Cycle help!

rubbaducky92

rubbaducky92

Small Fish
#1
Jul 6, 2010
16
0
0
Ann Arbor, MI
#1
Hey there,
I recently found a 5g hex tank in my basement and decided to try making an aquarium out of it. I purchased a pictus catfish and a red tailed black shark to start, always kept track of the chemical levels, etc. but due to a pH disaster (long story short I killed them) I'm now sitting here with a fishless tank. I decided to let it cycle without the fish, feeding the empty tank occasionally and doing %25 water changes weekly. Two weeks later... the pH stabilized but the nitrite and nitrate shot up. I know this is all apart of cycling but... was wondering if anyone had any estimates about how far in I am and approximately how long I have until I get to restock? At the moment, the Nitrate is at 40 ppm but the nitrite is >10.0 off the charts. I've put some aquarium salt in, nitraband or whatever, even heated the water to 90 degrees to try and speed this up... it's obviously not working. =[

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks :D
 

O

OrangeCones

Elite Fish
#2
Feb 27, 2009
4,395
0
36
#2
Good decision to do a fishless cycle. The sticky here on the forum explains how the process works.

Fishless Cycle

Once the tank is cycled, what are you planning to stock it with? The first two fish you originally had are not appropriate for your sized tank. Both fish need a much larger tank as they are active fish that grow 5-6".

What "pH disaster" did you experience?

What are your current readings for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate? What test kit are you using?
 

rubbaducky92

rubbaducky92

Small Fish
#3
Jul 6, 2010
16
0
0
Ann Arbor, MI
#3
We have two 20g tanks ready for them when they get a bit bigger, just figured a smaller tank might cycle faster and would be easier to get up and running... didn't end well lol

The pH disaster is... humiliating. I put some tankbuddy? stuff in it to clear the water and misread the directions about using it on an 'established tank.' the pH dropped to about 6 from 7.4 so I freaked out, put them in some conditioned water while I got some of their uck water out and... didn't realize that that "conditioned water" had a pH of 7.4. Dropped 'em right into it... they went into shock and died =\

I'm using quick dip 6 tests in one strip. the parameters are...
Nitrate: 40
Nitrite: somewhere above 10
Hardness: 100ish
Chlorine: 0
Alkalinity: 120
pH: 7.2

I can only assume the ammonia is out of wack as well because of the nitrite.
 

M

michaelg210

Medium Fish
#4
Jun 6, 2010
67
0
0
#4
Well at least I know not to do that, now, thanks to you...

rubbaducky92 said:
We have two 20g tanks ready for them when they get a bit bigger, just figured a smaller tank might cycle faster and would be easier to get up and running... didn't end well lol

The pH disaster is... humiliating. I put some tankbuddy? stuff in it to clear the water and misread the directions about using it on an 'established tank.' the pH dropped to about 6 from 7.4 so I freaked out, put them in some conditioned water while I got some of their uck water out and... didn't realize that that "conditioned water" had a pH of 7.4. Dropped 'em right into it... they went into shock and died =\

I'm using quick dip 6 tests in one strip. the parameters are...
Nitrate: 40
Nitrite: somewhere above 10
Hardness: 100ish
Chlorine: 0
Alkalinity: 120
pH: 7.2

I can only assume the ammonia is out of wack as well because of the nitrite.
Click to expand...

I never would have thought of that, but then, last i checked my ph and tap water were the same, a little high, but constant. I might check again, as I put my betta in fresh declorinated tap water all the time when I do partial wc's.... something to think about. Thanks
 

M

michaelg210

Medium Fish
#5
Jun 6, 2010
67
0
0
#5
Cycling With Fish (unfortunately- no alternative) have ?ions

OrangeCones said:
Good decision to do a fishless cycle. The sticky here on the forum explains how the process works.

Fishless Cycle

Once the tank is cycled, what are you planning to stock it with? The first two fish you originally had are not appropriate for your sized tank. Both fish need a much larger tank as they are active fish that grow 5-6".

What "pH disaster" did you experience?

What are your current readings for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate? What test kit are you using?
Click to expand...
On a related matter, I am cycling with a single male betta. Long story short, it was a gift for my daughter’s birthday from her cousin. Started out in a small 2L bowl, and I have been steadily improving the poor little guy’s environment.
I have a 10G Tank w/ Hood and 2 10 Watt Sun Lights. AquaClear 20 Filter w/ Factory Sponge, Poly Fill, and Ceramic Bio Max. Just added several plants, 1 is a small anubia, the other 5 or 6 are 4 – 6 inch plants, long, thin pointed green leaves with yellow-white edges. I will have to go back and find out which kind they are.
Either way, I doubt a single betta can create enough waste to sustain the plants / substrate etc.
Should I perhaps add a few compatible fish to assist in the process? Tank is currently cycling, so don’t wish to make things worse re: NH//4, NO2 and NO3. Ammonia is currently under control with PWCs as needed. No sign of Nitrites yet.
 

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