Dextreous Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 its been a week since i dosed ammonia and bacteria and although my ammonia is dropping (.25 to .50ppm) i have high Nitrites (5ppm or more) and nitrates of around 20 to 30ppm. im two weeks fishless but planted cycling (10 gallons) with no water changes, should I do a partial water change now or is this normal and have to just keep an eye out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllFishNoBrakes Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 Considering you’re doing fishless, I personally wouldn’t water change until ammonia and nitrite are 0. Once they hit zero, do a water change to bring the nitrates down, and then add a couple fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony s Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 You could do a water change if you want to. It’s not really going to do a lot. It won’t affect your cycle either way. Just have to be patient. You’re probably a week or two away from a basic cycle. Your plants won’t care about the form of nitrogen they get. So higher nitrates or nitrates are still beneficial for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dextreous Posted February 19 Author Share Posted February 19 @Tony s Oh okay, that puts some ease for my case. When should I be concerned? and is some accumulation of biofilm normal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllFishNoBrakes Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 Considering there’s no fish in the tank, I wouldn’t be concerned at all. Like @Tony s said the plants will eat ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. When you go to put fish in, I would water change to get nitrates below 40. Biofilm is absolutely normal. Water is the source of all life! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dextreous Posted February 19 Author Share Posted February 19 @AllFishNoBrakes Okay! I appreciate the informative help. So much varying information online and I was worried I might crash the cycle but I'll trust you guys and just keep an eye until It drops. Thanks again! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllFishNoBrakes Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 It’s all good! We’re all here for the same hobby and want to help each other. Just continue to be patient, and keep an eye on those ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates. We all want our tanks to be cycled and get some fish and do all the things, but you gotta make sure the tank is ready to support the fish. The cycle becomes a blip on the timeline of the tank over its lifetime. Keep in mind that soon you are likely to see ammonia drop to 0, and it will take some time after that for the nitrites to do the same. Just continue to be patient until they’re both at 0. It pays off when you get fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dacotua Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 Don't panic. There is no need to do water changes in a planted tank during a fishless cycle. 1. Stop putting Ammonia in the tank. Just start dosing ferts for your plants. You keep doing this until you notice the plants starting to grow and have "new" branches. Once you see this, test your water. 2. Do not do a water change, your planes love Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate. They will eventually bring those down. 3. It took my tank almost 3 weeks to fishless cycle with plants. I stopped putting ammonia in the tank after week 1, after that, I dosed Flurish and Excel daily. When my Water Sprite grew extra chutes and more leaves, I checked the water, Everything was going down fast. 4. If you REALLY want the Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate to vanish, put some Salvinia in the tank (Floating plant). It will multiply fast and those floaters will eat all the Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate in the water. Once Ammonia and Nitrite goes do zero, do a 80% water change, then throw your fish in. I would leave the Salvinia in the tank for a bit, as you COULD get a Ammonia or Nitrite Spike, however the Salvinia WILL prevent this. (You could do this with Duckweed, however duckweed is difficult to remove from the tank, Salvinia is EASY to remove from the tank if you want it gone, large leaves, easy to spot) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lonkley Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 The only thing is watch your PH. If it's dropping to 6 then do a water change. Nitrite eating bacteria grows slower than ammonia eating. Plus plants eat ammonia directly. Just keep at it. It's a slow process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllFishNoBrakes Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 On 2/18/2024 at 9:10 PM, Dacotua said: Salvinia is EASY to remove from the tank if you want it gone, large leaves, easy to spot) Floating plants are great. I used them in all my tanks in the beginning. Now I just have them in a couple as the plants are big enough and dense enough to not really need them anymore to stave off algae. My only advice with salvinia is make sure when you buy it there’s not duckweed with it! When I found some salvinia I was super excited and didn’t pay attention to the duckweed that came with it. I welcomed it at first, but like most I decided later I didn’t want it in all of tanks and it has been a big battle to rid tanks of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony s Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 Honestly, I would keep dosing the ammonia. Adding plant fertilizer like Seachem flourish or flourish excel doesn’t provide enough pure ammonia to fully cycle the ammonia eating bacteria. That’s the first step in your cycle. Without enough ammonia your cycle could stall, and take much longer to complete. Then when the ammonia and nitrite disappears within 24 hrs you’re done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dextreous Posted February 19 Author Share Posted February 19 What do you guys mean by keep dosing ammonia? I thought ammonia dose cycle was initial dose wait for both to reach zero and then (ive read some do this) dose for 2ppm and see if that reaches zero over night and then water change? And what fert should I be using? is ammonia, nitrites and nitrates not enough? I did buy Excel Flourish but heard that does nothing but kill beneficial algae and bacteria and shouldnt be used in cycling? