Fishless cycle

[Gordo33]

I am currently cycling a 36 gallon tank to grow out juvenile Discus.
I purchased a generic brand ammonia .
To raise the ammonia level to 2 ppm I added 100 drops from a 5ml syringe
The tank temp is set at 80-81*
DIY sponge filter with 5 1" sponges ( 1 sponge was from display tank already seeded with bacteria)

Ammonia levels
Day 1-3 , 5 and 7 : 100 drops ammonia added to maintain 2 ppm. Reading prior to adding NH3 Was 1ppm
Day 8-11 no NH3 was added. Reading was decreasing from 1.5 - .5 ppm
Day 12 & 14. 20 drops NH3 added. NH3: .25ppm

Nitrite Levels
Day 3. < 0.25ppm
Day 4-7 0.25 ppm
Day 8-12. Steady increase to <5.0 but > 2.0. Those color charts tough to judge
Day 13-14 ~5.0ppm

Nitrates
Tested day 13 read 20ppm. ( tap water is 5 ppm)

Current plan is to keep NH3 between 0.25 - 0.50ppm and not allow nitrites to spike above 5ppm. The source I'm using states if nitrite goes above 5ppm will become toxic to bacteria. Once NH3 and nitrites reach 0 ppm then I will add 100 drops ammonia and look for both to reduce to 0 in 24 hrs 3 consecutive times for the tank to be fish ready. Then big WC to rid nitrates.

 

[MitchM]

Nice Gordo.
I always like to hear of fishless cycling being used.

 

[Gordo33]

Nice Gordo.
I always like to hear of fishless cycling being used.

Yes I'm not a fan of sacrificing fish for my tanks benifit.
In another forum I belong to called simply discus there are several members using a product from Dr. Tim and state they can add fish from day one without harmful affects. The link is posted in my reply to Jordan Meyers Nitrospira article. .

 

[Ponder Koi]

when you build your own filters its basically necessary to prime them without fish. I consider it a fun and easy in the part of the hobby. Just keep ph up and ammonia present, and large dose of any aquarium bottle bacteria and it does its self quickly. I think the bacteria will go dormant before they die from nitrite but large water change speeds up and finishes the cycle.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

the bacteria will go dormant before they die from nitrite

Never heard of this before.

 

[Ponder Koi]

Never heard of this before.

Im sure most life at that scale is very tolerable to any nitrogens

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Im sure most life at that scale is very tolerable to any nitrogens

Nitrite oxidizing bacteria (Nitrobacter) is inhibited by elevated Ammonia and Nitrate levels.
"The nitrite-oxidizing activity of ZS-1 (Nitrobacter) started to be inhibited by ammonia and nitrate when the concentrations of ammonia and nitrate reached 25 mg L-1 and 100 mg L-1, respectively. The inhibition was stronger with higher concentration of ammonia or nitrate. The nitrite-oxidizing activity of ZS-1, however, was not inhibited by high concentration of nitrite (500 mg L-1). The nitrite-oxidizing activity of ZS-1 was increased by low ammonia concentration (1 mg L-1 to 10 mg L-1)."
Ammonia stimulates growth and nitrite-oxidizing activity of Nitrobacter winogradskyi
Shouguang Ma, Demin Zhang*, Wenjun Zhang and Yinong Wang

and Ammonia oxidizing bacteria (Nitrosomonas) are inhibited by elevated levels of Nitrite.
"Nitrosomonas europaea, an obligate ammonia-oxidizing bacterium, lost an increasing amount of ammonia oxidation activity upon exposure to increasing concentrations of nitrite, the primary product of ammonia-oxidizing metabolism."

Loss of Ammonia Monooxygenase Activity in Nitrosomonas europaea upon exposure to Nitrite
Lisa Y. Stein and Daniel J. Arp

 

[Gordo33]

Tank cycled in 28 days...other forums state faster cycles with bottled products but I'm happy with outcome . Looking forward to growing out 3-4 juvenile discus to eventually go into my DT.

 

[IPA]

I am on third week into fishless cycle and run into a quandary. Ammonia finally began to get processed to nitrite and now I don't know how to proceed. My ammonia is 0 and nitrite is greater than 2.0 ppm. Do I keep adding enough ammonia to reach, say .25 ppm to keep Nitrosamines feed or do I just not add any ammonia for a time and how long? At what point do I need to become alarmed at nitrite levels?

 

[Meyer Jordan]

I am on third week into fishless cycle and run into a quandary. Ammonia finally began to get processed to nitrite and now I don't know how to proceed. My ammonia is 0 and nitrite is greater than 2.0 ppm. Do I keep adding enough ammonia to reach, say .25 ppm to keep Nitrosamines feed or do I just not add any ammonia for a time and how long? At what point do I need to become alarmed at nitrite levels?

Continue as you have until the Nitrate level begins to rise and Nitrite level declines. When Nitrite reaches zero, you can safely add fish. Nitrite levels during this period should not be a cause for concern as there are no fish to be harmed.
Have patience. Nature is working on it.

 

[MitchM]

I am on third week into fishless cycle and run into a quandary. Ammonia finally began to get processed to nitrite and now I don't know how to proceed. My ammonia is 0 and nitrite is greater than 2.0 ppm. Do I keep adding enough ammonia to reach, say .25 ppm to keep Nitrosamines feed or do I just not add any ammonia for a time and how long? At what point do I need to become alarmed at nitrite levels?

With a fishless cycling process, you are taking the place of your future fish that will be constantly producing ammonia, so keep adding a small amount of ammonia daily to maintain a healthy population of beneficial bacteria.
Half the initial amount added daily would be fine.

 

[IPA]

Thanks @Meyer Jordan and @MitchM

 

[MitchM]

Thanks @Meyer Jordan and @MitchM

There used to be a chart available where you could calculate a more exact amount to what ammonia you could add in by measuring your initial fish size/population.

It looks like they've replaced the chart with this page:
https://russellwatergardens.com/pages/metabolization-rates-of-biological-filters

You can use the information on that page to approximate the ammonia output of your initial fish population.

.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

I believe that this is the link that you were looking for @MitchM

https://russellwatergardens.com/pages/koi-length-and-weight

 

[MitchM]

I believe that this is the link that you were looking for @MitchM

https://russellwatergardens.com/pages/koi-length-and-weight

Yes, that's it. Thanks @Meyer Jordan