pepetj

10gal. Freshwater planted fishless cycling log (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic)

DAY BEFORE ZERO: April 17th, 2008 I joined the Fish Lore community and started reading… you got me back, and I thank you!

DAY ZERO: TANK SET UP, Saturday, May 3rd, 2008
Equipment:
• ten gallon glass tank (new)
• one cover with 20W fluorescent lamp (new)
• two lbs. of gray/brown sand (river sand for construction)
• ½ lb of river gravel (river gravel for construction)
• one HOB filter with sponge and activated carbon pouch (new)
• one Elite 810 air pump (new)
• one mid sized Air stone (new)
• one “analog” crystal thermometer (new)
• one Tetra-test Laborett water test kit (new)
• two 10 liter plastic buckets (new)
• six foot of ¾” transparent hose (for water siphoning) (new)
Duties performed:
4:00 PM to 4:45 PM:
• cleaning of tank with paper tissue (moist in water tap) to remove dirt, loose silicon, etc.
• rinsing of river sand with tap water (required 22 water changes, removal of solid organic debris, plus one Dominican Trumpet Snail –not the ones I would have in my aquarium!)
• rinsing of river gravel with tap water (required 9 water changes, removal of solid organic debris, no other solids found)
• placing of the tank in temporal location (over small but sturdy table in the living room)
• placing the substrate: first the sand, on top a handful of gravels (most of them had sharp edges and were discarded)
• filling the tank with tap water (no chlorine/chloramines removal agents used) placing extended hand to avoid disturbing the substrate (Thanks for tips in the forum!), the water looks terribly cloudy, kind of yellow-brown with the lights on, visibility near zero (three inches forward tops)
• HOB filter and air stone running at full speed, lights on.
5:00 PM Tap water chemistry:
Temp. 26°C, pH 7.50, NH3+/NH4+ at 0.0, NO2 at 0.0, GH 8, KH 8.5.
Note: Our building’s water source combines treated water from local aqueduct, with untreated well water (from about 1 mile deep subterranean river –that’s the info I got)

DAY ONE: LET THE nitrogen cycle BEGIN! Sunday May 4th, 2008
4:00 PM Full tank water change, filter elements rinsed in tap water.
5:00PM (Method of adding 5 drops of ammonia for 10 gallons of water)
5 drops of ammonia solution (no idea of concentration, generic bottle, ammonia without additives)
5:30 PM Water Chemistry:
Temp: 27°C; Ph at 7.50; NH3+/NH4+ at 3.0, NO2 at 0.0

DAY TWO Monday May 5th, 2008
2:30 PM 5 drops of ammonia added
2:45 PM Water Chemistry:
Temp 28°C; Ph 8.00; NH3+/NH4+ at 3.0; NO2 at 0.0; GH at 10

DAY THREE Tuesday May 6th, 2008
11:30 AM Go Plants! (bunched plants had a gravel stone as weight, tied with rubber band, replaced that with lead stripes (Isn't lead toxic?) added 1 lb of natural rounded aquarium gravel without acrylic coating)
• One Anubias Barteri,
• a bunch of Giant Baby Tears (Micranthemum Umbrosum),
• two Amazon Swords,
• a bunch of Anakaris (Egaria Densa)
12:15 PM 5 drops of ammonia added
12:30 PM Finally some NO2 readings! Water Chemistry:
Temp 27°C; Ph 7.75; NH3+/NH4+ at 1.5; NO2 at 0.09; KH at 2
11:30PM Unexpected invertebrate in the aquarium! Discovery of a tiny rounded shell snail moving through the Annubias Barteri! Would he/she make it through the cycling?

DAY FOUR Wednesday May 7th, 2008
11:15 AM Water Chemistry:
Temp 27°C; Ph 8.00; NH3+/NH4+ at 1.5; NO2 at 0.09
11:30 AM Change in Cycling! (Modified method of creating Ammonia peak by adding X drops of ammonia until 5 to 6 PPM is attained, instead of only 5 drops per day per 10 gallons of water; X=15. Waiting for NO2 Spike) 5 drops of ammonia added, then:
11:45 AM Water Chemistry:
Temp 27°C; Ph 8.00; NH3+/NH4+ at 3.0; NO2 at 0.09
12:15 PM 10 drops of ammonia added
12:30 PM Water Chemistry:
Temp 28°C; Ph 8.00; NH3+/NH4+ at 5.0; NO2 at 0.48
8:30 PM System upgrade: One-to-three air pump distributor with regulators, 2nd Air stone (a large one), 2nd Sponge/Carbon (interior wall mounted filter, small unit)
Note: The added second filter is to cultivate bacteria for the upcoming tanks (I’m definitely back into freshwater scene after 20 years out, so I’m going to set up a quarantine/hospital 5gal tank and a bigger tank –my three and a half year old daughter wants this tank for her, so maybe next one will be a lovely 26gal tank that I saw at the store –or a 55 gal or 160 gal the owner offered? Maybe all of them?

