My Cycle

[s72450]

Today I set up my 29g tank, went to PetCo and bought a testing kit. I have everything running in my tank, with the heater cranked up. No decor just yet because I'm slowly building the tank up, but it's a start.

The pool filter sand that I bought looks nice in the tank and it is only mildly murky and quickly clearing out.

I've still yet to find any amonia, I've looked at Wal-Mart and local Dollar stores without any luck. I'm going to try Lowes later tonight and see.

I'm not going to test my tank until tommorow, I'll post the results and a few pictures here, hopefully someone can help me out as I go since this is my first time cycling.

[fins_n_fur]

If you have an Ace hardware store in the area, they seem to be one of the few that stock the perfect ammonia for cycling.

[Sharon]

Check cleaning supplies at supermarkets....

[s72450]

What is it called at Ace hardware? I can call down there and ask if they have any of it in stock.

[fins_n_fur]

I don't recall the exact name, but it's their own brand. Plain, old, unscented ammonia. Maybe, maybe there is the word janitor, but possibly not.

[s72450]

Is it with cleaning supplies?

[fins_n_fur]

Don't know LOL It's been years since I've been in one. It should be in with cleaning stuff...if you can't find it, ask someone.

[Northernguy]

It will be with the cleaning and laundry supplies.Its pretty easy to find almost anywhere.

[s72450]

Thanks, I found it and will put some in after I test.

[s72450]

So I'm about to put in some amonia, how much do I put in? I'm clueless on this front.

[Sharon]

Add Ammonia until you get a reading of 5ppm...I'm not sure how much that will be......Try 1 tsp, and then keep going until you get 5ppm...

[fins_n_fur]

You need to add enough to bring the ammonia to about 4 or 5 ppm. I would add a teaspoon of ammonia, wait 30 mins and then test to see what the levels are and go from there. That should give you a rough bench mark of how much ammonia you'll need to add daily to keep the ammonia at 4 - 5 ppm.

[s72450]

I added 5ml to the tank. I'm going to retest in about an hour to see what the levels are then. Thanks!

[Sir Tristen]

I would start with about 1 ml or .25 tsp and go from there. I got a 5 ml syringe from the pharmacy for free and use it to measure. Get the ammonia up to 4 or 5 and go from there.

[s72450]

Amonia Levels were at 4-5
Nitrite Levels were 0 (as expected)

I'll check again tommorow.

[Northernguy]

Give it time,its not something that can be rushed.
Good Luck its not hard.:19:

[fins_n_fur]

Just test for ammonia the next week or so. No point in wasting your test kits or time testing for nitrites or nitrates yet.

[Northernguy]

Another good idea.Those refills tend to get expensive.

[s72450]

I'll not worry about nitrites or nitrates until like next week.

Today my amonia levels were 8.0. Should I do something about that?

[Sir Tristen]

Try to get your ammonia levels down to 4-5. I've heard that higher levels will actually stall out the cycle. I'd suggest a water change to get it lower, but you may be okay just letting it sit for a few days. You don't need to add more unless its under the 4-5 range.

[s72450]

I'll let it sit for a few days and then re-test.

I also added a small plant today, some java fern that my boss got for me at the pet store.

[Sir Tristen]

Java fern is really a nice plant, especially since its undemanding. I love how mine looks attached to my driftwood.

A water change to lower the ammonia might be a better idea. I'm not sure, but I have read that really high ammonia makes it hard for even the bacteria to survive, but you could let it sit for a while and see if it lowers on its own. It'll probably work just fine.

[s72450]

I'm recieving some other plants from a very nice person here on the boards so I plan to include some more plants in the tank as soon as they arrive. I'm going to get some driftwood from PetCo in a few weeks to put into my tank and I'd like to have some of the java fern attached to it.

I check levels of amonia today and it was down to the 4-5 zone so that's good. I'll check again tommorow and see how that goes.

You know it would just so happen that as soon as I get a 29g up and running that someone would contact me from criagslist with an unwanted 55g complete with everything including a nice stand for only 150 bucks. I told him that I'd take it in a few weeks if that was okay. I couldn't pass that up. So I guess I'll be cycling again in a few weeks, probably around the time my 29g is ready for fish, lol. Well hopefully that is.

[Sir Tristen]

I check levels of amonia today and it was down to the 4-5 zone so that's good. I'll check again tommorow and see how that goes.

You know it would just so happen that as soon as I get a 29g up and running that someone would contact me from criagslist with an unwanted 55g complete with everything including a nice stand for only 150 bucks. I told him that I'd take it in a few weeks if that was okay. I couldn't pass that up. So I guess I'll be cycling again in a few weeks, probably around the time my 29g is ready for fish, lol. Well hopefully that is.


Looks like the ammonia is sorting itself out fine. Just add enough to keep it at 4-5 like you have now, then when you get nitrites starting to form, drop that down to 2-3.

That sounds like a great deal on the 55. I'm jealous:laugh1blue:

[s72450]

He's going to send me a picture of the un-used tank so I'll post it up here for everyone to see. I am curious on how to go about cleaning it since it's been sed for a saltwater tank in the past and I'm not interested in doing up one of those, too much money involved and I can't afford that much in the long run. I love my fish, but I can't see paying fifty bucks for a clown fish or something.

[s72450]

Checked my amonia levels again today and I figure it's back down to 4-5 so that's good, I'm not adding anything to it.

I did recieve my plants today and added them into the tank, it looks great!

I was also bored and checked out my amonia levels in my 10g and they were very high so I did a 90% water change, I would have done a complete one except I couldn't get one of my fish out so I had to work around him.

[s72450]

Amonia was up to 8ppm today and I have no idea why so. Should I just do a water change? It's a big tank and now it's planted so I hate to do a 100% change. What should I do?