Fishless cycling a 240 Gallon with ATM Colony Freshwater

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.

The ammonia is zeroed out and I told him to add the exact amount which I syringe but this is now a new bottle of the ammonia (same brand) so I'm not too sure. What if I wait to see if we get zero nitrites tomorrow then redose exactly the same and see if we get a better results 24 hours after? Or just dose ammonia right now?

 

The ammonia is zeroed out and I told him to add the exact amount which I syringe but this is now a new bottle of the ammonia (same brand) so I'm not too sure. What if I wait to see if we get zero nitrites tomorrow then redose exactly the same and see if we get a better results 24 hours after? Or just dose ammonia right now?

Either way will be fine. We know you have plenty of ammonia eating bacteria. Again we are dealing with those pesky nitrites. The new bottle may have a higher concentration of actual ammonia in it. It seems there is very little consistency in lots of things these days. You can find that out when you redose.

 

Either way will be fine. We know you have plenty of ammonia eating bacteria. Again we are dealing with those pesky nitrites. The new bottle may have a higher concentration of actual ammonia in it. It seems there is very little consistency in lots of things these days. You can find that out when you redose.

Yeah exactly. Those pesky nitrites if I could punch them I would. I've just dosed again the exact same amount and will test ammonia in 30 minutes to see what's concentration it's reading.

*edit*

Okay so 20mL of this bottle is reading around 4ppm after a 35 minute ammonia test.

Attached pictures to see what you guys think ppm wise.

mattgirl I guess I'll just use 20mL as a baseline then and we'll call it cycled when it can process 20mL of Ammonia straight through to nitrates within 24 hours?

I'll retest tomorrow exactly 24 hours away to see what levels look like

 

Okay so after 24 hours looks like be 0.5-1.0ppm ammonia and 0.25ppm nitrite. What's surprising me is the ammonia hasn't processed fully, or possibly my test is dodgy at this point as it processed sky high ammonia according to the test (it was almost blue) within 24 hours.

 

I have to think the new bottle of ammonia has a higher percentage of ammonia in it. Did you run the test 30 minutes after adding it? Is that when you saw the color almost blue from being so high? Thankfully bacteria will increase and will clear the ammonia/nitrites out. Once it does the smaller dose you add should get you back to seeing 0 ammonia and 0 nitrites within 24 hours.

Recently folks are reporting much higher ammonia levels than they were expecting when following the instructions on the bottle. I have to think they doubled the strength but failed to change the instructions. I have started recommending folks start out with half of what's recommended and it seems to be working.

 

I have to think the new bottle of ammonia has a higher percentage of ammonia in it. Did you run the test 30 minutes after adding it? Is that when you saw the color almost blue from being so high? Thankfully bacteria will increase and will clear the ammonia/nitrites out. Once it does the smaller dose you add should get you back to seeing 0 ammonia and 0 nitrites within 24 hours.

Recently folks are reporting much higher ammonia levels than they were expecting when following the instructions on the bottle. I have to think they doubled the strength but failed to change the instructions. I have started recommending folks start out with half of what's recommended and it seems to be working.

No so the blue was the time before when I thought I had overdosed the tank using the end of the last bottle adding the same amount. Tested 30 minutes after and it was almost a bluey colour but it processed to 0 within 24 hours. You can see my dosage for the new bottle yesterday where I added 20ml which is 400 drops and it produced 4+ ppm ammonia (I'm leaning towards 5/6ppm) and within 24 hours its definitely processed 4ppm and nitrites at 0.25ppm has me hopeful the bacteria is doing well. I'm thinking to test tomorrow, if we have zero nitrites and 0 ammonia, dose half ammonia (10ml) and see if we have 0/0 24 hours after?

 

I am happy to see this tank cycled in just under 3 weeks. The Colony does seem to have helped a great deal. We know you have lots of both ammonia and nitrite eating bacteria. I have to think you have now grown enough to handle the bio-load you have planned for this tank.

I'm thinking to test tomorrow, if we have zero nitrites and 0 ammonia, dose half ammonia (10ml) and see if we have 0/0 24 hours after?

That sounds like a plan. If it does I have to think it is time to get the nitrates down and start stocking this tank. The first fish you plan on adding are not going to be producing nearly as much ammonia as we have been adding with both liquid ammonia and fish food.

 

I am happy to see this tank cycled in just under 3 weeks. The Colony does seem to have helped a great deal. We know you have lots of both ammonia and nitrite eating bacteria. I have to think you have now grown enough to handle the bio-load you have planned for this tank.

That sounds like a plan. If it does I have to think it is time to get the nitrates down and start stocking this tank. The first fish you plan on adding are not going to be producing nearly as much ammonia as we have been adding with both liquid ammonia and fish food.

Yes its definitely helped a bunch! Yeah sounds like a plan, so Wednesday I'll do a massive water change (90-95%) provided levels are 0 on ammonia and nitrite with 10mL of Ammonia dosed tomorrow. Maybe I'll try see if the breeder has 5 more fish to add so I'll have 10 fish to go in straight away?

 

So today I've dosed 10mL of Ammonia and will retest tomorrow morning. If we see zero on both I will do a huge water change tomorrow and add fish the next day!

 

Cool we cycled

Massive water change in progress as we speak and have 15 fish sorted now to come over the next week or so. Thanks once again mattgirl for your support and everyone else who's commented or viewed the thread.

ATM colony is a win imo


Have 5 fish due in on Friday, have put a single fish in for now that I purchased and will feed but bacteria should be okay for a day or two

 

Congratulations on a job well done.

I agree, the bacteria should be fine for a day or two or three or four

 

Gorgeous tank, do you have an update?
All is going well?

 

Gorgeous tank, do you have an update?
All is going well?

Hey Fisch. All is well and actually I'm reasonably stocked now, have around 30 cichlids but even still it doesn't feel like alot in this tank!

 

They are still tiny
I am curious how it looks like when they are all fully grown.
To support that massive weight of the tanl, did you do anything specific to support it?

 

Hey Fisch. All is well and actually I'm reasonably stocked now, have around 30 cichlids but even still it doesn't feel like alot in this tank!

Those look to all be in the 3-4" range right now correct?
The Vinustus, the Linni and the Moorii will all get 9"+. But the cyrtocara will grow slow.
You could get away with 15 - 20 more fish easily.

The tank looks great, your fish are going to be stunning in about 3-4 months.

 

They are still tiny
I am curious how it looks like when they are all fully grown.
To support that massive weight of the tanl, did you do anything specific to support it?

Yes little babies! I'm also curious haha can't wait to have some big beasts swimming around. So this is actually ground floor and somewhat solid underneath but have anchors bracing the whole structure mounted from a load bearing wall. In the event the tank sunk it would take all the weight so more a precaution.

Those look to all be in the 3-4" range right now correct?
The Vinustus, the Linni and the Moorii will all get 9"+. But the cyrtocara will grow slow.
You could get away with 15 - 20 more fish easily.

The tank looks great, your fish are going to be stunning in about 3-4 months.

Yes you are right the biggest is probably 4" I'd say the rest are 2-3"!

Yes I cannot wait for them to grow super excited for it. Will post updates I'll try find the general tank thread and post there so keep an eye out

 

Will post updates I'll try find the general tank thread and post there so keep an eye out

Be sure to tag me when you do