Fishless cycling a 240 Gallon with ATM Colony Freshwater

I would go to dosing ammonia every other day now. Fish food is still adding small amounts so the bacteria is being fed. Hopefully the nitrite spike will move as quickly as the ammonia has. I am really amazed at how much the bottled bacteria has helped this cycle. I had not heard of this brand before now.

Maybe I should add some more fish flakes then as there's like just some powder in the bag lol the flow rate is so much in the tank. Or shall I just dose ammonia this time tomorrow and do a fish flake top up, as you say bacteria won't be starved as quick as we think

 

Maybe I should add some more fish flakes then as there's like just some powder in the bag lol the flow rate is so much in the tank. Or shall I just dose ammonia this time tomorrow and do a fish flake top up, as you say bacteria won't be starved as quick as we think

I would just wait and do both tomorrow. Just for grins you may want to go ahead and run the nitrate test at least once. This cycle seems to be moving much faster than we expected it to so it has me curious.

 

I would just wait and do both tomorrow. Just for grins you may want to go ahead and run the nitrate test at least once. This cycle seems to be moving much faster than we expected it to so it has me curious.

Ask and you shall receive!

So I did a comparative test, tap water has between 10-20ppm nitrates (annoying) and the tank water has like 80ppm

 

Thank you. I really am amazed at how quickly this tank is cycling. Seeing all those nitrates tells us although you have just started seeing nitrites some have processed through to nitrates.

 

Thank you. I really am amazed at how quickly this tank is cycling. Seeing all those nitrates tells us although you have just started seeing nitrites some have processed through to nitrates.

Yes I'm also super amazed! I also never heard of the product but apparently its featured on a show called Tanked and large aquariums (Seaworld large) use this to "instant cycle" their tanks.

So tomorrow is there any point testing anything or shall I just straight up dose ammonia and add fish flakes?

 

Yes I'm also super amazed! I also never heard of the product but apparently its featured on a show called Tanked and large aquariums (Seaworld large) use this to "instant cycle" their tanks.

So tomorrow is there any point testing anything or shall I just straight up dose ammonia and add fish flakes?

Just out of curiosity I would have to run the nitrite test. I would have to know if they have gone up or already going down.

 

Just out of curiosity I would have to run the nitrite test. I would have to know if they have gone up or already going down.

Nitrites haunt me.. Remember last time they took forever to drop then one day they just disappeared. It was however a painfully long wait. This time ATM Colony better beat the Nitrites to 0

 

Nitrites haunt me.. Remember last time they took forever to drop then one day they just disappeared. It was however a painfully long wait. This time ATM Colony better beat the Nitrites to 0

I remember. Normally it seems to take FOREVER for nitrites to drop. That is why it is time for a happy dance once they finally do. From what we are seeing so far I suspect it isn't going to take as long this time but what we don't know we don't know

 

Day 10

Nitrites tested seems to be just above 2ppm but not dark enough to be 5ppm so I think somewhat "healthy" level.

Ammonia dosed back up to 2ppm and will re add fish flakes later on today (two man job as the bag is soaking and I've tied it weird lol)

 

Day 11

Will have to dose ammonia on Saturday now as will be away tomorrow so it'll be a 2 day break however I don't believe it'll starve bacteria and may have a better impact on letting the Nitrites process. Will be skipping to Day 13 for next update

 

Day 13

Nitrites still up there hovering, added smaller dose of Ammonia and will add more fish flake tonight, maybe two TBSP to provide more nutrients to the bacteria that breaks down nitrites

 

It looks like the nitrites are doing the same to you as they did with the other tank. I do suspect it won't go on as long this time but I don't know that for sure. It seems the ATM Colony helped quickly with the ammonia but may not work as well for nitrites. Only time will answer that question.

One Tbsp. of flakes should be enough although 2 shouldn't be a problem.

 

It looks like the nitrites are doing the same to you as they did with the other tank. I do suspect it won't go on as long this time but I don't know that for sure. It seems the ATM Colony helped quickly with the ammonia but may not work as well for nitrites. Only time will answer that question.

One Tbsp. of flakes should be enough although 2 shouldn't be a problem.

Yeah definitely seems that way!


Day 14


So checked ammonia today showing as zero, nitrites still similar not much change that I can visibly tell.

Do I redose the ammonia back to 2ppm and keep overloading the nitrites or do we experiment with waiting abit to see if nitrites can process faster.

mattgirl thoughts?

 

My thoughts on letting the nitrites drop to zero before adding ammonia is once we start adding ammonia again we will go through the nitrite spike again. Since you are also adding the fish food that may not happen though.

 

My thoughts on letting the nitrites drop to zero before adding ammonia is once we start adding ammonia again we will go through the nitrite spike again. Since you are also adding the fish food that may not happen though.

So should I dose back up to 2ppm?

 

So should I dose back up to 2ppm?

I would.

 

I would.

Ammonia is dosed and we have fish flakes in there aswell. Now we add 1000ppm of patience.

