Author Topic: Cycling (Read 8684 times) 24 replies

ColB · « **on:** July 16, 2013, 12:37:48 PM »

Hi
I'm just started a fishless cycle and have nothing to look at . Can i add some plants or will the amonia kill them off. I started one week ago .
Thanks for any advice.

Col

Sue · « **Reply #1 on:** July 16, 2013, 12:43:42 PM »

You can add plants. The downside is that if you mean real live plants you have to turn the light on for a few hours a day which will encourage algae to grow. If you mean synthetic plants you won't need the light on but you may still get some algae growing on them. If you don't mind the algae, add the plants

I have read reports of some plants not liking ammonia, but that was generally when we used 5ppm ammonia rather than the lower levels we know to use nowadays.

ColB · « **Reply #2 on:** July 16, 2013, 12:54:16 PM »

Yes , sorry , i did mean live plant but would i get algae anyway after i've finished my cycle or would the bacteria slow the algae growth .
Thanks Sue

ColinB · « **Reply #3 on:** July 16, 2013, 12:56:26 PM »

Welcome to the forum, Col.

This could get confusing

Sue · « **Reply #4 on:** July 16, 2013, 01:13:04 PM »

ColinB - don't change your avatar so that when I see Mike Wazowski I'll think of you

ColB - and I'll think of you when I see your three-eyed fish (someone will have to tell me if that's a cartoon character)

Both algae and the ammonia eating bacteria feed on ammonia, as do live plants. That's why you tend to get more algae during cycling because you are adding ammonia so there is a lot of it in the water. But you need a lot of vigorously growing plants to starve the filter bacteria.
Once the tank is cycled, you may or may not get a lot of algae. Various things promote its growth - having the lights on too long; overfeeding the fish so there is more ammonia and them nitrate made as they are both food for algae; insufficient water flow and so on. There are many species of algae and the causes and cures can be different.

There will alwys be some algae in a tank, the trick is to stop it taking over.

ColB · « **Reply #5 on:** July 16, 2013, 02:32:49 PM »

Thanks for the advice, i think i'll leave the tank as it is for now. On a different topic in the hood of my aquarium there are 2 white bulbs and 1 red bulb, the red one can be switched off independantly, is there a reason for this as there are no instructions with the tank.
The cartoon fish is blinky from the simpsons.

Sue · « **Reply #6 on:** July 16, 2013, 04:45:06 PM »

What make is the tank? I've heard of tanks having 1 white and 1 blue bulb to simulate daylight and moonlight but never a red bulb before.

Resa · « **Reply #7 on:** July 16, 2013, 04:56:42 PM »

Welcome to the forum, ColB.....it doesn't take much to confuse me, and this won't help!

ColB · « **Reply #8 on:** July 16, 2013, 07:39:32 PM »

Hi .
I bought it from all pond solutions , i think it's from China.

Resa · « **Reply #9 on:** July 16, 2013, 07:46:53 PM »

Hi ColB,

Don't know how true it is, but when my son was looking for a new marine tank, he was warned about the chinese tanks, as though they are considerably cheaper, a friend of his had got one and the front glass came away from the rest of the tank, doing rather a lot of damage to his floor and obviously, his fish.

It may have been a one-off, but the guy at his LFS said it wasn't the first time he had heard of this.
Anyway, just something to keep an eye on....

Sue · « **Reply #10 on:** July 16, 2013, 07:53:45 PM »

All Ponds Solutions do make cheaper products, be it tanks, filters or whatever. The main complaint I've heard of with the tanks is the quality of the trim. That is mainly aesthetic though rather than funtional. And the plastic that their external filters are made from apparently looks a bit cheap.

I've had a look at APS's site, and it does mention red and white tubes in the aquarium section, though there doesn't seem to be any in their lighting section. When you say red, do you mean bright scarlet or a light with a pink hue to it? Some tubes designed to enhance plants have a pink hue to them, which I don't like as they make the fish look funny colours.

What does the red light have written on it?

ColB · « **Reply #11 on:** July 17, 2013, 08:56:40 AM »

Hello.

