Tank didn't instant cycle

[IceH2O]

After reading your post I decided to add the piece of filter I use for backup bacteria in the 20 gallon. I just had it sitting on the very bottom of the penguin and its been there forever.

I plan on using the 20 for raising feeder fish, shrimp and snails and can just add media from the 75 and 55 when i'm ready to set it back up. There is still a filter about a week old in the 20 I planned on transferring to the 75s cannister filter to help cycle it.

 

[IceH2O]

Ok tested 24 hours after 50% water change and these are the readings

Ph 6.8
Am .5
NI .25
NA 5

So nitrates are climbing but NI and AM are the same.

Water change tonight.

 

[joephys]

I think that more beneficial bacteria grow in the tank than in the filters. In the gravel, on plants, glass ect..

 

[Roan Art]

I think that more beneficial bacteria grow in the tank than in the filters. In the gravel, on plants, glass ect..

Sorry, no They grow best where there is exchange between O2 and H2O -- in the filter. That's the whole theory behind the Bio Wheel technology, btw. Because the wheel spins and is exposed to both air and water, it's an ideal place for the bacteria to grow.

Roan

 

[Roan Art]

IceH2O,

As of this AM my tank cycled. 11 days from start to finish with two shots of Bio Spira and three seedings from other tanks

This is just an FYI, dunno if it will help, but here is a run down on my nitrite readings. 3 tests a day -- morning, noon and night -- to track nitrites. 50-60% waterchanges done every 9 AM and 9 PM, immediately after testing. Salt added to detoxify nitrites.

1/28 nirites .5ppm

1/29 .5

1/30 .5
1/30 .5
1/30 .5

1/31 spike at 2.0
1/31 .5
1/31 .5

2/1 .5
2/1 .5
2/1 .5

2/2 spike at 2.0
2/2 .3
2/2 .5

2/3 .5
2/3 .5
2/3 .5

2/4 .5 Waterchange
2/4 .3
2/4 .5 Waterchange

2/5 .5
2/5 .25 Stopped water changes, nitrites dropping on its own
2/5 .25

2/6 0

Roan

 

[IceH2O]

So if my nitrites are dropping on there own I should stop water changes?

The purple color is much lighter than the .25 purple but its not blue, so they are dropping.

I did a 12 hr test and the Am was more yellow than green so its under .25 and the nitrite I figure is about .125 ish.

I'll check again tonight and see if they drop or rise. If they are at last nights level I'll do another water change.

 

[Persimmon]

This is why I get irked when I hear some fancy pants come in and say just transfer stuff from your old tank. That doesn't always work and you would need a lot of bio media when upgrading to a larger tank. Good luck with your cycle!

 

[IceH2O]

This is why I get irked when I hear some fancy pants come in and say just transfer stuff from your old tank. That doesn't always work and you would need a lot of bio media when upgrading to a larger tank. Good luck with your cycle!

Why would it need more biomedia?

It has less of a fish load. I was under the impression that the bacteria colony only grows as big as needed for the fish load, not the water volume.

If it depended on water volume with more water the Am,Ni, and NA should be diluted to lower readings and need even less bacteria.

 

[Roan Art]

So if my nitrites are dropping on there own I should stop water changes?

The purple color is much lighter than the .25 purple but its not blue, so they are dropping.

I did a 12 hr test and the Am was more yellow than green so its under .25 and the nitrite I figure is about .125 ish.

I'll check again tonight and see if they drop or rise. If they are at last nights level I'll do another water change.

IME and IMO when your ammonia is 0 and your nitrites, which are steady at .5, drop to .25 on their own, stop the water changes.

Don't stop the changes if your ammonia is still reading. I thought you were through that stage, so I started my nitrite stats post at 0 ammonia. My ammonia went to 0 on 2/2, so it really only took 3 days from that point for my nitrites to hit 0.

My tap water has 1.0 ammonia (chloramine), so the last thing I want is to feed the ammonia eaters again.

See the day before when it dropped from .5 to .3? I did a waterchange that afternoon and it was back up to .5 that night. Dunno what you would call that, but I've seen it on every tank that didn't cycle in 24 hours. I've found that the very next day I will see another drop like that and the best thing to do is leave it alone and not change the water.

My Theory, Which May Be Total Hogwash, But It Makes Sense to Me :

By the time my ammonia is at 0 and my nitrites dropping to .25 on their own, I have almost got just enough bacteria to support my bioload. If I do a waterchange, then I'm socking another 1ppm of ammonia into the tank which pushes those fragile nitrite eaters too much and they can't keep up. I actually think it may kill some of them. They have life cycles too and I bet they are pretty sensitive to ammonia when very young -- even if they only live 24? hours. And since this is a new tank, those nitrite eating guys are pretty much youngsters for the most part.

Ergo, if I change the water, I kill off some bacteria and get a small spike in nitrites. When I leave it alone, they deal with the last little bit and my bacteria "mature". The ratio of mature bacteria to younger bacteria is greater and those oldies can deal with changes easier.

Probably all silly, but that's my theory and unless Daveedka or happychem or RTR or liv2padl or someone else with more smarts tells me otherwise, I'm sticking to it

Back to the tank -- now I'll leave the tank for about 5 days, testing twice a day, before I do another water change. Then I'll consider it "maturely cycled" and done.

Roan

 

[IceH2O]

I did a 12 hr test and the Am was more yellow than green so its under .25 and the nitrite I figure is about .125 ish.

I'll check again tonight and see if they drop or rise. If they are at last nights level I'll do another water change.

Well I did another testing and the Am is about the same( figure its .15 or so) and the NI are a tad higher maybe .2 , its still a lighter color purple than what shows for .25 .

I'll do another water change tonight, at halftime!