62-70: N/A
I had someone add 3 mL of ammonia from 6.12/6.14 but I didn't get home until 6.15 so I think there might have been a day skipped. I was also sick in bed again from Tues.-Fri. but I managed to stumble downstairs to add ammonia 3 mL a day.
Today I'm actually up out of bed and can function somewhat and I tested the water parameters.
Ammonia - off the charts
Nitrite - off the charts
Nitrate - N/A
I'm basically starting at square one, once again. *facedesk* This is really frustrating and annoying but what can I say. I didn't not that bacteria die off can be so extreme from only 1 day of not having an ammonia source.
Did a 40% water change and tested parameters.
Ammonia - 1 ppm
Nitrite - N/A
Nitrate - N/A
Adding 3 mL ammonia.
Also all 4 cherry shrimp are still alive and so are the snails. I also started to see little dots crawling across the class which at first I thought were more copepods. But upon closer inspection, I think they might be baby snails. I'm not sure where they laid eggs, where they hatched, but I'm assuming the water parameters on the 2.5 are good. I do a 30-40% water change and a 50-60% water change a week.
Also I can't find crushed coral at my local Pet'smart or Petco. Does anyone have any suggestions on where to buy small amounts of crushed coral to place into a filter? Or can anyone just send me a handful in the mail somehow (I'm assuming that should be enough for a 10 gallon)?
And does anyone live in the Central NJ area around New Brunswick by Rutgers that could possibly share some seeded filter media?
*sigh*
I had someone add 3 mL of ammonia from 6.12/6.14 but I didn't get home until 6.15 so I think there might have been a day skipped. I was also sick in bed again from Tues.-Fri. but I managed to stumble downstairs to add ammonia 3 mL a day.
Today I'm actually up out of bed and can function somewhat and I tested the water parameters.
Ammonia - off the charts
Nitrite - off the charts
Nitrate - N/A
I'm basically starting at square one, once again. *facedesk* This is really frustrating and annoying but what can I say. I didn't not that bacteria die off can be so extreme from only 1 day of not having an ammonia source.
Did a 40% water change and tested parameters.
Ammonia - 1 ppm
Nitrite - N/A
Nitrate - N/A
Adding 3 mL ammonia.
Also all 4 cherry shrimp are still alive and so are the snails. I also started to see little dots crawling across the class which at first I thought were more copepods. But upon closer inspection, I think they might be baby snails. I'm not sure where they laid eggs, where they hatched, but I'm assuming the water parameters on the 2.5 are good. I do a 30-40% water change and a 50-60% water change a week.
Also I can't find crushed coral at my local Pet'smart or Petco. Does anyone have any suggestions on where to buy small amounts of crushed coral to place into a filter? Or can anyone just send me a handful in the mail somehow (I'm assuming that should be enough for a 10 gallon)?
And does anyone live in the Central NJ area around New Brunswick by Rutgers that could possibly share some seeded filter media?
*sigh*
Test for PH and make sure it's above 6.0
I haven't been following, but why are you cycling a tank for a RCS help thread? Maybe spin off to another thread?
I haven't been following, but why are you cycling a tank for a RCS help thread? Maybe spin off to another thread?
6/22
Ammonia - 0 ppm
Nitrite - 0 ppm
Nitrate - N/A
I think this is a good sign. I just added 3.5 mL of ammonia and I will retest before I sleep to see how much ammonia is in the water.
My KH is really low though so if that is still low after all my water changed when the cycle is complete, I will be adding a small HOB filter with some crushed coral along with my sponge filter.
Ammonia - 0 ppm
Nitrite - 0 ppm
Nitrate - N/A
I think this is a good sign. I just added 3.5 mL of ammonia and I will retest before I sleep to see how much ammonia is in the water.
I'll do that and post results when I retest my ammonia later tonight. My tap at tap and in my smaller tank is at 7.5 but this larger cycling tank drops down to 6. Someone mentioned it's normal for fishless cycling tanks. As of now I'm not worried about the pH too much until I have it fully cycled and I change out all the old water, the pH should be stable.
My KH is really low though so if that is still low after all my water changed when the cycle is complete, I will be adding a small HOB filter with some crushed coral along with my sponge filter.
Good idea. Thanks for the suggestion. I'll do that after it's cycled.
Ammonia is about 3-4 ppm which is right where it needs to be. The pH however is at 9.0 for some weird reason. I guess this is from when I added some baking soda at an attempt to bring up the pH from 6.0.
I plan to ignore the pH until my tank is 100% fully cycled, after multiple large water changes are done, and the tank is stable after all those water changes. The pH should be 7.5 like my tap because the 2.5 gallon I also keep doesnt change in pH ever. But if it happens to, I'll add crushed coral.
Also I forgot to answer shawnhu. This was at first a help thread but a suggestion from the original help thread suggested a 'dry' start for my shrimps I got as a present but I decided to cycle instead and posted my results as it was part of the suggestion of the help thread.
I plan to ignore the pH until my tank is 100% fully cycled, after multiple large water changes are done, and the tank is stable after all those water changes. The pH should be 7.5 like my tap because the 2.5 gallon I also keep doesnt change in pH ever. But if it happens to, I'll add crushed coral.
Also I forgot to answer shawnhu. This was at first a help thread but a suggestion from the original help thread suggested a 'dry' start for my shrimps I got as a present but I decided to cycle instead and posted my results as it was part of the suggestion of the help thread.
bobbie- try using a ph stabalizer, it raises alk as well, they are pretty cheap too.
crushed coral will disolve and increase the amount of calcium carbonate, making your gh test higher, shouldn't harm shrim though.
don't think of your ammonia going up when you add it as starting from square one, when this happens you are making the cycle stronger. the higher your ammonia is durring cycle the more bacteria you will have.
i know people who did a 4 week cycle on a reef tank. the first week and a half he kept ammonia way off the charts. by the end of the fourth wek everything was stable. 2 days later he added all 11 of his fishg, including a huge achiles tang.
never had an ammoina or nitrite spike, and nitrates are at 0-2 consistantly.
hth
and just because i saw someone post tis on the first page.
the bottles to help cycling aren;t fullof "good bacteria" its full of a catalystic enzyme( redundant?) that causes them to breed fatser. 8b
crushed coral will disolve and increase the amount of calcium carbonate, making your gh test higher, shouldn't harm shrim though.
don't think of your ammonia going up when you add it as starting from square one, when this happens you are making the cycle stronger. the higher your ammonia is durring cycle the more bacteria you will have.
i know people who did a 4 week cycle on a reef tank. the first week and a half he kept ammonia way off the charts. by the end of the fourth wek everything was stable. 2 days later he added all 11 of his fishg, including a huge achiles tang.
never had an ammoina or nitrite spike, and nitrates are at 0-2 consistantly.
hth
and just because i saw someone post tis on the first page.
the bottles to help cycling aren;t fullof "good bacteria" its full of a catalystic enzyme( redundant?) that causes them to breed fatser. 8b
