?? about fishless cycling & biospira

T

TracyRee

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May 16, 2008
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Hello there. I'm brand new and full of questions.

I have a 3gallon eclipse tank that I'm in the process of cycling.

I started with just a fishless cycle using pure ammonia. I then learned about Bio-Spira and added that on Monday. I haven't added any ammonia since as I've been waiting for the ammonia and nitrItes to go to zero.

So far (Friday), I still have ammonia and nitrItes, they've been going down slowly.

Here are my readings for the week:

Ammonia NitrItes NitrAtes
Monday 4 0 0
Tuesday 4 .25 5
Wednesday 2 .5 5
Thursday 1 5 10
Friday .5 5 20



Questions:

1- Is the tank considered cycled because I added bio-spira and it's ready to just do a 100% water change and add fish?

2- If not and I have to wait for ammonia and nitrItes to drop naturally first, will the ammonia converting bacteria die off if the nitrItes take too long to go down int he meantime?

We are going to be gone Saturday monring through Sunday night and I'm worried about leaving the tank without an ammonia source while I'm in the final stages of cycling it.

THANKS!!!!
 
KarlTh said:
No. Keep feeding ammonia to 2ppm (it looks like you're into the nitrite stage)
Click to expand...


If I keep feeding ammonia, how will I know when it's cycled? I mean, if I keep adding ammonia, won't that keep converting to nitrItes and I'll never get zero readings?
 
If you had a fish in there the fish would be producing waste and therefore ammonia. I've never done a fishless cycle but I'd imagine you should be adding just enough ammonia to equal to what the fish would produce. The reason your ammonia readings are at 0 now is because you have the bacteria in place to get rid of it. The next step is the nitrites. Keep doing what you're doing because it's working your nitrites are going down. Next step will be your nitrates going up. Once ammonia and nitrites are at 0 your tank is cycled. I don't think it's necessary to change out 100% of your water at that point. As I've said I've never cycled this way I've always used filter media and gravel from an established tank to get my bacteria started plus loads of plants. Many people here have done fishless cycles and if any info I've given is wrong hopefully they'll straighten it out. As far as I can tell by what you've posted you're doing everything right.

About the time you'll be away I can't answer that - I have no clue if you'd add extra ammonia for that short a time. Your cycle shouldn't be shot being away overnight. Anyone reading my post please correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think it would hurt to add a couple of flakes of food before you go. Uneaten food also converts to ammonia so....
 
TracyRee said:
If I keep feeding ammonia, how will I know when it's cycled? I mean, if I keep adding ammonia, won't that keep converting to nitrItes and I'll never get zero readings?
Click to expand...


Keep adding the ammonia.

You will know its cycled when your readings are NH3=0, N02=0, and NO3=20+
 
H3D said:
Keep adding the ammonia.

You will know its cycled when your readings are NH3=0, N02=0, and NO3=20+
Click to expand...


I guess I am confused because NH3 isn't going to equal zero if I keep adding it.

Is it after a certain amount of time then?
 
Ammonia NitrItes NitrAtes
Monday 4 0 0
Tuesday 4 .25 5
Wednesday 2 .5 5
Thursday 1 5 10
Friday .5 5 20

Quote

Sorry for any confusion I caused. Your ammonia is almost at 0 which is good. You're now dealing with the nitrites which will eventually also read 0. You're doing everything right.

Thanks h3d. What does Tracy do with the tank while she's away overnight. Will this affect her cycle?
 
Tracy, I don't know if this will help but think of the ammonia you're adding as if it were fish waste or fish food. There will always be ammonia being produced in your tank. What you're doing right now is building up a colony of bacteria that feeds on the ammonia. Once that colony is in place and nitrites also read 0 you won't have toxic levels of ammonia or nitrite which will kill the fish. It's called a cycle because you're going through stages to reach the point where the tank is safe for the fish. The beneficial bacteria which gets rid of the ammonia the fish will produce needs to be fed in order to stay alive. They're feeding on ammonia.
 
From Sticky:

(2) Fishless Cycling

Just as it sounds, you can establish the cycling environment without any fish. This method does not pose any threat to fish, establishes a large bacteria colony allowing full stocking upon completion and gives you time to decide on what fish you want.

When establishing a tank with this method, you will use a source of ammonia to initiate the nitrogen cycle. After your tank is set up, add water and treat for chlorine/chloramines. Your filtering systems and heaters should be in place and operating to your satisfaction.

Add ammonia to bring the tank to a concentration of 5 ppm. The amount you add will vary with the size tank you have. Do not be in a rush. Add small amounts and test, repeating as necessary. If you get it too high, you can drain and refill.

Now the hurry up and wait part happens. Every two days, test your ammonia level in the tank. When the ammonia levels start dropping, add additional ammonia as required to keep the ammonia at 3-4 ppm, start daily testing and test for ammonia and nitrites. Nitrites should be developing as ammonia goes away. This first stage could take 1-3 weeks.

When you see the test results showing Nitrites, start maintaining your ammonia at the 2-3 ppm range. The nitrites increasing reflect you are in to the second stage. Continue daily testing for ammonia and maintain the tank in the 3 ppm range. You will see nitrites climb so high they will be off the scale for a reading. This will continue for one to two weeks and it will seem the nitrites are never going to go away.

There will be a day where you test and the nitrites have completely disappeared, thus, the bacteria that convert them to nitrates have established themselves. When you see this drop to zero on nitrites, dose ammonia in the tank to about 5 ppm, and wait 24 hours. If at the end of that period, ammonia and nitrites are zero, your cycle has been established. Test for nitrates, and do a 75-90% water change. Pull your water down to 20 ppm nitrates and add the fish! If you have to wait to get your fish, keep the cycle established by dosing more ammonia, but you may have to do another water change before adding your fish.

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Hope this helps.
 
Adding ammonia 'once' does nothing. The bacteria feed on it, the levels go to zero, then the bacteria starve and begin to die. Defeats the whole purpose of adding ammonia to begin with. You have to feed your bacteria daily until the population grows large enough to consume 2ppm of ammonia. If there are enough bacteria present, they'll quickly consume that level of ammonia, requiring daily dosing to keep them alive until both ammonia and nitrite levels remain steady at '0'. Then and only then you'll know you have enough bacteria to support a fish load.

Keep in mind your goal isn't to keep 2ppm of ammonia in the tank, but rather to feed the bacteria 2ppm of ammonia daily. They'll quickly reduce it to zero when you have enough bacteria.
 
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