Archived message board.
Cycling ?
Badmans Tropical Fish Message Center:
Beginner freshwater : Cycling ?
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John
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Tuesday,
February 05, 2002 - 08:42 am
My tank has never gotten to 0 ammonia or nitrites. I also
have no nitrates being produced. It has been 2 months on
this 20 gal that has 10 small fish. Does ammonia have to
rise to 5 or so? The highest mine has gotten has been 2.
Nitrites have stayed at .50 for a month. I have done weekly
water changes (20%) and vacuumed the gravel a couple
of times (not all of it.) It has been frustrating,
but the fish appear quite healthy. PH is about 6.9.
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SteveW
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Tuesday,
February 05, 2002 - 09:18 am
John, what kind of fish do you have, and what type of filtration
are you using? You need some good nitrifying bacteria to
build up. As far as your gravel goes, what size are you
using and how deep is it?
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John
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Tuesday,
February 05, 2002 - 12:19 pm
Steve, I am using a Penguin 170 for three weeks now. I switched
filters when I thought my cycle was over. I had used a Whisper
2 for the first 5 weeks. I have 4 harlequins, 4 white clouds
and 2 corys. My gravel is a little on the large side and
about 2 inches deep.
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SteveW
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Tuesday,
February 05, 2002 - 02:21 pm
John, The only reason I can see is the switching of the
filter. Beneficial bacteria build up in the gravel and in
the filter media. To allow the tank to fully cycle... Keep
the same filter and media cartridge in. If the cartridge
needs cleaning, use water from the tank, not tap water.
If your penguin has a bio-wheel then you should be close
to being fully cycled. I would do water changes once every
1-2 weeks but clean the gravel once every 3-4 weeks. Time
is your best friend in this situation.
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John
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Tuesday,
February 05, 2002 - 06:35 pm
Thanks Steve, it has the wheel. I hope I'm close to
the endzone, but it's been a long drive. I feel like
a kid waiting for money for a tooth under the pillow, but
come up empty every day.
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Pandora
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Wednesday,
February 06, 2002 - 07:40 pm
John, your ammonia does not necessarily *have* to
rise to 5...this is a dangerous level for fish (many
fish will easily drop dead after a day or two at 5 because
amm is so toxic), in fact, and should be avoided (if
your choice is to cycle with fish, that's why it's
important to go slow to minimize these spikes). I think
the fact that you have never seen it go above 2 after 2
months is a sign that you are going at just the right pace
with the right number of fish that the biofilter was able
to catch up and the bacteria had colonized it enough to
convert this. Good job so far, keep monitoring that tank!
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John
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Wednesday,
February 06, 2002 - 08:35 pm
Thanks Pandora. I monitor everyday. My ammonia is now at
about 1, but my nitrite seems stuck on .50. I have reduced
feedings. Could you venture a guess on when I will zero
out?
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Pandora
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Saturday,
February 09, 2002 - 05:17 pm
John, sounds like your tank is definitely on the right track,
so no, I won't venture to guess, LOL! Sorry, it's
just very hard to predict timelines with tanks... depends
so much on the fish (not just number, but type, how
they feed, etc), how efficient the filter is, if it
has other life like plants, etc... all I can say is that
you're seeing results from your patience, and I think
you will continue to see them in the near future! The levels
are starting to level out, and you won't see as drastic
a rise or drop after this level if you don't add more
stock, but I really don't think it will be much longer
now. Good luck!
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John
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Tuesday,
February 12, 2002 - 07:02 pm
Pandora, my nitrite surged today to about 3. Ammonia remains
at 1. I am going to do a water change now to alleviate stress
on my fish. It's stange, but I feel relieved that something
finally happened.
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Pandora
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Thursday,
February 14, 2002 - 07:37 pm
LOL, yeah, something is always better than nothing, right?
One short term solution to breaking this cycle if the ammonia
never goes down is to try putting some ammo-lock in the
filter. Other than that, it sounds like you are doing most
of the right stuff, with just minor setbacks. Just watch
overfeeding, but otherwise I can't think of anything.
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John
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Friday,
February 15, 2002 - 09:37 am
Ammonia today is zero. Nitrites about 2, and nitrates soaring.
What a long, strange trip it's been. Thanks.
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jeff s
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Friday,
February 15, 2002 - 04:05 pm
you made it big guy!!
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Pandora
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Tuesday,
February 19, 2002 - 10:29 pm
Yay!
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