So I am fishless cycling my 29g, I think I've forgotten some of the principles though. I started of with 5/6 ppm NH3, a couple weeks later I added an extra 2ppm to feed the nitrosomonas sp., anyway now its about halfway cycled:
ammonia: 1ppm
nitrites: 15? ppm, off the scale
nitrates: 50-60ppm
Firstly, is the nitrite spike too big, will it stunt the nitrobacter and keep the tank from being cycled? Is a partial water change called for? Should I add more ammonia to feed the ammonia-eating bacteria? And when/if the cycle is finished, I do complete water change, right? I'm worrying that getting rid of all the water will screw my bacteria and uncycle the tank.
Then, when/if cycled, I expect to spend up to a week adding/arranging plants and aquascaping, before adding fish, for convenience and to avoid fish stress... should I feed the nitrosomonas ammonia to keep them alive? How much?
Next, I am just starting to set up a much larger 55g, I can't use the media from the 29g since its a biowheel and the 55g is going to use an eheim canister, is there any way I can speed up the cycle now that I have bacteria colonies, maybe using some of the gravel or water from the 29g? And yes I know about bio-spira and its off the market right now.
Finally, I'm worrying about my tap water , its about ph 7.1 and 130ppm GH, 80pm KH (or other way around? sorry); its not the hardness by itself that worries me, since its technically "medium-soft", but in the tank the pH has already gone up to 7.6 or so becuase of the gravel. The main thing is, I will be using CO2 injection on the 55g, which should lower the pH significantly, but what about the 29g? At this rate it will soon be fit for Rift Lake fishes, w/out CO2, what is the best thing I can do to bring it down to a range close to that of the CO2-injected 55g, maybe using 50% distilled or rainwater additive?
Thanks, -Fastfish
ammonia: 1ppm
nitrites: 15? ppm, off the scale
nitrates: 50-60ppm
Firstly, is the nitrite spike too big, will it stunt the nitrobacter and keep the tank from being cycled? Is a partial water change called for? Should I add more ammonia to feed the ammonia-eating bacteria? And when/if the cycle is finished, I do complete water change, right? I'm worrying that getting rid of all the water will screw my bacteria and uncycle the tank.
Then, when/if cycled, I expect to spend up to a week adding/arranging plants and aquascaping, before adding fish, for convenience and to avoid fish stress... should I feed the nitrosomonas ammonia to keep them alive? How much?
Next, I am just starting to set up a much larger 55g, I can't use the media from the 29g since its a biowheel and the 55g is going to use an eheim canister, is there any way I can speed up the cycle now that I have bacteria colonies, maybe using some of the gravel or water from the 29g? And yes I know about bio-spira and its off the market right now.
Finally, I'm worrying about my tap water , its about ph 7.1 and 130ppm GH, 80pm KH (or other way around? sorry); its not the hardness by itself that worries me, since its technically "medium-soft", but in the tank the pH has already gone up to 7.6 or so becuase of the gravel. The main thing is, I will be using CO2 injection on the 55g, which should lower the pH significantly, but what about the 29g? At this rate it will soon be fit for Rift Lake fishes, w/out CO2, what is the best thing I can do to bring it down to a range close to that of the CO2-injected 55g, maybe using 50% distilled or rainwater additive?
Thanks, -Fastfish