# Long time no post!



## Brook16 (Mar 27, 2011)

Afternoon all,
It's been a few years since I was a poster, as opposed to a lurker, but its good to be back! A few years back I had a 10 gallon which lasted a couple of years due to attrition, life getting in the way, etc. My 7 year old and I decided to give it another shot, doing a fishless cycle.
I've got a 10 gallon with an AquaClear 30 filter. We decided to go with the National Geographic substrate, as it had a feel of not quite sand but not quite gravel. Anyway, May 15 I put enough of Dr. Tim's pure ammonia to get 4ppm in the tank. I was very surprised to have to use 75 drops to get to 4ppm. Anyone else have an issue with their ammonia concentration? A small bottle of Tetra safe start went in next, and we waited. After testing for Ammonia and nitrites with API test tubes daily, we finally had a slight move in the color of the nitrite test on May 23. It was very slight, but enough away from the bright blue of a zero test result. 
I woke up this morning and decided to do an ammonia test. Overnight the ammonia dropped from 4 to 2ppm! Can't say whether it was the TSS, but perhaps the TSS, combined with a water temp of 84 plus lots of aeration did the trick. It seems like the cycle is well on its way now.
My apologies for the long post, but my son and I are very much into getting the tank up and running with a fishless cycle. As far as stocking goes, I am leaning towards harlequin rasboras, and he has always loved cories. Have to find a happy medium perhaps! I do have one question though...when the cycle is finally finished, how much stocking can be done initially? Full tank because of the bacteria? Small amount at a time?

Many thanks.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

When cycle is complete change water to bring nitrAtes to safe level and stock completely.
Enjoy and welcome back!


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## Brook16 (Mar 27, 2011)

coralbandit said:


> When cycle is complete change water to bring nitrAtes to safe level and stock completely.
> Enjoy and welcome back!


Thanks Coral - what are your thoughts about having rasboras and cories together? Enough room to do both?


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

7 rasbora and 7 dwarf cory would be full.
http://aqadvisor.com/AquStockImage....gUS&UL=inch&F=7:200909300094:,7:200912011170:
But is possible!
How are you on weekly maintnenance?
A 50% water change(5 gallons{I wish}) would set you and your fish on the right path IMO.*w3
Aqadvisor is always on the safe side so if you can keep the tank up don't be swayed by 97% capacity(my 180 is still around 220% according to them) for the last 6 years!


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## Brook16 (Mar 27, 2011)

Thanks...so I'm assuming they would have to be Pygmy cories then if they were to go with the rasboras


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Size is what allows you to stock any fish in a 10g!
An average sized cory should be in no less then a 20 long IMO.
You could try otos after the tank stabilized possibly?
They are small algae eaters but some feel they need larger tanks regardless.


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## SueD (Aug 4, 2012)

The habrosus cories look and act the most like larger cories and are really cute. They would be great for this sized tank. Pygmaeus and Hastatus are the other 2 dwarfs which are also fun to have.


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## Brook16 (Mar 27, 2011)

So I rechecked my ammonia levels today, and it was down to .25 ppm. The drop off was pretty quick...what's interesting though is, that faint color change for the nitrites is completely gone. A solid zero level. I tested nitrAtes for the first time today and it showed between 10 and 20. Just to make sure I tested my tap water and it showed zero nitrAtes. Could I have had a very small nitrite spike and missed it? I redosed my tank with ammonia to get it back to the 4ppm level to see how long it takes to come back down. Any comments?


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

I have seen many never register nitrites when cycling.
I can't explain why.
You are on right track.
If your ammonia is 0 tomorrow then make large waterchanges to get nitrates to safe and get some fish.


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## Brook16 (Mar 27, 2011)

Thought I'd give a quick update...I'm finding that the ammonia is dropping from 4ppm to about .25ppm, so I'm guessing there is still some work to do. One thing I noticed is that my ph dropped from 7.4 to 6.8. In other tanks I have had there has always been a struggle keeping ph up. I've seen it go as low as 6.0. Being from New York City, the water is very soft with a low kh and gh. So any time I see the ph drop I get a bit skittish! Going forward with fish in the tank, would something like aragonite help keep the gh and kh buffer? 

Have a good evening!


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## Brook16 (Mar 27, 2011)

So for the last few nights I would dose 4ppm of ammonia, and when I check the following night it gets down to .25, and nitrites are .05. NitrAtes are off the charts...ph is 6.6 and starting to drop, and both kh and gh are 5. Is it possible that the high nitrAtes are stalling the cycle a bit? If so, would a partial water change help? If so, how much?

Is 4ppm too much to be continuously dosing at this point if only .25ppm are left after 24 hours?

Thanks in advance.


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