# having trouble getting my cycling started



## merks91 (Feb 13, 2007)

so i just got my 75 gallon set up with sand driftwood and decor etc. i bought ammonia but i'm goessing it wasn't completely pure becauese it has bubbles at the top when you shake it. it is just called "ammonia" and it is uncented and doesn't appear to have anything else in it. i went to add about 46 drops to my tank to get my cycling started and then i did my ammonia test a few minutes later. it went up to around .50 and then i waited a while. i did another test and still .50. i went on to add another 20 drops and did the test and it was still around .50. i kept adding more and now i've gotten it up to around .75 possibly. i know i need to get it to maybe 1.5 but i wouldn't think i'd have to add this much ammonia. since it seems my ammonia isn't "pure" could that be causing it to be not as potent? please reply to this because i want to get my cycle going ASAP. oh one more quick off topic question. if i want to post a picture, how would i go about doing that? i looked on the forums and havn't found anything yet.


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## molsonian (Nov 12, 2005)

if you have an ammonia reading then its already started basically...be patient it wont cycle over night


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## merks91 (Feb 13, 2007)

haha yeah i know i'm pretty patient with the whole cycling process but i read in the "fishless cycling" that i need to get it up to 1.5 ppm. oh well i'll try to get it up tomorrow.


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## Humper (Aug 7, 2006)

haha just be patient...im going on one month and a week now and still no nitrites


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## 2PiRaNhA~2FuRrY (Nov 1, 2005)

A good 3-4 week cycle will complete your cycle, But how would you know if your tank cycle are completed? get a ammonia reading to determined rather your tank are cycle or not...if it complete cycle, do some 30-50% of water change before you add any fish. Cycling tank are very important toward your fish, and other cause from having your tank bad water, algae, fish sick, etc....

Here is some tips for you know know about best way to cycle tank by Jerry....

_Fishless cycling: -- For many people the fishless cycle is
the way to go. 5-6 drops of pure ammonia per 10 gallons per
day until nitrite spike. Going forward with 2-3 drops per 10
gallons a day until ammonia and nitrites are zero and
nitrates are more than 0. Then perform a 50% water change,
add fish.

Filter media from an established tank. -- If you have an
established tank and you're thinking of getting another tank
place an extra filter on the established tank for a month
before you setup a new tank. Then when you are ready for
your new tank throw in an ammonia source whether it be fish,
food, or pure ammonia and place the filter on new tank.

Cycling with cheap fish -- Not totally safe due to the
possibility of introducing parasite and disease. If you plan
on a "shoal" than 10 cheap fish per 60 gallons should be
sufficient to cycle a tank. If you plan on a solitary fish
than 5 cheap fish per 60 gallons should be sufficient.

Cycling with your prized fish in tank -- Not the recommended
way but some people buy a fish and say "what's cycling, what
do i do now"? Well, aside from the fact that you shouldn't
put your fish in this situation to start with, if you're
already stuck you can minimize the chances of affecting fish
health by the following method. During this period, place a
tablespoon of salt per 10 gallons pre-dissolved in tank to
prevent nitrite poisoning, add ammo-lock to water and follow
the directions to how much to add to detoxify the ammonia
level you have. A salicylate based ammonia test kit such as
in the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals master test kit will be
necessary to monitor ammonia levels.

Note -- Bio Spira can be used to accelerate the cycling
process by adding 1 ounce for every 30 gallons. This is the
only product i know that actually contains live bacteria. It
can be used in any of the cycling methods you choose._


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## merks91 (Feb 13, 2007)

thanks for the help guys. i just woke up and did my ammonia test first and probably got a reading a bit higher than .75 so that means it is climbing even if slowly. then i did my nitrite/nitrate test and i got a small but noticable reading for nitrites and i slightyly more potent reading for nitrates. well i guess that means my cycling process is on its way, i think the nitrates are from the established bacteria from my other tank that i added a few days ago. i'll give an update later tonight.


