Not your average cycle question

[schapman1886]

I'm going to check the local ace hardware, hopefully they will have some! What is the best method for dosing ammonia?

I would assume I would try to calculate what I need, but what should I bring the ammonia level to? I've seen people suggesting 5 ppm?

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[jpappy789]

3-5ppm...basically add and then test.

 

[schapman1886]

Thanks everyone!

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[schapman1886]

Alright, so I'm still on the path of cycling and as of yesterday my ammonia was at .25, nitrites were still off the chart and the nitrates are growing ever highter, somewhere between 20 and 40 pm.

The ammonia is going away daily so I keep dosing it a bit to keep the bacteria fed.

At this point, should I do a some water changes to bring the nitrites/nitrates down? I really don't want to end up having to do a 100% water change when all the nitrites finally go away and my nitrates are off the chart.

Thanks.

 

[schapman1886]

Well an update since I got home. Ammonia 0 Nitrite still off the chart, thought takes a notably longer time getting to it's violet color than it has before, and Nitrates are 40-80... is this normal for the nitrates to rise so quickly?

I think I'm going to do a partial water change and see what happens\.

 

[flyinggig]

You're almost there! Keep dosing with ammonia (only to about 2-3ppm now), monitor and WAIT for the nitrites to start to drop......(this can be a frustrating wait... I know!). Personally, I've done a 40% water change BEFORE my nitrites were at zero, and they just continued to linger at the low levels for a while after I added fish. I had to maintain water changes to keep them low until they dissapeared.
Officially, when the 2-3ppm of ammonia dissapears in 24 hours....... Your nitrites should be low and getting lower..... Big water change to dump the built up nitrates, and yer good-to-go..... full-on stocking.
Remember, stem plants can take up alot of nitrates from the water column...... if your lights are ok, add some plants..... Fish love live plants!
High nitrates (in the order of >10ppm can cause a bacterial bloom or algae bloom in your tank) Keep the lighting period low to minimize this. I try to keep my nitrates below 10ppm but it depends on the stocking you have in your tank (including plants).
Keep the faith........ patience! Wait for the 'big' move in nitrites.

 

[schapman1886]

Well I jumped the gun last night, brought the water to about 50% and kept adding and removing a bucket full of de-chlorinated water about 8 times, brought the nitrates down from 40-80 to 10. I found that the tap water has 5ppm nitrates, so that doesn't help anything either. I also put the fish from my aquarium downstairs into the tank; 10 tetras, 3 hq rasboras and a betta, instead of dosing ammonia again.

Water parameters after the water changes was 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites and 10 nitrates. I know I should have waited but we will see.

At least now I have a 20 gallon quarantine tank.

 

[schapman1886]

Here's another question. I would like to keep the tank downstairs going until I get fish to put in it to quarantine. Should I dose ammonia, or should the bacteria be OK for a few days with no food source?

 

[Jannika]

You can keep a cycle going on an empty tank for a long time by dosing some ammonia every few days.

 

[schapman1886]

You can keep a cycle going on an empty tank for a long time by dosing some ammonia every few days.

Great, thanks!