DAY FIVE Thursday May 8th, 2008
12:15 PM Aren’t NO2 levels supposed to be rising? Water Chemistry:
Temp 27°C; Ph 7.75; NH3+/NH4+ at 1.5; NO2 at 0.24
12:30 PM seven drops of ammonia added
1:15 PM Water Chemistry:
Temp 28°C; Ph 7.75; NH3+/NH4+ at 3; NO2 at 0.48

DAY SIX Friday May 9th, 2008
1:15 PM NO2 Spike occurs! Water Chemistry:
Temp 27°C; Ph 8.00; NH3+/NH4+ at 0.0; NO2 >1 (range from 1.0 to 10)
1:30 PM seven drops of ammonia added
7:30PM Water Chemistry:
Temp 28°C; Ph 8.25; NH3+/NH4+ at 1.5; NO2 Spike (>1); GH 7, KH 4.5, CO2 at 0.9
12:30AM Water Chemistry:
Temp 27°C; Ph 7.5; NH3+/NH4+ at 0.0; NO2 at spike (>1).

DAY SEVEN Saturday May 10th, 2008
1:45 PM: First officially inhabitants: Go Snails!
Seven Apple Snails (Pomacea Bridgesii, from the wild) added (without acclimating).
1:45 PM Water Chemistry:
Temp 28°C; Ph 7.75; NH3+/NH4+ at 0.0; NO2 at spike (>1).
2:00 PM: seven drops of ammonia added
3:45PM Water Chemistry:
Temp 29°C; Ph 7.75; NH3+/NH4+ at 1.5; GH 7; KH: 4.5 NO2 at spike (>1); CO2 at 2.5
4:30PM: DIY Reflector:
Aluminum/Tin foil wrapped as “interior wallpaper” to the 20W Fluorescent lamp housing
8:30PM: Mixed News: Baby snail spotted! but one of the Apple snails has not moved since dropped in the tank. Is he/she dead?
8:35PM: Lights off
11:00 PM Water Chemistry:
Temp 29°C; Ph 7.75; NH3+/NH4+ at 0.0; NO2 Spike (>1).

DAY EIGHT Sunday May 11th, 2008
9:30 AM Lights on. Floating Apple Snail declared dead (presumably dead before arrival, so no new tank casualties yet!)
2:15 PM Water Chemistry:
Temp 28°C; Ph 7.75; NH3+/NH4+ at 0.0; NO2 Spike (>1).
2:30 PM: 7 drops of ammonia added
2:45 PM Water Chemistry:
Temp 28°C; Ph 8.00; NH3+/NH4+ at 0.0; NO2 Spike (>1).
9:30 PM Water Chemistry:
Temp 28°C; Ph 8.00; NH3+/NH4+ at 0.0; NO2 Spike (>1), GH 7, KH 4.5, CO2 at 1.6
10:45 PM: Lights off

DAY NINE Monday May 12th, 2008
9:45 AM: Lights on
1:15 PM: Water Chemistry:
Temp: 28°C; Ph at 7.75; NH3+/NH4+ at 0.0; NO2 at 0.48 (confirmed by two measures)
1:30 PM: 7 drops of ammonia added.
1:45 PM: Water Chemistry:
Temp 29°C; Ph 7.75; NH3+/NH4+ at 1.5; NO2 Spike (>1); GH 7, KH 4.0; CO2 at 2.0.
9:30PM: Lights off.
10:15PM: Water Chemistry:
Temp 28°C; Ph 7.5; NH3+/NH4+ at 0.0; NO2 at 0.48; GH 7, KH 3.5; CO2 at 3.5.