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## Rice & Beanz (Oct 30, 2006)

You should try biospira to quicken the process


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## BlackSunshine (Mar 28, 2006)

If you have nothing producing ammonia your ammoina should no raise overnight. 
At any rate I would also suggest getting some Biospira and adding it to the tank to speed the process along.


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## merks91 (Feb 13, 2007)

alright its been 3 days, my ammonia levels havn't changed and well none of m parameters have changed...hmm hope this speeds up soon.


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## merks91 (Feb 13, 2007)

alright i did some more stuff today to try and speed it up. i did a water change on my 20 gal tropical community tank today and i gravel vacced out a bunch of poo into a bucket as usual. but today i put the water at the bottom of the bucket contaning assy poo and poured it into my cycling piranha 75 gal. i thought this might help boost ammonia levels or something. i also had to change the filter bag today and swapped it with the carbon bag that was currently in 75 gal. do you think this should help speed it up or will it not really change anything?


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## spinalremains (Nov 10, 2006)

That might help by introducing dirty water. I would think about throwing in a couple of raw shrimp to decompose in there as well. It may help speed up an ammonia reading.


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## merks91 (Feb 13, 2007)

ok i got my ammonia up to a steady 1.0 but nothing has changed in my nitrites. i have .5 or zero nitrites and 20 nitrates. its been about a week now and i should have seen some change on those correct?


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## Dr. Giggles (Oct 18, 2003)

If like you said when you shook the ammonia, it foamed up you don't want to use it for cycling..... Jerry


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## merks91 (Feb 13, 2007)

but still if i can get my reading up shouldn't that still work?


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## Humper (Aug 7, 2006)

It will get your reading up but it has other things in it that are harmful to the fish


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## merks91 (Feb 13, 2007)

its not bringing up the nitrites though. i understand there supposed to have peaked by now. currently its at .5 to zero. but what if i did say a 50 percent water change after the cycle was complete would that still harm the fish?.


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## merks91 (Feb 13, 2007)

any ideas? its still the same today.


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## merks91 (Feb 13, 2007)

still the same, could someone please reccomend an ammonia brand they have used successfully in cycling their tank cus i think the problem might be with the ammonia?


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## merks91 (Feb 13, 2007)

ok i just got back from the store and i got new ammonia, it just contains soft water and ammonia, uncented and no bubbles when shaken. i'll get back later with results although i doubt anyone cares haha, most of the posts on this are mine with unanswered questions.


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## merks91 (Feb 13, 2007)

alright ihave another question that probably won't get answered...before that i do have some good news. after using the new bubble-less ammonia my nitrite level has come to about 3 and my nitrate level is around 40 ish so i know its actually working now. but my question is, since i've been using the "bad" ammonia for about a week and a half before i switched i'm sure if filled my tank with bad bad things. do you think these bad things will go away after my 50% water change at the end of the cycle?? i also notices some weird algae deposits last week such as this really fuzzy stuff that looked like hair almost but it wasn't green, it was tanish. any idea what that is?


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## merks91 (Feb 13, 2007)

anyone? please?


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## merks91 (Feb 13, 2007)

can anyone help me or should i just give up hope on a response...


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## Sparky73 (Dec 16, 2005)

Hey. Your tank looks nice. About the ammonia and using the wrong kind, I am guessing you may have to do a couple water changes. After the tank is cycled, I was always told if anything is in your tank that isnt supposed to be, do like a 50% water change for 3 days in a row..making sure to add the water conditioner. Carbon in your filters may help also.

About the Fungi stuff, its hard to tell without a picture, but it sounds like what I had that started growing on my Driftwood. From what I was told it was completly harmless. If it really bugs you, whatever it is growing on, take out of your tank and make sure to boil and scrub it to remove the bacteria.

HTH
Jon


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## merks91 (Feb 13, 2007)

hey thanks for the help. the algae doesn't bother me i just don't want it to harm my P's. i scrubbed most of it off today anyways. well, once my cycles done i'll be sure to do a few 50% changes.


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