# Started my fish less cycle today on 330l/88g tank.



## LariM78 (Nov 2, 2010)

OK well I've started the fish less cycle today. I used extremely concentrated ammonia, a 25% solution. I added only a small amount and lo and behold i got it right th first time. After 2 hours the ammonia was at 5ppm and I checked it again after 6 hours to make sure it is in fact not higher. I did a water change on my established tank today which has two canister filters. I took the sponges out of the two filters and squeezed them into the tank to add some bacteria and I also took some of the gravel out and put it into a stocking and into the tank as well.

I've read some posts here from some folks here that their cycle halted and that the ammonia would not go down etc and I'm hoping the same does not happen to me. I know that the normal time for ammonia to begin dropping is 72 hours but if you put some media and bacteria from an established tank in should the ammonia begin dropping sooner. Any pointers would be gladly received.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

You may not see ammonia drop that soon. If ammonia is dropping that means some of the bacteria you need to grow is already growing and it isn't a very speedy process. Although, ammonia can go down small amounts on its own with good aeration and filtering.

Sounds like you are doing everything right so far. I'd reduce slightly on the ammonia and dose that amount everyday. 4ppm is the initial level you wanted to attain, 5ppm is a little on the high side. Just keep going and don't second guess yourself. Eventually it will cycle. It's all about forcing the process to occur.


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## alhays31808 (Aug 27, 2011)

wow, i never thought of doing that, one time, my fish had ick, but my dad said they were OK, but i knew something was wrong


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

I agree with Jrman! I had stalled my cycle, doing 2 things I shouldn't have, hahhaa, and he told me what to do to fix it.... he's the fishless cycling guru, lol.

Good luck!


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## PolymerTim (Sep 22, 2009)

jrman83 said:


> I'd reduce slightly on the ammonia and dose that amount everyday. 4ppm is the initial level you wanted to attain, 5ppm is a little on the high side.


Just out of curiosity, what is the purpose of dosing every day at the beginning, especially if you don't want to go over 5 ppm? I fishless cycled my 29 gal FW using 4 ppm pure ammonia and it took about 5 days for the ammonia to start dropping. After that I added up to twice daily to bring back to 4 ppm. 

Its a long story, but I ended up delaying my second stage a bit by trying to speed it up. Even with my stumbles, it took about 6 weeks after the ammonia started dropping for the nitrites to drop.

Best of luck on your cycle!


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

PolymerTim said:


> Just out of curiosity, what is the purpose of dosing every day at the beginning, especially if you don't want to go over 5 ppm? I fishless cycled my 29 gal FW using 4 ppm pure ammonia and it took about 5 days for the ammonia to start dropping. After that I added up to twice daily to bring back to 4 ppm.
> 
> Its a long story, but I ended up delaying my second stage a bit by trying to speed it up. Even with my stumbles, it took about 6 weeks after the ammonia started dropping for the nitrites to drop.
> 
> Best of luck on your cycle!


I just went by the process that I had read about, used, and cycled my tank with. I guess I never really stopped to question one way or the other when it came to the process. Even dosing the amount everyday, at least on my tank, my ammonia level never hit 5ppm. Going over 5ppm is one thing if it has accumulated, but dosing an amount that is equal to 5ppm is a little on the high side. My tank was a 125g and it took 1 month to cycle.


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## LariM78 (Nov 2, 2010)

OK, progress report. It seems things are going along really well. After 48 hours or so the ammonia has dropped. On Saturday it was definitely at 5ppm. Today it less than 5 but I can't tell the exact amount since the colour chart of my test kit goes 0.5 to 1 to 5 to 10' but anyway, it's between 1 and 5 but still closer to 5. I tested nitrite and it seems to be around 1 ppm already so I expect that to increase. I think squeezing the sponges from my other tank's filters as well as putting in some gravel from the other tank has helped to accelerate the process. I will dose a small amount of ammonia again tonight to increase the ammonia again and then continue monitoring.


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## LariM78 (Nov 2, 2010)

I decided not to dose the tank last night since the ammonia was still high. Today I tested ammonia and nitrite and ammonia was 1 ppm and nitrite was 5 ppm so the cycle has taken hold. I dosed quite a small amount tonight and it brought the ammonia back up to between 1 and 5 ppm so i think it should be OK. Any things to look out for from now on?


