I got my Aquaclear Mini filter, Ebo Jagar 50w heater, 10 gallon All- Glass Aquarium, 15 pounds of gravel, a few ornaments and fake plants. I added some gravel from an established tank they had at the pet store. I also added some Pure Ammonia to raise it to 4ppm. I am keeping everything on and testing daily and writing down the results. Today is day one and after a few weeks when hopefully the Ammonia drops to zero I will add about a liitle more ammonia to rasie the Nitrate or is it NitRITE? When the nit can drop to 0 within 24 hours I can start adding fish slowly so I don't force the bio-load? thanks
Is this correct?
- Thread starter Hpisavage21
- Start date
As your ammonia level decreases your nitrite level will increase automatically since its the waste product of bacteria that process ammonia. When you show zero ammonia you should have a pretty high spike of nitrites. At some point though your nitrites will level off and you will start showing nitrate in the water. The nitrite eating bacteria are slower growing than the ammonia eating ones (I believe). Anyway for a fishless cycle I'm thinking the idea is to add a set amount of ammonia every day. Essentially speaking if you wait until the nitrite eating bacteria develop before adding fish or more ammonia, then the ammonia eating bacteria might die from starvation causing your cycle to break down in the middle.
You should be able to reach a point where you can add an amount of ammonia and test the next day getting zero ammonia, zero nitrite, and some level of nitrate that will have to be controlled by plants, algae, and water removal.
Keep in mind, fish -> waste product -> ammonia -> nitrite -> nitrate -> plants and algae (food for fish and other things that will produce waste product again).
You should be able to reach a point where you can add an amount of ammonia and test the next day getting zero ammonia, zero nitrite, and some level of nitrate that will have to be controlled by plants, algae, and water removal.
Keep in mind, fish -> waste product -> ammonia -> nitrite -> nitrate -> plants and algae (food for fish and other things that will produce waste product again).
No, adding a set amount of ammonia every day before the ammonia-oxidizing bacteria are present in numbers can be counter-productive. Excess ammonia can be be inhibitory to the bacteria.
The idea is to maintain a titer of 2-4ppm ammonia until nitrite is detected, then you can cut the ammonia titer in half through the nitrite phase.
Also you need to monitor the pH. The pH can drift downward in soft water to levels that also inhibit bacterial growth.
For details, see:
http://www.tropicalfishcentre.co.uk/Fishlesscycle.htm
The idea is to maintain a titer of 2-4ppm ammonia until nitrite is detected, then you can cut the ammonia titer in half through the nitrite phase.
Also you need to monitor the pH. The pH can drift downward in soft water to levels that also inhibit bacterial growth.
For details, see:
http://www.tropicalfishcentre.co.uk/Fishlesscycle.htm
When the Nitrite is detected add only enough ammonia to keep it around 1-2 ppm right?
http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=19383;category_id=2255 Im getting this and a seperate NitRATE test since that only includes Nitrate.. How good is this kit?
http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=19383;category_id=2255 Im getting this and a seperate NitRATE test since that only includes Nitrate.. How good is this kit?
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No, when you first start off (regardless of nitrites) make sure you keep ammonia between 2-4 ppm.
...it will be a little while before you have to worry about nitrates but when your tank cycles and you begin keeping fish try to keep nitrates below 40 ppm. I would try even harder, to keep them below 25-30 ppm.
...it will be a little while before you have to worry about nitrates but when your tank cycles and you begin keeping fish try to keep nitrates below 40 ppm. I would try even harder, to keep them below 25-30 ppm.
Agree w/AFG's nitrate titers, and with the lowest possible being the best.
A pH below 6.5 can slow down the bacteria.
A pH below 6.5 can slow down the bacteria.