planted cycling - how much how long?

[Django]

Shift:

To know when the tanks are finished cycling, between now and check Nitrates if you want to. When you are confident that the amonia-converting bacteria are eating all the ammonia in a small amount of time (it's really that ammonia = 0 when you test it. Number of minutes is good information but not essential. You just want that zero when you take 5 ml out of the tank and test it.

Then you will start to see a nitrite spike - same thing with that. Then test the nitrates. If there are nitrates present in the water, note the level and if it's above 20 ppm do a large water change, say 50%. After you have one of the 3 10s cycled do those levels on the onther two.

[shift]

My main question is if i am dosing 4 drops of ammonia daily... after how many hours should I test it and confirm its at 0 ?

[Django]

I don't know this one. Haven't seen this question before. It seems like ammonia shouldn't be floating around the tank. Try using pump speed divided by tank size - in minutes. That's once around the tank. I'd like to see, just out of curiosity, what 1 minute tests at.

Since you were wondering, I considered doing a Google search on this but ended up using TPT's search.

Originally Posted by shift

My main question is if i am dosing 4 drops of ammonia daily... after how many hours should I test it and confirm its at 0 ?

[shift]

ill try the does in the am, wait an hour test then test 12 hours later to see the difference

tomorrows test!

[bikinibottom]

Originally Posted by shift

My main question is if i am dosing 4 drops of ammonia daily... after how many hours should I test it and confirm its at 0 ?

I've always waited for 24 hours on my tanks. For example, I'm cycling a 20-gal right now, and when I wake up in the morning I test to see where the ammonia and nitrite is at. Then I dose ammonia. Then I wait and re-check the next morning. If it's been 24 hours and everything is 0, then I dose one more time, wait 12 hours, and check again. If it's still 0 in 12 hours, then the cycle is done. If there's still lingering ammonia or nitrites, I keep dosing until those two are 0.

[shift]

Thanks bikinibottom!

How many drops of ammonia are you using per day for your 20 gal?

Do you do water changes at all during cycling or is it all off the original fill?

[shift]

AS an update, i have learned that 2.5ml of ammonia will give you about 4ppm.

And for fun a few pics of my tanks. (cell phone shots, will take better ones later!)

The "main" origional tank. Currently housing 4 neons, 12 cpds a nerite snail and 10ish pumpkin shrimp




My Second breeding/"love shack" tank, now housing 10ish PFR shrimp and 10-15 fry!

It made me laugh when i lifted up the light and saw the nice coating of algae over the edge directly under it and the filter rocks.. but i'm sure its some how beneficial so it can stay for now.. (at least while the fry are there)



3 tanks that are currently cycling, will be a shrimp/fry tanks.
providing they finish cycling soon i may have 12 yellow shrimp moving into one of them next week.




I will probably do some re-scaping later as i prefer the natural look.. but for now i decided to use some of the ornaments that came with the tanks.

[Django]

Lookin' good...why not put the bubbler inside the skull? Actually these bacteria need oxygen and give out, you guessed it, CO2!

Gotta go.

[shift]

The bubblers are part of my speed of the cycle methods. they will be replaced with sponge filters once they arrive, but bubblers are better than nothing!

[shift]

So this morning i was at 4ppm ammonia and 12 hours later i'm at 1-2ppm.. which is a good sign, hopefully 0 by morning

[shift]

So i just tested the nitrite and got 0 on 2 tanks and .1 on the other... 3-4ppm of ammonia gone in 12 hours.. not bad at all for accelerated cycling! (1.5 ish weeks since i started)


i upped my does from 1.5ml up to 2 ml to test in the morning and see where its at!

I love accelerating cycling

[shift]

Nitrites are finally 0 within 24 hours of dosing 3-4ppm ammonia.

Next question. I have to go out of town for work for 3-4 days. Will not dosing the tanks with ammonia for a few days mess up the cycle? I don't want to put fish or shrimp in until i get back. (and get someone to feed multiple tanks while i'm away)

[Django]

The best answer I can come up with from a quck google search is put a small piece of raw fish in each tank and leave it until you get back. Next question...

Originally Posted by shift

Nitrites are finally 0 within 24 hours of dosing 3-4ppm ammonia.

Next question. I have to go out of town for work for 3-4 days. Will not dosing the tanks with ammonia for a few days mess up the cycle? I don't want to put fish or shrimp in until i get back. (and get someone to feed multiple tanks while i'm away)

[shift]

Guess who's having shrimp cocktail this weekend! :P

Thanks Django

[shift]

A little more planted now