I might be doing this all wrong.

Hi,

I'm about 3 weeks into my fishless cycle, 60litre, tropical tank. I've used household ammonia and treated the water with Seachem Prime. I have an API testing kit and have been using it from the start.

I have documented the readings and it appears that after 12 hours I get high nitrates of 160ppm, and 0ppm to 0.25ppm ammonia. I get Nitrites of 5.0ppm and this hardly fluctuates. Ph normal reads around 6.4 but it does dip to 6.0ph after 12 hours. I have soft acidic water.

Every 12 hours I do a 50% water change but lately I've been doing a 80% water change. After a 50% water change I can get the ammonia back to 4ppm and get the nitrates down to 80ppm; the ph goes to 7.6ph. This is also roughly the same for an 80% water change.

I have been advised to get some bicarb of soda but I have also been told not to mess about with the ph and it wouldn't affect the cycle anyway.

Am I just going through the cycle or am I doing it wrong?

 

I curious you used what specific type of ammonia and why did you use the Prime? This is probably a method I am unfamiliar with. By adding the Prime you're binding up the ammonia correct?

This is a good thread regarding your topic:
http://www.3reef.com/forums/drtims-aquatics/stalling-cycle-help-135230-4.html#.UmxJxhB2DIU

Did you use any live cured rock or seed the tank in any way?

To make it easier on yourself I would stop the water changes and stop adding ammonia. At 3 weeks in you probably have initiated the development of the biological filter but you might be stalling it with high values of ammonia and nitrite.

Welcome to 3reef.

 

Thanks for the prompt reply.

The prime treats the water so that chloramine and chlorine is rendered safe. It allows the bacteria to develop. You're unfamiliar with it? I thought this was standard practice? If I stop the ammonia the bacteria die. The bacteria feed on the ammonia, and stopping it will result in the cycle failure.

 

So you're using tap water as your water source?
Is it possible to get SW premixed from the local fish store?
Do you have an RO/DI unit yet?

Yes you're correct you need a source of ammonia to initiate the nitrogen cycle. But I am not familiar with the use of Prime unless your using tap water to remove chlorine....

Basically input I have depends on what your water source is?

 

SW? I do not have an RO/DI unit. Why would I need one of those?

I am using Prime to treat the water from the tap because chlorine and chloramine is harmful to bacteria and fish.

My water source is soft acid about 7.2ph.

 

SW=Saltwater, sorry

Here is a list of abbreviations and acronyms.

http://www.3reef.com/forums/reef-aq...cronyms-abbreviations-54351.html#.UmxTEBB2DIU

Hobbyist use RO/DI it is a water purification unit. Tap water may also have elevated Nitrates and Phosphate, heavy metals. Even using a conditioner you still may be adding nutrients to your tank that will give nightmare algae blooms. Not all tap water is created equal but until you know the values it best use another water source.

Even bottled DI water is usually better than tap and you do not have to add water conditioners.

When you post tropical tank do you mean fresh water or saltwater?

 

Salt water? No. lol. This is a tropical/freshwater tank not a marine tank. My tap water has 0 nitrates and has a mineral profile similar to most water profiles throughout the whole of England.

 

:yelrotflmSilly me, I just assumed it was a SW tank, tropical seems to be used for both salt water and fresh water fish. The pH value kept throwing me off and now it makes complete sense. Well sorry for wasting your time as I am not savy regarding the current ways of cycling FW tanks.
In my distant past when I did keep fresh water I just set up the tank and let it run for a couple weeks, stocked slowly, tested for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates and changed the water as indicted.

 

Well I know with a SW fishless cycle using Ammonia, you don't want to let the nitrites get above 5.0 ppm and the ammonia above 3.0 ppm. If they do, it is recommended to do water changes to bring them back down. At least, this is what Dr. Tim recommended when using ammonia and his One and Only.

Prime turns toxic ammonia into less toxic ammonium. Most test kits test for both. So you will still be seeing it on your test kit most likely. Nitrifying bacteria consume both forms. I wouldn't even bother testing for nitrate at this time. The nitrite is going to give you invalid results, so test for nitrates once nitrite is at 0.0 ppm.

I would just do water changes if your numbers get above those I mentioned earlier. Once your ammonia reads 0 ppm, add some ammonia to the tank to reach around 2-3 ppm. Test every two days and see how long it takes to reach 0. If you can add ammonia to your tank and it be gone within 24 hours, you are pretty much cycled. Make sure that nitrite also reads 0 as well though.