fishless cycle

[Pam H]

Hi guys,

Whiskers, our gouramis, died. We were through the ammonia problem and I assumed now into the nitrIte spike. He did so well through the ammonia, I thought he would make it. But, no.

Anyway, I am changing the water about 40% every other day. I don't have a nitrite/nitrate testing kit. I'm 30 minutes away from the closest pet store. We do get into "town" occasionally. What should I do now?

I have a 10 gl tank running since Dec 26 or 27. The ammonia is gone. And the fish are too.

Thanks for your time.
Pam

 

[pinballqueen]

So sorry to hear about Whiskers!

Anyhow, to continue your cycle in a fishless manner, get some household ammonia (the kind without detergents, it's clear rather than yellow) next time you're out in town (if you don't already have some in your cleaning cabinet). Monitor your nitrItes, and add enough ammonia to keep your ammonia reading at 5 ppm until you start seeing the nitrites forming and the ammonia starts dropping on its own. If this has already started, then keep watching the tank. When the ammonia and nitrites read 0 and you have nitrAtes present in the water, then it is fully cycled and ready to add fish back into with reasonable safety.

Don't get discouraged, I have lost thousands of $ in the past trying to get the whole "established tank" thing going... you've had the good sense to seek help before you got that far...(when I first got into fishkeeping, there was no such thing as a help forum, only local fish stores, who, quite frankly, usually don't know what they are doing...)

 

[Pam H]

Thanks for your help, PBQ.

Now, I know to expect the milky white appearance during the nitrAte presence, right? But is there a way for me to recognize the nitrIte spike without testing the water? Should I continue to change the water even though there are no more fish? How about just add water as evaporation takes place?

What's the countdown on the pinball prince(ss)?

Pam

 

[carpguy]

There isn't really a good way to do the fishless cycle without a test kit. You can't really figure out the initial dosage and you can't monitor your progress throughout, including knowing when you're done.

If you have clear non-sudsing ammonia on hand you might try using a small dose to keep things under way until you get a chance to get the kits, but its an uncertain thing. On the other hand, if you wait whatever colony is in their now will die back. I've been dosing my 10g with a bit less than a quarter of a teaspoon, but your ammonia may be a different strength, age, etc. You may want to try that and get to the pet store as soon as you get a chance. If the pet store is not a great option you could try ordering online, should be there in a few days and the prices are generally better, even after shipping. Try Big Al's or Drs Foster & Smith.

The milky bloom just indicates some out of whack water conditions, I'm not sure its associated with a particular stage of the cycle. Most people seem to get it, I did during my first fishless, but you may not and I'm not sure that it means NitrAtes anyway. Not really a safe guage.

 

[pinballqueen]

The milky bacterial bloom happens at varying stages of the cycle, usually at the start of the bloom that consumes nitrItes and converts them to nitrAtes, but not always, and some tanks don't cloud up at all. To be honest, I had 2 of these blooms during the last tank I cycled, and will occasionally get them if I do a very large water change, add a fish, or have a fish die. There are quite a few bacteria that are whitish in large numbers, so, I agree that having the testing equipment is the only way to know for sure that you're getting anywhere.

If you don't have any household ammonia and can't manage getting to Walmart to get any (as well as a test kit, they've got a really nice one for $20 or so), you can just continue feeding the tank like you still had fish and this will at least help preserve what bacteria you have for a couple of days. It will make your water pretty nasty, though, so consider yourself warned...

BTW, it's definitely a Pinball Prince, and 5 more weeks, give or take... Thanks for asking!

 

[JSchmidt]

The white cloudy water is caused by a bloom in microorganisms that are separate from those that oxidize ammonia. The ammonia/nitrite eating bacteria mulitply slowly and attach to surfaces in the tank and filter, and they don't have a free-floating "bloom" stage. The organisms that cause the cloudy water are other microorganisms whose populations are out of balance.

White water can occur during a cycle (but often doesn't) and it can also occur in tanks with healthy, mature biofilters. It's a common (and mostly harmless) misconception that white, cloudy water is caused by cycling, but it's not really accurate.

HTH,
Jim

 

[Dabbler II]

Ok now you have this white cloudy water what do you do to clear it up. my tank has bee this way for three week now. I have added plants, turned up the co2 turned the co2 off. I did a 15% water change What do you do

 

[Faramir]

Dabbler - what are your ammonia and nitrite levels?

 

[JSchmidt]

Originally posted by Dabbler II
Ok now you have this white cloudy water what do you do to clear it up. my tank has bee this way for three week now. I have added plants, turned up the co2 turned the co2 off. I did a 15% water change What do you do

Dabbler, in almost all cases, white cloudy water will go away on its own. Trying water clarifiers, etc., often simply prolongs the problem. You can try cutting back on any nutrients getting added to the water column, but that may be difficult with plants.

I had unexplained cloudy water once in a mbuna tank for 5 weeks. It looked like h*ll, but it went way by itself eventually. This is one of those situations where attempts to hasten a cure almost always compound the problem. Patience!

One thing to check: make sure it's really white cloudy water and not a faint green water. Faint green water signifies an algae bloom and requires different care. Put some water in a clear glass and hold it up before a sheet of white paper. You'll instantly know if there is any green whatsoever.

Good luck,
Jim