Hey group,

I have a 5G tank that I am starting and I just added Dr Tims ammonia a day ago. day 2 just finished of the fishless cycle and my water parameters are: 

Ammonia: 4ppm
Nitrate: 10ppm
Nitrite: 1ppm

Am I on the right path? Does anyone have a guideline of the what the parameters should be each day of the cycle?

Any advice helps!

My understanding is that you start off High ammonia, low (or no) nitrite or nitrate, Then you should get increasing nitrite, still low (no) nitrate and falling ammonia. Then the nitrate rises and the nitrite drops. Once this 'cycle' has finished the tank is ready, when you have all zeros! There aren't any set figures you will see, this will vary tank to tank, it is just the trend (cycle) followed by the full set of zeros you are looking for to confirm it has happened.

After the cycle you may still get low NitrAte readings and as long as they are low that should be fine, one of my tanks has had that for nearly 10 years but the nitrIte and Ammonia must be zero and you need to have seen some previous readings of both of these to know the cycle has been happening.

The fact you have all 3 with a reading seems to indicate it has started but check daily the changes to the figures so you know where you are through the cycle! If you don't check frequently you may miss seeing part of the process and then you won't know whether it has cycled or not!

If you are setting up a very low PH tank for caridina the above probably won't work but for 'normal' tanks using tap water it is the way to go! Let us know if you are going the caridina route but I assume you are not as you have readings for all 3?

Simon

On 4/6/2021 at 12:18 PM, Brando said:

what the parameters should be each day of the cycle?

There isn't a set parameter for each day that you have to reach. But it has to reach 0ppm for Ammonia and Nitrite. And we should see Nitrate going up a bit to maybe around 20ppm before the tank is considered cycled. Measure Ammonia daily to see if it is dropping.

You can skip testing Nitrite and Nitrate daily if you want. Just test those again at the end of the cycle to confirm you see no Nitrite and some Nitrate.

 

Edited April 7, 20215 yr by jayc

18 hours ago, jayc said:

There isn't a set parameter for each day that you have to reach. But it has to ready 0ppm for Ammonia and Nitrite. And we should see Nitrate going up a bit to maybe around 20ppm before the tank is considered cycled. Measure Ammonia daily to see if it is dropping.

You can skip testing Nitrite and Nitrate daily if you want. Just test those again at the end of the cycle to confirm you see no Nitrite and some Nitrate.

 

Do I need to continue adding ammoni?

I imagine you need a constant source of ammonia otherwise the cycle would stall?

I haven't used the product you are, but what does it say/recommend on the bottle? 

Simon

22 hours ago, Brando said:

Do I need to continue adding ammoni?

As long as your tests keep detecting ammonia, you are fine.

When it reaches 0ppm ammonia, that's when you need another source of ammonia to keep the beneficial bacteria alive. One type of bacteria in the tank uses ammonia as food and converts it to Nitrite as waste. Another type uses Nitrite as food, and converts it to Nitrate.

So when ammonia reaches 0ppm, that's the time to add fish or shrimp because your cycle is complete. If you are not ready to add livestock after the tank has cycled, you can add a small amount of fish food, or some organic matter that will degrade and rot. The rotting food will keep generating ammonia to feed the bacteria.

Some people like adding pure ammonia (not the stuff you buy in supermarkets for cleaning), like Dr Tims ammonia chloride. Adding fish food is probably easier. You mentioned you have Dr Tims ammonia, but did you also get any Dr Tim's bacteria additives like One and Only ?

 

When you are cycling a new tank, what you are doing is actually trying to create is a suitable environment for beneficial bacteria to grow. So don't forget to turn you temperature up to 26 - 27degC, and provide lots of oxygen and water flow. A food source (ammonia), oxygen and temperature are the key ingredients for a successful cycle. BB are living organism afterall, they need these basic ingredients to live. 

 

 

 

 

I added dr Tim’s ammoni but I did not add any bacteria. Does that matter?

Just now, Brando said:

I added dr Tim’s ammoni but I did not add any bacteria. Does that matter?

It depends....  are you patient enough to wait more than 4 weeks for beneficial bacteria to grow or not.

If you are impatient like me, you need to seed the new tank with bacteria. Either from a bottled product or from the filter of a mature tank.