ammonia problem

[UGAfan2001]

its been a week and a half now since i set up the tank. i let it run for a day, then i added plain old ammonia. my reading went to 5 ppm, and stayed steady for a few days, then dropped to 4ppm, which is where its at now, not changing, no nitrites on any test over the last week. whats the deal? when can i expect to see a drop in my ammonia and an increase in nitrites? i test every other day or so. im going to atlanta this weekend, should there be a problem leaving it unattended for a few days? like if the ammonia starts to drop while im gone, will it be okay til i get back? UHH, cycling is soooo frustrating! help me out...

Brad

 

[discus4everGrl]

I personally have not done a fishless cycle. However, I know the coming up or current issue of tropical marine magazine is going to have an article on fishless cycling. They had one last month on fish cycling which was very interesting which I have intended to do a post on since there is some very interesting variables to it that many don't realize. Be patient, the ammonia part usually takes the longest and be sure that you used pure ammonia (ie it should be clear) look at the ingrediants and if it has anything other than ammonia and water toss it and start over. I have read that alot of ammonia products have dyes and fragrances in them which will kill the bacteria your trying to create.

 

[FroggyFox]

Actually the ammonia portion usually takes the shortest amount of time...and the nitrite spike generally lasts about twice as long as the ammonia spike.

That being said, a week and a half is quite awhile not to have any nitrites show up. What temperature are you keeping the tank at? The higher the temperature the better as long as it isn't above 85 or so. Also...how much water agitation do you have? More oxygen is better when cycling...so if you can lower your water level a little bit to create more of a "waterfall" effect from your filter that might help speed things up a bit. Do you have any sources that you could get some seeding material from? A local store...friends with a tank??

As for going on vacation and leaving the tank cycling...I think I'd add just a tiny bit more ammonia (assuming its pure/clear ammonia like discusgirl said) to get the tank back up to 5ppm and then not worry about it till you get home. The bacteria isn't going to starve in a few days.

biggest thing is patience No freaking out. Take a deep breath. The learning experience is totally worth it in the end. Trust me! How big of a tank is it...do you know what you're going to put in it yet? These are things you can think about instead of worrying too much about what the tank's doing or not doing right now.

 

[UGAfan2001]

the tank size is 29 gallons, im currently running a regular hob filter, and an aquaclear powerhead. discusgirl, id be interested on your post whenever you get it up. ill ask a friend @ work if he can squeeze me some of his filter an give me some of his tank water, how much should i need? i plan on keeping kribs as well as breeding them, but not sure what else to put in. i cant find any bio spira in my area, and im headed to Atlanta where im sure ill have a better chance of finding it. you think this might help? oh well, patience is a virtue, im just not having much this time around.

Brad

 

[discus4everGrl]

Don't spend the money on bio-spira in atlanta on vacation. It has live bacteria in it that will surely die on your trip back. I will get that magazine article and post a thread shortly.

 

[FroggyFox]

You can take as much filter sqeezings as you can get If he takes the cartridge and squeezes the "dirty" water into a baggy for you a cup will probably come out...I'd take that and pour it directly into your filter. Then in a week or so (after you start seeing nitrites) Ask for some more again. Its been proven that if you seed it more than once during the cycle it really helps a lot. Just be sure that the filter squeezings dont sit in someone car or whatever for very long...get them out of that baggy and into your filter asap. Its kind of like getting biospira.

btw, how far are you from atlanta? If its too far then I wouldn't risk getting biospira...however if its not too far (couple hours) and you bring a cooler with you...get it on the way home and then use it as soon as you get home, then I dont see a problem with that. The biospira probably isn't going to die in a very short amt of time. Where people run into troubles is when they get a package that hasn't been handed correctly, hasn't been refrigerated, is past its shelf life, was allowed to heat up and then put back in the fridge etc. biospira wouldn't just help the cycle...it would complete it for you. If I were you and you got biospira...I'd do about a 100% water change and then refill the tank, add the biospira and stock the tank completely (as this is how biospira is supposed to work...its not meant to slowly cycle the tank like fishless cycling is)

I have a hard time with patience too...this is why I try to find things to avoid getting ancy...like shipping in biospira...or knowing the little hints to get a tank fishless cycled quickly. I have it down to 2 weeks Of course it helps a lot with other tanks around to seed the new tank from. It also helps alleviate the impatience when you do research, planning your tank, browsing mft

 

[UGAfan2001]

well, im back from ATL, got my bio spira, kept it in fridge til i left, and kept it wrapped up in a few plastic baggies, and put it in really cold water in a cooler, and it made it home fine, stayed cool the whole way. wow, i wish i had that many lfs'!! im scared to use that bio spira now though! im checking my ammonia and nitrites, and my ammonia is still really really high, like at least 4.0ppm. i dont want to waste the biospira, all in all good trip down though. someone let me know what they think i should do!!

Brad

 

[Lotus]

I would do a large water change, or a series of them to reduce the ammonia before you add the Bio-Spira. The ideal usage of it is to add the Bio-Spira and add fish immedietly, so I would try to recreate this as much as possible by getting ammonia and nitrites as low as possible. I've heard much better results this way than trying to add it with fish that have been in for a while or mixing it with a fishless cycle.

I'm assuming you have no fish in there, if so, do a 100% water change, fill it up again, then add the Bio-Spira when you have the fish.

 

[UGAfan2001]

okay, im in the process of a 100% water change, when doing so, do i need to empty my hob filter? do i need to change the filter itself? and i planned on getting the fish tomorrow, so hold off adding the biospira til i have them? do i need to add more ammonia before i add the biospira? or just the bio spira and then the fish? thanks again, everyone on here is sooo helpful.

Brad

 

[Lotus]

You can leave the HOB full, I don't think it will cause a problem. I wouldn't change the filter, either.

The best results I have heard are when people add the Bio-Spira, then add the fish a few minutes to an hour after (after netting, acclimating, etc., I don't think you need to rush to get the fish in). No, don't add any ammonia, the fish will be doing that soon after you add them.

Bio-Spira should work under other conditions, but I think the best results are with fresh water and adding fish straight away.

 

[UGAfan2001]

thanks soo much lotus! Great Help! ill keep you all posted on how my situation goes. fingers crossed, hope and pray it goes well, thanks again,

Brad

 

[Lotus]

Good luck with it