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

Glad to hear the progress! You're well on your way!


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## LariM78 (Nov 2, 2010)

Wow the cycle is really moving along quickly. I had dosed the ammonia last night to almost 5 ppm and now 24 hours later the ammonia is 0 ppm. Nitrite is still high, higher than 5 ppm. Now what I'm wondering is should I still dose ammonia now, I don't want the bacteria that lowers the ammonia to die off. How long should the nitrite take to start dropping and should I really be dosing ammonia until they do start to drop. The sticky on the forum is not so clear on this or maybe I missed it. I guess that adding ammonia is not a big deal since the bacteria is taking care of it but I don't want to do something that will be detrimental to the cycle finishing.

Feedback?


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

I think Ben said you could do half the dose every other day or so, just to keep the bacteria alive so it can form the ones that turn Nitrites to Nitrates...... if you're worried, do a full dose every other day or so.


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## LariM78 (Nov 2, 2010)

For the third day in a row nitrite is 5 ppm and has not shown any reduction. If I dose ammonia, within 24 hours it is 0. How long does nitrite usually take to start dropping? Any ideas? I will dose a little ammonia again tonight and then check tomorrow again.


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## PolymerTim (Sep 22, 2009)

LariM78 said:


> For the third day in a row nitrite is 5 ppm and has not shown any reduction. If I dose ammonia, within 24 hours it is 0. How long does nitrite usually take to start dropping? Any ideas? I will dose a little ammonia again tonight and then check tomorrow again.


The second stage of cycling (the one your in) takes much longer than the first usually. Since you have another tank (it sounds like) I would recommend you transfer some more media over if you can to seed things further. The good news is that once the second bacteria get into your tank, they process the nitrites very quickly. In my case, I was testing every few days and between three days (possibly less, but I didn't test in between) my nitrites dropped from off the charts to zero and my nitrates jumped to 80 ppm! Just make sure you do water changes to get the nitrates under control before adding fish.

I kept dosing ammonia twice a day and my nitrites eventually got through the roof, but it still cycled eventually. I've only done this once though, so I can't say there is a better way. But I kept adding ammonia until I saw nitrates.

The pattern you saw with ammonia dropping is normal. When the bacteria first starts to colonize your tank, there aren't many of them, so they take a long time to eat up 5 ppm ammonia. But after they've eaten that ammonia, they reproduce, the population gets bigger, and the next day they eat it down faster. I would normally see 4 ppm ammonia last only about 12 hours when my tank finished cycling.

Sounds like you're doing fine, just have patience. From what I've read from others that have seeded their tank and followed a similar path as you, the stage of the cycle took 1-3 weeks.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

I would continue to dose at least every other day. I agree that this phase seems to take longer. If you see nitrates start to show up and the nitrites are still pegging your test after getting that result for at least 7-10 days, you could always do a water change to get it to a readable level. I know this goes against the principle of no water changes with a fishless cycle. It just depends on how much patience you have for it to dissipate. The safer thing to do is to let it ride.


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## LariM78 (Nov 2, 2010)

Progress! Nitrite has started to drop after about 9 days at over 5 ppm. I think that nitrite spiked at something like 10 ppm actually. Anyway I think it is about 4 ppm today - still high but on the way down at least. I increased the temperature and that certainly seem to have helped things along. I will continue to dose ammonia till cycle is complete.


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

Glad to hear it!


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## LariM78 (Nov 2, 2010)

I think I am done. Yesterday the nitrate had come down to zero. I dosed the tank again to about 1 ppm, about 7 hours later the ammonia was about 0.5 ppm and the nitrite was about 1 ppm. Now less than 24 hours later the ammonia is zero and nitrite is zero. Nitrate is about 50 pm so I will do a large water change and then go get my fish. Total cycle time was 2 weeks.


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## LariM78 (Nov 2, 2010)

Cycle finished on Friday, I did a 50% water change on Saturday and then added 15 Malawi Cichlids of various kinds. Now 3 days later the ammonia is 0, Nitrite is 0 and Nitrate is 10 ppm. This fish have settled and all look active and content... 

After this experience I would recommend a fishless cycle to anyone. There is no way I would have been able to add 15 fish in one go with the traditional cycling method.


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