The tank cabinet wood is plastic wrapped but that makes sense because it's water proof and i guess you get what you pay for. It's my first tank so i've nothing to compare it with, it's has a years guarantee but that won't mean anything if the front comes off. Thanks for the warning. The bulb has a pink tinge as you say and apparently the marine ones are blue .
Thanks for your help
Col

Sue · « **Reply #12 on:** July 17, 2013, 12:52:27 PM »

Different types of light tube emit light at different wavelengths. The ones that emit a pinkish glow are supposed to emit the best wavelengths for plants to use for photosynthesis. I don't like them as they make my fish look a funny colour so I just use white light ones. If you don't mind the appearance and you want live plants then keep the pink one.

The pink tubes aren't as bad as the T8's that Juwel supplied as standard with their tanks when I got mine. The Juwel tubes were renowned for their awful greenish yellow tint. They tuned the water the same colour as if, ermmm, someone had relieved themselves in the tank.

ColB · « **Reply #13 on:** July 25, 2013, 09:35:11 AM »

I've been fishless cycling for 3 weeks so far and my amonia levels have not moved . I've been following Sue's instructions so i can't understand my problem. Three day's ago i did a 60% water change to see if i can get he ball rolling and for something to do , but so far nothing . Is it a case of just giving it a bit more time or is there such a thing as a dead tank .

Sue · « **Reply #14 on:** July 25, 2013, 09:50:42 AM »

A few questions please:

Which method of fishless cycling are you using, the older version or the latest idea

You have added the right amount of ammonia?

What is the pH of the tank? The bacteria grow better at high pH.

Do you know your KH value? I've learned very recently that the bacteria need a source of inorganic carbon - that's carbonate/bicarbonate or CO₂. If your KH is very low, you don't have much carbonate. Either get a shop to test for it or buy a tester.

Have you used a bacterial starter? If not, you could try Tetra Safe Start as that's the one that works most often (though not always).

What is your water source? There was a member on the old forum, for instance, who has well water which was sterilised by UV light, which killed all the bacteria in his water supply. Is yours plain old piped water? Or are you using RO?

Sometimes it can take longer to start the cycle. Some water companies are better at killing bacteria than others.

ColB · « **Reply #15 on:** July 25, 2013, 11:08:45 AM »

Hi Sue
I think i've been following the old one but since my water change my amonia is 2 ppm. I'm just using tap water which is 17.1 KH and 7.8 PH and no UV filter . I have been using aquapet filterstart for 2 weeks .

ColinB · « **Reply #16 on:** July 25, 2013, 04:23:17 PM »

Quote from: ColB on July 25, 2013, 11:08:45 AM

Hi Sue
I think i've been following the old one but since my water change my amonia is 2 ppm. I'm just using tap water which is 17.1 KH and 7.8 PH and no UV filter . I have been using aquapet filterstart for 2 weeks .

Are you sure your KH is 17.1^o? That's very, very high. It sounds more like a GH value in a hard water area - southern England in the chalk. Which test kit are you using?

Sue · « **Reply #17 on:** July 25, 2013, 04:52:40 PM »

Unless the KH is 17.1ppm? Which is very low, only about 1 german degree.

That bottled bacteria is not one that works very often. In the UK the only that works sometimes is Tetra Safe Start, the others hardly ever work.

ColB · « **Reply #18 on:** July 26, 2013, 07:00:21 AM »

Hi
Andy M told me the hardness from Yorkshire water website but i can't to find the KH myself .

Sue · « **Reply #19 on:** July 26, 2013, 10:33:14 AM »

Not many water company websites have the KH on them. You need to test the water. Either take a sample to a shop and ask them to test it (make sure they tell you the unit, either degrees or ppm) or buy a test kit. A shop test would be cheaper.

If the KH does turn out to be low, that could slow the cycle down and cause the pH to crash later in the cycle. I'm in Teesside with Northumbrian Water. My KH is 3 degrees/~55ppm which is low. I did a fishless cycle in spring and my pH dropped from 7.4 to below 6.0 overnight at the stage where nitrite was just starting to fall.

If it does turn out to be low KH, there is a very simple thing you can do to raise it for the duration of the cycle. When you do the big water change at the end, you will replace all the water before getting fish so they won't be affected.

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Author Topic: Cycling (Read 8684 times) 24 replies

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