ANY SUGGESTIONS/COMMENTS?
Old Newby
Pepe Teijeiro
Santo Domingo

pepetj

DAY TEN Tuesday May 13th, 2008
1:30 PM: Lights on
1:45 PM: Water Chemistry:
Temp: 28°C; Ph at 7.75; NH3+/NH4+ at 0.0; NO2 at 0.24, GH 7, KH at 4.0, CO2 at 2
2:00 PM: 7 drops of ammonia added
2:30 PM: Test equipment added:
NO3 Test from Marine Enterprises, Inc (nitrate Test Kit CA-11)
1 fl oz (30 ml) bottle of Chlorine/Chloramide removal from Nutrafin (ChlorXchange)
8:30 PM: Water Chemistry:
Temp: 28°C; Ph at 7.75; NH3+/NH4+ at 0.0; NO2 Spike (>1), NO3 at 10.
10:30 PM: Lights off
10:45 PM: Filters 1 & 2 elements (sponges and activated carbon) rinsed in tanks’ water.

DAY ELEVEN Wednesday May 14th, 2008
9:30 AM: Lights on
12:30 PM: NO2 Going down! Water Chemistry:
Temp: 28°C; Ph at 7.50; NH3+/NH4+ at 0.0; NO2 at 0.001, NO3 at 10, GH 7, KH 4, CO2 at 4.
No Ammonia added today.
5:30 PM: 5.6 gal of tap water collected for tomorrow’s probable 50% water change. 6 drops of ChlorXchange added.
9:30 PM 29°C, Ph at 7.75, NH3+/NH4+ at 0.0, NO2 at <0.001, NO3 at 10.
9:45 PM: Lights off
Having second thoughts about what kind of fish I should put in (though I had my mind set but as my research goes on… I have my mind set on another tank!)

Old Newby
Pepe Teijeiro
Santo Domingo

pepetj

DAY TWELVE Thursday May 15th, 2008
1:00 AM: 50% water change while gravel/sand vacuum -some gravel stuck in the hose, but most dirt/waste from the substrate surface was removed.
12:30 PM: LFS: Got a Female betta (She's the beauty of the place!), perfect round fins, strong, alive -hope to post a pick of her here soon. Also got a "wall paper" for the rear glass, and a small bag of Betta Power -kind of generic floating feeding balls for Bettas.
1:30 PM: Got home after terrible traffic jam, carried the fishbag carefully all the way, AC on -outside temp at 32°C- avoiding rapid turns and bumps.
1:45 PM: opened the plastic bag and let it float securely in the tank. Measured Tank Ph at 8.0, measured plastic bag Ph at 7.0. Added 5ml of Tank's water inside the plastic bag, waited for 7 minutes, added 5ml more. Added 5ml of StressCoat to Tank, waited 5 minutes; added 5ml of StressZyme to Tank. Waited.
2:15 PM Measured Tank Ph at 7.75, measured plastic bag Ph at 7.5. Added 5 ml of tank water into plastic bag, waited 15 minutes.
2:30 PM: Used the fishnet and gently introduced the Female Betta while named her Edda, and Welcome to your new home Girl!
2:45 PM Gotta run to the office, got a patient at 3:00 PM, I honestly wanted to stay home -my 3.5 y.o. daughter was taking a nap... Well, I'll miss her meeting Edda for the first time!
8:45 PM Back home: Edda is still alive and active! playing with the air bubbles, moving through the plants, hiding, coming out, hiding again, and my daughter is delighted! She updated me on the whereabouts of Edda during her first afternoon at home, she even invited her 5 y.o. friend to show around HER first fish, made cookies -with help from the Nanny of course- and way to go! This is more than a hobby, this brings joy in all.
12:00 AM: Water Chemistry: ph 7.75, NH3+/NH4+ at 0.0, NO2 at <0.001, NO3 at 0.
Note: My daughter, Camila, has been actively participating in water chemistry testing since day one. She "helps" me counting the number of drops, she is also an important color matching judge. I told her, that when the NO2 sample turned to yellow and not red, we were really close to adding fish to the tank (Tetra Laborett Kit). She also helps me turning the lights on/off, reporting of the airpump being noisy, and rescued two apple snails that somehow came out of the tank the first morning.
I'm back, and I thank FishLore for your help, you have kept me company in this comeback. I made arrangements to purchase the 26gal, and almost closed a lay-off agreement for 160gal.
Since I'm heading to Chicago next Tuesday, I'll wait until I return to add any other fish to the tank.
Thank you all again.