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galabar Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 It sounds like you are doing just fine. Note that your nitrate test may be inaccurate -- the presence of nitrite may elevate the reading. In my most recent fishless cycle, I only added ammonia at the beginning and waited for the nitrite to reach 0. I didn't add ammonia after the first dose. My reasoning was that nitrifying bacteria can last a long time without a source of ammonia. However, it won't hurt to dose again. There is no need for a water change. That is one of the benefits of a fishless cycle. Just add some ammonia and wait... 🙂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony s Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 What you’re after is the ability of your bacteria to clear ammonia from the tank in a quick and efficient manner. As they’ll be getting a consistent dose from any fish in the tank. So the first dose starts the cycle with the addition of beneficial bacteria. Usually fritzzyme7 or Seachem stability. Then sends it to zero over time. The second or third dose of ammonia is to make sure it clears in 24 hours, simulating the ammonia produced from living fish. The ability to clear in 24 hours being key 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllFishNoBrakes Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 On 2/18/2024 at 9:42 PM, Galabar said: In my most recent fishless cycle, I only added ammonia at the beginning and waited for the nitrite to reach 0. I didn't add ammonia after the first dose. My reasoning was that nitrifying bacteria can last a long time without a source of ammonia. However, it won't hurt to dose again. There is no need for a water change. That is one of the benefits of a fishless cycle. Just add some ammonia and wait... 🙂 Agreed that when I started my first tanks and didn’t have other filters/media/plants to pull from established tanks I only dosed once. Doesn’t hurt to continue to dose ammonia, but I never personally have 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony s Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 that’s what I normally do though. But I went and got my bottle of fishless fuel. And actually doesn’t say that. Says after it clears first, you should be okay. I must just be extra paranoid 😂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galabar Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 On 2/18/2024 at 8:38 PM, Dextreous said: What do you guys mean by keep dosing ammonia? I thought ammonia dose cycle was initial dose wait for both to reach zero and then (ive read some do this) dose for 2ppm and see if that reaches zero over night and then water change? And what fert should I be using? is ammonia, nitrites and nitrates not enough? I did buy Excel Flourish but heard that does nothing but kill beneficial algae and bacteria and shouldnt be used in cycling? That is a fine approach. You can just stick with your plan. You can add other fertilizers for the plants. The nitrates in those fertilizers shouldn't affect your cycle (nitrate is the end product of the nitrifying bacteria). Your plants will consume various nitrogen-containing compounds. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dextreous Posted February 19 Author Share Posted February 19 Okay, I understand now. Boy getting into this hobby is tough work haha I still haven't even thought about what I wanna stock my 10 gallon with. But once this bump is over it'll be all worth it! I really appreciate the thorough explanations guys! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony s Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 Right. Gotta get this down first then the fun part. For something to play and plan with try aqadvisor.com. It’s a stocking advisor. You put in your tank size and what fish you want. It gives you a good idea of what can go together and how many. But you pick everything going in your tank. It just double checks it for you. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galabar Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 On 2/18/2024 at 9:04 PM, Dextreous said: Okay, I understand now. Boy getting into this hobby is tough work haha I still haven't even thought about what I wanna stock my 10 gallon with. But once this bump is over it'll be all worth it! I really appreciate the thorough explanations guys! You are already way ahead of the pack. We won't be seeing any "Help! My fish dies in my new tank" threads from you... 🙂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dextreous Posted February 19 Author Share Posted February 19 @Tony s Oh my god this is exactly what Ive been looking for, I tried looking for youtube videos before but it was all just lists and never like what would go good together, thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony s Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 If you haven’t seen this one yet. From my favorite channel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dextreous Posted February 19 Author Share Posted February 19 Great video! messing with the site and what the video provides, I might go with 1 Honey Gourami, 8 Ember tetras, 2 Mystery snails and 5 Amano Shrimp as my complete tank fish. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galabar Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 That sounds great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sun.singh1991 Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 What’s your pH and temperature? Nitrifying bacteria grow and thrive best in higher pH and temps. Make sure your pH is over 6.8 and temp is over 76 degrees F. If pH is low, let me know. I’ll show you how to get it up the right way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now