For ATM colony to be worth it, I would like to see nitrites zero out by end of the coming week

 

Day 15 - will dose more ammonia tomorrow to keep in line with every other day. Will top up fish flake when it becomes powder

 

Ammonia is dosed and we have fish flakes in there aswell. Now we add 1000ppm of patience.

This is the one thing we need the most of and the one thing we can't buy. Thankfully you are naturally blessed with lots of it.

For ATM colony to be worth it, I would like to see nitrites zero out by end of the coming week

I would really like to see it happening by the middle of the week but end of week would work too. Seems it isn't working as quick with the nitrites as it did with the ammonia. Leads me to believe it only contained ammonia eating bacteria.

 

This is the one thing we need the most of and the one thing we can't buy. Thankfully you are naturally blessed with lots of it.

I would really like to see it happening by the middle of the week but end of week would work too. Seems it isn't working as quick with the nitrites as it did with the ammonia. Leads me to believe it only contained ammonia eating bacteria.

I think you are right, ideally mid week so let's see when I test nitrites on Wednesday. What concerns me is the fact that if we had ran this as a fish in cycle using ATM colony, the tank wouldn't be able to cope with any more than a very small stocking and any further fish would result in nasty spikes.

 

I have been reading some very good words about Fritz-Zyme Turbo Start 700. Unlike lots of other bottled bacteria this one has to be kept refrigerated from factory to us. If I was ever going to use any kind of bottled bacteria it is the one I would use. I was holding out hope for the Colony but the lingering nitrites have me doubting its effectiveness. I wouldn't be comfortable doing a fish in cycle with it.

 

Day 16

So today it was interesting, yesterday whenever I added drops to the vial I was testing the nitrite test would already started turning purple. Today I saw that didn't occur, and actually it took awhile longer for the vial to go purple which leads me to believe its processing and we could be close. Hard to tell on photo but it's definitely closer to the 2ppm now even though it may look darker with the angle I took the photo.

Do I dose ammonia today considering I dosed it last on Saturday or give it one more day (still a bunch of fish flakes dancing around) and test nitrites tomorrow then dose?

mattgirl

 

Day 16

So today it was interesting, yesterday whenever I added drops to the vial I was testing the nitrite test would already started turning purple. Today I saw that didn't occur, and actually it took awhile longer for the vial to go purple which leads me to believe its processing and we could be close. Hard to tell on photo but it's definitely closer to the 2ppm now even though it may look darker with the angle I took the photo.

Do I dose ammonia today considering I dosed it last on Saturday or give it one more day (still a bunch of fish flakes dancing around) and test nitrites tomorrow then dose?

mattgirl

It does look like we have some good forward progress. Since we still have fish food in there producing ammonia we may want to hold off on the liquid ammonia for a few more days. Maybe wait until the nitrites drop to zero. Go ahead and add more fish food every third day though. Once the nitrites drop to zero we can test the strength of the cycle by removing the fish food and do daily doses of ammonia.

If the nitrites spike again we will know we aren't quite there. If they don't then YAY!!!!!!

 

It does look like we have some good forward progress. Since we still have fish food in there producing ammonia we may want to hold off on the liquid ammonia for a few more days. Maybe wait until the nitrites drop to zero. Go ahead and add more fish food every third day though. Once the nitrites drop to zero we can test the strength of the cycle by removing the fish food and do daily doses of ammonia.

If the nitrites spike again we will know we aren't quite there. If they don't then YAY!!!!!!

Sounds like a plan

 

Day 17

Just seen a DRASTIC drop in nitrites, probably around the 0.25-0.5ppm mark.

Going to go ahead and dose ammonia here back up to 2ppm as its clear we have nitrite eating bacteria present so now we just need to wait for both to zero out within 24 hours.

 

I am almost as happy as I know you are to see the nitrites start dropping so soon. It seems like the Colony is helping.

 

I am almost as happy as I know you are to see the nitrites start dropping so soon. It seems like the Colony is helping.

Let's see tomorrow! Tbh I may have somehow added more ammonia than usual even though its the exact same quantity as for some reason after testing my ammonia after dosing it showed at 4ppm! I added the last bit of the bottle so unsure if maybe it was not fully suspended in solution and hence more concentrated idk ugh

 

Even if it is more it shouldn't be a problem. It may just take longer to go back to zero.

 

Even if it is more it shouldn't be a problem. It may just take longer to go back to zero.

Day 18


Lol you were right. The ammonia eating bacteria is mega, destroyed it and we are zeroed out on ammonia once again from yesterday. Nitrites have gone up again but this is fine, means we'll build some string nitrite eating bacteria

As I dosed yesterday I won't be dosing now till Sunday as will be away tomorrow till then so will just add some more fish flake in tomorrow morning.

 

Since you added extra ammonia I expected the nitrites to go up so no surprise there. Hoping they will have dropped to zero by the time you get ready to dose Sunday.

