Fishless Cycle Diary

Day 10: optimal Ammonia level experiment started

NH3 - 0
NO2 - 2+
pH - 6.5

NH3 dosed 4cc ~ 4ppm

The nitrification/acidification is back on track.
In the interest of science, I am going to empirically :look: for the optimal NH3 level. So I upped the NH3 dosing from 3ppm to 4ppm today, and shall up it 1 ppm daily till I find the top of the curve.

And yes, I do realize that one experiment does not a proper scientific experiment make :)
 
Day 11:

NH3 - 1ppm
NO2 - 2+
pH 6.2

So they only consumed 3 ppm of NH3 overnight.
I now realize that I should start at 1ppm NH3, and work my way up to see what works. So I did not dose more Ammonia, and will see how it does with 1ppm Ammonia only.

Also seems like all my waters buffering capability has been used up, and the pH is about to fall off my API test kit's range. I'll see what conventional wisdom is on that.

Summary -
New ammonia experiment starting at 1ppm dosing level.....
pH being investigated.
 
Day 12:

DAY 12:
NH3 - 1 ppm (still - uh oh )
NO2 - 2+
pH - 6.4 (actually higher - a little bit - could have been test error - my 4 yr old is the pH and nitrite tester, while the 7yr old does the 8+8 drops for ammonia)


interesting that it did not consume 1ppm nh3 overnight. maybe those bacteria need some trace elements and phosphates etc. So I put two crushed flakes (Tetra brand - my danios spit these out) in the filter - to provide some fresh food for the bacteria.

Is it possible that the low pH may have stalled the first stage bacteria?

If I dont see progress in a couple days, I may have to do a full water change and re-dose with ammonia.
 
Very interesting stuff! I hope my posting doesn't throw off your successive days, but I just had to say; who needs fish when you've got bacteria? The next phase has got to be giving it a proper name. ;)
All kidding aside, once I begin properly cycling my tank, I'm sure I'll be referring to this post! Thanks for sharing all the details!
 
Day 13,14

Day 13:
no test

Day 14:
NH3 1.0 steady
NO2 2+
pH 6.0

looks like I may be in stall zone. I don't understand why my NH3 is not going to zero - unless the sharply acidic water is inhibiting nitrifying bacteria.

The two flakes I added on day 11 could not be providing enough ammonia to cause this stagnation. If today's test yields similarly stalled results, maybe I should indeed do the full water change and re-dose ammonia. Any input would be welcome!!

Some good news. In my fishy tank the NO2 actually is starting to inch down - maybe that is ready to cycle!! If that is actually the case, I will have much more flexibility to keep this fishless cycle experiment going despite stalls.
 
Day 15:

:rant2: that stall.
NH3 - 1.0
Nitrite 2+
pH 6.2

K I feel stalled - or I am too impatient. This is my last water change in the tank. the parameters have not changed in a while, and the 1ppm ammonia is not getting consumed. Is it possible that the high nitrite level is messin' up my ammonia reading - I'm using the AP FW master test kit.
Anyway - I did a full water change. drained all, refilled with conditioned water at 80. The only water remaining was in the whisper 10 filter and maybe a few cups or so in the gravel. I did use a gravel vac shoved to the base to drain as much as I could.
Before adding anything the water parameters were
NH3 - 0
Nitrites - 1 to 2 !!!:eek:
pH 6.8

Then I added 3 cc NH3 to get the tank to
NH3 - 3-4 ppm (tested)
Nitrites - 1.5 (tested by dilution method)
pH - 7.8

Now those darn bacteria can not complain - and they HAD BETTER GET TO WORK or THEY'S GONNA BE FIRED!!!!!:mad2:

:OT: The good news is that my fishy tank nitrites are coming down. from close to 1.0, in a couple days they are down to 0.1. NH3 was 0 too, with pH about 7.5. Now, if that tank cycles first - I am going to HAVE to load it up with my school of cardinals - 2 at a time......:D
 
DAY 16

Day 16:
NH3 1
Nitrites - 2+
pH - 6.6

So at least they can still take NH3 from 4-5ppm to 1ppm in 24h.
Just to check, I tested the NO2 by diluting 2cctank w 3 cc tap -
NO2 tested 2+ => 5+
then I tried diluting 1cc tank w/ 4cc tap -
NO2 tested 2+ => nitrites > 8ppm
I will just assume they are real high (like 10+ ppm)and leave it at that.
My other tank has cycled, but I am going to let this continue to finish the experiment. how far can the nitrospira / nitrobacter (whichever) be?

fingers crossed
 
Fishless cycle / Nitrite testing observation

I noted, from my experiments yesterday that much beyond 2 there is no change per se. I checked my nitrites full strength, watered down 150%, and watered down 400%, and got the same color in the testtube - real dark. technically, the reference sheet lists 2 & 5 ppm results, but IMO the water color looked between 2 & 5 in each of the cases above. I did observe that with undiluted water, the color turned immediately, while with 1:5 dilution, it took a few minutes to develop. (kit says 5 mins needed)

SO for those doing fishless, once the nitrites go over 2, you can probably assume they could be anywhere above - as high as in the teens!! Or if you are terminally curious, you can dilute tank water precisely (e.g. with a 1cc syringe) and scale the result.

I know I was curious as to where the Ammonia source Nitrogen was going, since my nitrites were not climbing. They were climbing , they were just firmly outside the reach of the AP test kit.
 
Day 17:

Day 17:
NH3 - 0ppm (Yay)
NO2 - 8-10 ppm - (0.5cc tank, 4.5cc tap => almost but under 1.0 - seems like NO2 is on the way down)
pH - 6.6 (?rising? :confused:)

Rats!! I wish I had thought of doing 1:10 ratio nitrite tests before - then I might actually see the nitrites moving, which would be very satisfying. However, at least I think they are on the way down, since yesterday they seemed over 10.
Additionally, my cycled tank has pH in the 7s, I am hoping that the rising pH is also a sign of the nitrites going away. I think the nitrites (nitrous acid) are more acidic than the nitrates - (could be dead wrong)
I am going to dose the tank with 2cc of NH3 to get 2ppm ammonia. got to feed the li'l critters...
 
Day 18:

Day 18:
NH3 - 0
NO2 - 20 (1:10 diluted tank water - 2ppm nitrtites)
pH - 6.4


the NO2 readings are somewhat subject to interpretation - since the reading has to be multiplied by 10! But they sure aren't low!!!

Will dose again to 2-3 ppm NH3 and bide my time.
 
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