what to do when not around....

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Sep 27, 2004
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Hi,

I've been cycling my tank for about 2 and a half weeks. I'm starting to see an increase in nitrites everyday. But there hasn't been a huge spike yet. The nitrites are at about .3 ppm and ammonia is around 3 ppm. I'm going out of town for the weekend and won't be around to add ammonia if needed. Should I add enough ammonia to bring the amount back up to 5 ppm or should I just leave it and add more if needed when I get back? I don't want to ruin the cycle so I rather add if need be.
 
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Is the ammonia level dropping to 0? If so, yes, you'll want to give it enough to last through the weekend. This shouldn't cause a problem, since the additional ammonia just won't be consumed, but will be enough to feed the bacteria colony.
 
No, the ammonia is not reaching 0. It hasn't since I started the cycle. I'm just worried that it will over the weekend when I'm not around.
 
You can give it a little boost if you're worried about it. Unlike dogs and fish, the bacteria won't eat all the food that's available to them just because it's there. As long as you don't add so much that it becomes toxic (much more than 5ppm), you'll be okay.
 
Ok, thanks. What would happen if I didn't give the ammonia a little boost, and the ammonia level reached 0? Would I be ok for a day or two, or would it ruin the cycle?
 
Depends--the bacteria can go for a little while without food, but not very long. I honestly don't know the exact time--I'd imagine it's less than 48 hours, though. Bacteris don't really have reserves to draw on the way mammals do, and the type of bacteria that live inour aquariums do not have a spore, or encysted stage to revert to when the food runs out--they just die. If they die off, you'll need to rebuild those colonies, and hope that the nitrite consumers don't die in the process. In short--you don't want them to be without a food source for very long.
 
another trick that might work is to add a little fish food or other organic matter. I travel frequently and was gone several times during my fishless cycle. in the event that the ammonia does go to 0 the food will produce enough (probably not measureble) ammonia to keep the bacteria fed until you return. if the ammonia doesn't drop clear off, the food still shouldn't produce enough to cause a detrimental spike. For my 115, I just added about 1/2 teaspoon of fish food as a precautionary measure when I left town. there isn't a big worry about the "uneaten food " during a fishless cycle because you will be doing a massive water change at the end anyhow. I'd still set the ammonia pretty high (4-5 ppm) but the fish food will maintain things if it drops. IT takes far less ammonia to keep you bacteria from dying than it does to estabilish and grow a solid bio-filter quickly.
Dave.
 
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