 

Day 19

Zero nitrites. Effortless. Honestly this felt like such an easy cycle with ATM colony.

Dosed ammonia back up to 2ppm and will see what we look like tomorrow (I'll get my brother to test the tank). If we see zero ammonia zero nitrites then my tank is ready!

mattgirl we can do the happy dance today

 

This truly has been a breeze this time compared to the long drawn out affair you went through with the other tank. Please refresh my memory. Did we do fish food the last time or was the Colony the only thing we did different?

 

This truly has been a breeze this time compared to the long drawn out affair you went through with the other tank. Please refresh my memory. Did we do fish food the last time or was the Colony the only thing we did different?

So only thing different is ATM Colony. We did fish flake last time aswell but I guess we introduced them alot later when we hit that lingering nitrites stage?

 

We can't know for sure if the Colony will work this well without the addition of fish food but I do know one thing. I am thrilled that cycling this tank was so much quicker and easier than the last time and i know you are too.

It's up to you if you want to gradually grow more bacteria before adding fish. I don't know it it is necessary since this tank is processing both the 2ppm liquid ammonia and the ammonia the fish food has produced but to be on the safe side you may want to gradually increase the amount of ammonia until it is processing 4ppm ammonia along with the fish food straight through to nitrates.

If it will do that you will be safe to fully stock this tank. You will have grown enough bacteria to handle a fairly high bio-load. If you plan on lightly stocking this tank the bacteria you have already grown should be plenty so no need to up the amount of ammonia it will process.

 

We can't know for sure if the Colony will work this well without the addition of fish food but I do know one thing. I am thrilled that cycling this tank was so much quicker and easier than the last time and i know you are too.

It's up to you if you want to gradually grow more bacteria before adding fish. I don't know it it is necessary since this tank is processing both the 2ppm liquid ammonia and the ammonia the fish food has produced but to be on the safe side you may want to gradually increase the amount of ammonia until it is processing 4ppm ammonia along with the fish food straight through to nitrates.

If it will do that you will be safe to fully stock this tank. You will have grown enough bacteria to handle a fairly high bio-load. If you plan on lightly stocking this tank the bacteria you have already grown should be plenty so no need to up the amount of ammonia it will process.

Definitely think the fish food plays a huge part! Defo get people to add fish food from the get go!

So I don't plan on fully stocking the tank immediately, but slowly over the months. Adding maybe 4/5 at a time every 3/4 weeks. As a result I'm not sure if processing 4ppm straight through will be worth the time purely because once I stop dosing it won't be no where near that for a very long time?

Thoughts?

 

Is there a specific reason for just adding a few fish at a time. I know that is what is recommended when doing a fish in cycle but by growing as much bacteria as we have you shouldn't have to add just a few at a time. That is the beauty of how you cycled this tank. You have grown enough bacteria to handle a full bio-load. Since it can handle 2ppm ammonia plus a tablespoon full of fish food you have grown lots and lots of bacteria.

Of course if you aren't comfortable adding the full stock all at once you can go with just a few at a time. I am just letting you know it isn't necessary.

 

Is there a specific reason for just adding a few fish at a time. I know that is what is recommended when doing a fish in cycle but by growing as much bacteria as we have you shouldn't have to add just a few at a time. That is the beauty of how you cycled this tank. You have grown enough bacteria to handle a full bio-load. Since it can handle 2ppm ammonia plus a tablespoon full of fish food you have grown lots and lots of bacteria.

Of course if you aren't comfortable adding the full stock all at once you can go with just a few at a time. I am just letting you know it isn't necessary.

It's just obtaining all the fish in that time, issue here is trying to get males so I can't just order them all in one go hence why I've only got 5/6 ready to go on the first batch.

What else do you suggest to still maintain the bacteria?

 

Gotcha. I thought there might be a specific reason other than the amount of bacteria for just adding a few at a time. In this case adding and waiting for a couple of weeks is the way to go.

You might get a small spike in ammonia after each addition but the bacteria should quickly catch up with the additional bio-load. It shouldn't go high enough to affect the fish and should be gone within 24 hours.

 

Gotcha. I thought there might be a specific reason other than the amount of bacteria for just adding a few at a time. In this case adding and waiting for a couple of weeks is the way to go.

You might get a small spike in ammonia after each addition but the bacteria should quickly catch up with the additional bio-load. It shouldn't go high enough to affect the fish and should be gone within 24 hours.

Okay so today checked and got nitrites after I got my brother to dose again yesterday. About 0.5ppm after 24 hours. Should I dose ammonia again today or wait another day mattgirl ?

 

Is it possible your brother added a bit more ammonia than you have been adding? If so that may explain why the nitrites didn't zero out within 24 hours. If you are sure he added the correct amount then I have to think this tank isn't quite ready for fish just yet. I would go ahead and dose today. To be safe we want to be sure this tank will constantly process 2ppm ammonia straight through to nitrates within 24 hours.