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vancegiardino
06-10-2011, 07:41 PM
Fishless Cycling

Hello I am into my 5th week of fishless cycling. For 2 weeks my ammonia was 2 ppm , nitrites 5ppm, nitrates 20 ppm, ph 7.6 water temp 76 f .
Now for the last 5 days my Amm is 0 , nitrites 5ppm, nitrates 20ppm , ph 7.6, temp 76 f.
I get hardly any ammonia readings i've tried doubling the dose of Ammonia too. I was hoping the nitrites would go away so I could add fish to my system. What do you think I should do next?

Thank You So Much!

keith_r
06-10-2011, 08:03 PM
sit on your hands
the nitrates will drop and you;ll be ready for the fish

urbanfarmer
06-10-2011, 09:25 PM
Don't add as much ammonia so the nitrites drop faster, but otherwise just wait.

vancegiardino
06-11-2011, 06:40 AM
Ok thank you, I was kind of worried that the bacteria would die so I added more ammonia. So just keep the original dosage huh? Allright i'll ride it out with patience.

rfeiller
06-11-2011, 08:10 AM
to maintain a level bacteria base maintain a steady flow of ammonia, the bacteria colony is determined by the nutrients provided. they do once colonize reproduce quite rapidly. the trick is what is going to be the bio load produced by the fish is it greater then what you have been providing?

vancegiardino
06-11-2011, 01:37 PM
Not sure how big the bio load will be, I have a 45 gallon fish tank and have been adding 1/2 tspoon of ammonia until the ammonia dropped then i doubled that. I was thinking 15 medium size crappies would suffice?
What are your thoughts on this?

cedarswamp
06-11-2011, 01:38 PM
IMHO keep adding ammonia to 2 PPM until your system is fully cycled and the ammonia and nitrite are gone in about 12 hrs. Be patient it'll happen.

EDIT: 45 gallons I would be adding about 2 tablespoons a day. Add one and test before adding the other. I used a tablespoon a day on my 20 gallon tank.

urbanfarmer
06-11-2011, 03:48 PM
IMHO keep adding ammonia to 2 PPM until your system is fully cycled and the ammonia and nitrite are gone in about 12 hrs. Be patient it'll happen.

EDIT: 45 gallons I would be adding about 2 tablespoons a day. Add one and test before adding the other. I used a tablespoon a day on my 20 gallon tank.
The volume of ammonia added depends on the concentration. It would take 500% more of a 2% ammonia solution versus a 10% to adjust it to the SAME PPM, etc...