Cycle almost done?

[naiku]

My tank has been sitting empty now for several weeks, I have been following the fishless cycle routine and think I am finally getting somewhere. Both my nitrites and nitrates are reading towards the top end of the scale!! One problem I may (or may not) have though is that when adding ammonia I was never what you would call exact..... so when it comes to the cutting the ammonia in half I am a bit stuck.......... should I just add less ammonia? or does it strictly need to be half?

I am looking forward to the cycle finally being complete and actually being able to add some fish to the tank. Just not sure what to stock the tank with yet.

Also, in the mornings for a couple hours my tank is exposed to some direct sunlight. The water temp stays steady, and I have not noticed any algae growth, is there anything I should worry about?

[sergo]

yes simply cut the dose amount in half. you will need to keep an eye out for algae if you are getting direct sunlight real plants will help some in keeping it down by using alot of the nutrients algae feeds on.

[Lady Hobbs]

You will get algae!!!!! The light hits one side of my tank so I added some background to the side esposed. Stick 'em paper would work or anything to block the light from entering the tank.

[sergo]

before it started to stay cloudy and rainy here in dallas my tank would get some morning sun. i don't have enough algae to keep my 2 small SAEs happy

[naiku]

I might have to look for some kind of temporary shield then to prevent algae from growing (although none has grown in the 3 months the tank has been there) I don't want any to grow. Might even look at relocating the tank.

Another question......... any recommendations on a fish for the bottom of the tank? It's a 10 gallon so will need to be something that does not need to be in a school (most likely will be living with neons or other tetra's)

[NeonJulie]

2-3 Otos would work in that situation, especially since you think you may have algae. (I think they only eat brown algae though.) They are lovely little things, though they can be sensitive and it can depend on where they come from for how hardy they are.

My tank is in a dark bathroom and I've never seen any signs of algae, but that might be because they otos are good at grabbing any before it grows, and they do eat Wardley's (Walmart) spirulina wafers. I even have on Oto who loves eating flakes.

Some people think they are a schooling fish but more often times you find them in small numbers, 3-5. They do appreciate company of their own kind. It wasn't until I added the third one back in to the tank that the other two became much less shy.

[naiku]

I checked my water today and have both high nitrites and high nitrates........ is that OK? My ammonia is also still high (going through fishless cycle)....... should I notice the ammonia and nitrite start to drop soon?

And we only have 1 plant in the tank at the moment, would it make any difference to get the rest of the plants before adding fish? or can it wait until after? (I am reluctant to spend money on plants if any fish die again as will most likely give up if any more fish die).

Thanks.

[Lady Hobbs]

Drop way back on the ammonia. Just a few drops in their to keep your bacteria alive but no more. If it's high when you check it, then add no more until it disappears again.

You nitrites will be dropping soon. Do a large water change and you'll be good to go.

[gm72]

Agreed with Lady as usual. Cut back on your ammonia, you probably are adding too much for the bacteria to process. You need very little ammonia to keep a cycle going. You should end up with, 30 minutes or so after adding a very small amount of ammonia, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrITe, and high nitrATe. Once you have that, do a large water change and add your fish!

[naiku]

I just want to check I am doing this correct, I checked my water last night and nitrite and ammonia are still high............ so I did not add any more ammonia......... is this OK? or should I add a few drops even if I am still reading ammonia? I don't want to add too much, and my nitrites are way off the scale so hoping they drop soon, just don't want to kill them by not adding any ammonia, but also don't want to add too much ammonia.

Thanks.

[NeonJulie]

Are they 25-30 ppm yet?! *lol* Is the API NItrIte test turning mint green?

Anyway, if you're testing around 2-5ppm in Ammonia, there is no need to worry. In fact, I don't tend to add any if it's showing at all. If you show 0, then definitely add.

You're in the NitrIte spike, which is IMO the worst of the cycle. If you're showing an excess NitrIte you might try only keeping 1-2ppm of ammonia in the tank, therefore cutting back a bit. Most tanks will never see 10+ppm NitrItes (one would hope! :O).

It's just a waiting game at this point. If your ammonia level ever gets beyond 6ppm though, or the NitrItes are way off the charts - feel free to do a large water change. Really, it won't hurt anything, if you use dechlorinator. (Any bacteria in the water column, you don't want to keep anyway.) In fact, my NitrIte spike finally broke and cycled the tank 3 days after I did my second 100% water change. (Just too many NItrItes for the NItrate forming bacteria to keep up with. And bacteria compete - there's only so much room to colonize and reproduce.)

[Lady Hobbs]

And do no cleaning of anything in the tank or change filters.

The nitrites are a royal pain and take forever sometimes to drop (it feels like it, anyway). It takes longer for the nitrite eating bacteria than for the ammonia bacteria so patience is the key word here. If ammonia shows, add none. If it reads 0, add a couple drops.

I agree with the above poster that doing a water change may help.

[naiku]

Still waiting on the nitrites and ammonia to drop, I did about a 60% water change yesterday. Added a few more plants and a new cave (looks much better in the tank now) and also moved the tank to an area where it will get no direct sunlight.

Pretty much made my mind up on stocking now.......... going for a group of glow light tetras and some ghost shrimp :)

[naiku]

So I am still waiting........... high nitrites and nitrates, adding ammonia when needed. Is there anything else I can do but wait? my nitrites and nitrates have been high since the end of May........... I think when I get home from work today if nitrite/nitrate/ammonia are still high I will carry out about a 50% water change and see if that helps at all.

[gm72]

Something is not working properly. You have been at the same readings since about a month ago? Maybe I'm missing something, but something sounds wrong here.

[naiku]

Something is not working properly. You have been at the same readings since about a month ago? Maybe I'm missing something, but something sounds wrong here.

Well, ok so not the same readings........... ammonia goes down, I add a little to keep the amount around 1-2ppm, nitrites and nitrates were off the scale, so they could have changed, just were beyond what the test kit was reading.

I have carried out a couple 30% water changes to get nitrites and nitrates back onto the scale, hoping that is going to help. If no change soon may start looking into Seachem Stability / Bio-Spira

[Lady Hobbs]

I'm sure this water change should help. Don't understand why the nitrites didn't go down themselves but I've had the same problem a time or two. Water changes did it for me, as well. You should have been able to cycle in this manner in about 12 days. We all seem to have different experiences at cycling and times.

Is your heater on in the tank? Higher heat does help. Good luck and check back and let us know how it's going. For now, just add a couple drops of ammonia if you think your tank needs it. Just enough to keep the bac from dying but not enough to raise the reading much at all.