I dosed my 20 gal tank with 2 tsp ammonia at 6pm tonight. At 8pm, the ammonia reading was about 3-4ppm. I didn't dose again, as RTBob's fishless cycle post said 3-5ppm is the goal. I tested again at 10pm, and the ammonia is still at about 3 or 3.5ppm. Should I do an extra 1/2 tsp just to be sure there is enough, or leave it for the recommended 72 hours?

Thanks!!

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When I did it, I dosed and tested every day to keep 4.0 ppm. I think 3.0 - 3.5 is close enough for the moment. I'd test again in 24 hours. Perhaps the wait 72 hours technique works better, I don't know. Perhaps it lets more ammonia eating bacteria form and grow. For me, keeping it at 4.0 ppm every day allowed a full cycle in about 20 days for each of the three tanks I did. It was not long at all before the level was going to zero after 24 hours. I think the more sturcture items, rocks and such you have, the faster it works.

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60g tall, all artificial plants, Rainbow tank; 55g for African Cichlids. 20g long for fry; 20g hex, 2 black Angels at my desk; 10g planted, with 50 Molly fry; 10 gal, 2x 13w cfl lightning, planted; 2g hex for "Buddy the Betta"; Wanting a 200g +, MTS getting bad.

Thanks! I'll check it again tomorrow. If it's gone down, I'll do 1 more teaspoon and see if it can hold a steady level for another 24 hours. If I have to continue doing this that's fine. (How will I know when to test for NitrItes though if the ammonia level is always dropping?)

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If you have plenty of supplies, I'd start testing for NitrItes in about 3 days and do so daily. They say you will see a strong NitrIte spike but I never did. NitrItes rose after about a week or so but not super high. After that, I started testing for NitrAtes and started to see them slowly rise over a period of about 15-20 days. After that, NitrItes went to zero and I was set for a small bio-load. A few fish at a time until the bacteria catch up. I was testing for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates daily until I was sure all was ok. I also was doing 25% wc after I saw nitrates start to build.

If you're using the API kit, be SURE to shake the devil out of Nitrate bottle #2. ;-)

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60g tall, all artificial plants, Rainbow tank; 55g for African Cichlids. 20g long for fry; 20g hex, 2 black Angels at my desk; 10g planted, with 50 Molly fry; 10 gal, 2x 13w cfl lightning, planted; 2g hex for "Buddy the Betta"; Wanting a 200g +, MTS getting bad.

Thanks. I'm running Nitrazorb to help with my already sky high Nitrate levels, (our well water has a high level of Nitrates). I was assured this would not stop the cycling process.

So, while cycling, I'm not really paying too much attention to the Nitrates as the excess will be taken care of by the Nitrazorb. It's more the Ammonia and Nitrites I'm worried about.

I was also told that since dosing with ammonia is way more ammonia than cycling with fish would be, you can add everybody right away since the filter is prep'd for a high bio-load....?

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Hi Holly! Can you tell me how to recharge the Nitrazorb?

For my simple mind, the baseline NitrAtes would confuse the issue somewhat. I used the slowly increasing NitrAtes as an indicator that the cycle was close to complete. I guess after a period of a couple of weeks of dosing ammonia and seeing NitrItes go to zero would be an indication of full cycle as the NitrAtes are going to be present no matter what you do.

Each to their own I suppose regarding the bio-load. If the "go to the max" bunch are correct, then you are safe. If you add slowly, you are safer either way. If I had a bunch of fish in a goldfish bowl with a bubble filter I might be inclined to go for it, otherwise I'd go a few at a time. But hey, I'm the Neon killer so who am I to suggest. ;-) STILL stinging from that episode!

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60g tall, all artificial plants, Rainbow tank; 55g for African Cichlids. 20g long for fry; 20g hex, 2 black Angels at my desk; 10g planted, with 50 Molly fry; 10 gal, 2x 13w cfl lightning, planted; 2g hex for "Buddy the Betta"; Wanting a 200g +, MTS getting bad.

Neon killer? Someone actually called you that? Ouch! (That's ok, I've been called a rabbit killer). We couldn't keep our 2 dwarf rabbits anymore, so we gave them to friends who had a farm (and had rabbits). We figured they would be happy.... well, I guess they missed us or didn't adjust well to farm life, because they died not long after. One of my friends called me a rabbit killer. :(

As for the ammonia levels: It's day 2 and my levels are at about 2-4ppm (tested with strips and with liquid tests). Woot. I'll keep checking every day for the next 2 days and then go back to dosing (as per the RTBob post instructions). I hope I read it right...

For the Nitrazorb: (I wrote up the whole instructions but I guess my internet connection got disrupted because I don't see it posted here.....)

How often: The bag says to re-charge (for the very first time using Nitrazorb) every 5 days for 2 weeks. After that, you should be ok to re-charge every 2 weeks to a month. (Test once a week... if you see that waiting 2 weeks allows for too many Nitrates to build, re-charge once a week). You have to totally change the Nitrazorb media every 2 months. (But since the first bag has done the initial job of bringing the amount down, you can stay at charging once every 2 weeks or so... maybe less.... like I said, test the water). The only reason you re-charge so often in the beginning is to bring the numbers down fast. (For instance, mine are so high, the LFS guy recommended I re-charge once every 2 days for 2 weeks, then go to every 5 days for two weeks, then I should be good for every 2 weeks or so).

To re-charge: Dissolve 4 tablespoons of aquarium salt in 8 ounces (1 cup) of warm water, in a container. (It's a lot of salt, so not all of it will dissolve). Put the Nitrazorb in the container and let it soak for 2 hours. Then, rinse it lightly under running water and put it back in your filter. Voila, you're done! :D

Hope this helps!

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But hey, I'm the Neon killer so who am I to suggest. ;-) STILL stinging from that episode!

No, no one called me that other than myself. When I did the substrate replacement in my 10g community all 5 of my Neons died. Too much chemistry change I guess.

It looks like your fishless cycle is going well, just keep testing, dosing and be patient. (the hardest thing of all of it, for me at least)

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60g tall, all artificial plants, Rainbow tank; 55g for African Cichlids. 20g long for fry; 20g hex, 2 black Angels at my desk; 10g planted, with 50 Molly fry; 10 gal, 2x 13w cfl lightning, planted; 2g hex for "Buddy the Betta"; Wanting a 200g +, MTS getting bad.

Indeed! I'll re-dose once the levels start to drop. (Since it's at about 4-5ppm if I dose again now, it'll be way to high and may stall the cycle).

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