Fishless cycling adventures - ammonia NS N

Messed up the title and hit post too soon lol

Doing my second ever fishless cycle with fish food (on a ten gallon tank) and i’m pretty confused right now so i got a few questions.

The tank is set up with sand + root tabs and a few plants. A young amazon sword, two java ferns, anubias, some s. repens and dwarf hair grass. Seachem flourish is my fertilizer, dosed two days ago

day 1: fish food brought the ammonia to 0.5-1ppm. Added two doses of api quick start and some filter media from a cycled 20g. Added more fish food
day 2: Ammonia went down to 0.25. Small sign of nitrites but i assumed it was from the fertilizer, or my used filter media converted it very fast. Added more fish food to keep up ammonia output. No nitrates.
day 3: Ammonia still down to 0.25. No sign of nitrites or nitrates which is to be expected on only day 3 - but the ammonia went down. Old fish food removed. Pond snail added for ammonia output. No nitrates.

I’m just confused to how the ammonia depleted so fast when there is no sign of nitrites or nitrates. Did the plants just consume the ammonia that fast or did the ammonia convert very quickly and the plants consumed the nitrogen?

 

Messed up the title and hit post too soon lol

Doing my second ever fishless cycle with fish food (on a ten gallon tank) and i’m pretty confused right now so i got a few questions.

The tank is set up with sand + root tabs and a few plants. A young amazon sword, two java ferns, anubias, some s. repens and dwarf hair grass. Seachem flourish is my fertilizer, dosed two days ago

day 1: fish food brought the ammonia to 0.5-1ppm. Added two doses of api quick start and some filter media from a cycled 20g. Added more fish food
day 2: Ammonia went down to 0.25. Small sign of nitrites but i assumed it was from the fertilizer, or my used filter media converted it very fast. Added more fish food to keep up ammonia output. No nitrates.
day 3: Ammonia still down to 0.25. No sign of nitrites or nitrates which is to be expected on only day 3 - but the ammonia went down. Old fish food removed. Pond snail added for ammonia output. No nitrates.

I’m just confused to how the ammonia depleted so fast when there is no sign of nitrites or nitrates. Did the plants just consume the ammonia that fast or did the ammonia convert very quickly and the plants consumed the nitrogen?

Is what you refer to as day 1 the same day you added fish food?

 

No, I added fish food 3 days before day 1 - should've stated that haha

 

What are you using to test? If the API Master Test kit, are you following the instructions for the nitrate test very carefully?

How much and what type of filter media did you move over from the cycled tank?

 

For the ammonia test, yes I am using API liquid test kit.

I have been using test strips for nitrate and nitrite which I know aren't the most acurate - luckily I just ordered the API master test kit which is gonna be here in a few days.

I have been following all instructions, and observing test results under good lighting.

The filter media is standard filter floss. I didn't take the entirety of what was in the filter, however I took 3 chunks I'd say are a few inches in diameter.

Forgot to mention I also added some gravel from the cycled tank, and the repens and DHG are also from another cycled tank as well.

 

As I’d expect it would, it seems like the things you moved from your cycled tank gave the cycle on your new tank at least a jump start.

Before we attempt to figure out what’s happening or not happening with nitrites and nitrates, I’d suggest you test using the API tests when they arrive and post the results here.

 

As I’d expect it would, it seems like the things you moved from your cycled tank gave the cycle on your new tank at least a jump start.

Yeah, I thought so too. I'm really happy that it worked out that quickly, even though I am in no hurry to get fish for this tank.

Before we attempt to figure out what’s happening or not happening with nitrites and nitrates, I’d suggest you test using the API tests when they arrive and post the results here.

That's the plan! Thanks for the help

 

Just got the api test kit today and tested everything following the directions perfectly. Nothing seems to have changed at all. Levels are all the same except ammonia seems to between 0 and 0.25.
Also if you were wondering the pH is 7.6

I guess I've completely lost the cycle now. Like I said I'm in no hurry to get fish in this tank so I don't mind taking my time with this cycle. I think I'll restart it again with a more reliable brand of bottled bacteria (one and only) and some more used filter media. Might try using pure ammonia instead of fish food.

 

The filter media from your cycled tank, should in theory give you an instant mini cycled tank. The ammonia is easier I think because you don’t have to wait for it to decompose or anything. Dose ammonia to 1.0 to start out with and see how long it takes to process it.

 

Okay, Imma hop on this thread before things go completely sideways unnecessarily.

There is no indication that you 'lost your cycle'.

There is no need to restart the cycle. Dr. Tim's One and Only is also not that reliable anyways, of about a hundred or so posts about it in 2021 I saw, I recall one saying it worked. The rest had trouble. If you want a reliable brand, then FritzZyme is the only one that is truly reliable. That and Tetra SafeStart, but it's usage is super finicky so I would rather not touch it.

Back to the cycle.

Firstly, nitrate reading zero is absolutely normal for a planted tank. I don't know your tank size nor how many plants you have per se, but I'd wager it is plenty to keep nitrate in check.

Secondly, root tabs can release ammonia, allegedly. Keep that in mind.

Thirdly, the fish food method of fishless cycling is very simple, and in fact is better referred to as the 'ghostfeeding' method of cycling, because it's not enough to just add a bit of fish food. Instead, what you should do is ghostfeed your tank as if it is fully stocked. If ammonia and nitrite remains zero for two or so weeks (or ammonia at 0.25ppm), then your tank is considered 'cycled'. That's all there is to it.

I put 'cycled' in quotation marks because technically it may be possible for your tank to consume all the ammonia produced by a fully stocked tank anyways without actually being 'cycled', defined as having the majority or all of ammonia consumption handled by nitrification. Ammonia-dosing helps establish this, though that also kinda is dependent on not having plants during the cycle. So you can switch to ammonia-dosing, but it is not necessary.

 

The filter media is standard filter floss. I didn't take the entirety of what was in the filter, however I took 3 chunks I'd say are a few inches in diameter.

How long was that filter floss in the other cycled filter? If it wasnt very long it probably wont help a ton.

 

Alright, let me get to replying to these-

How long was that filter floss in the other cycled filter? If it wasnt very long it probably wont help a ton.

The filter I got the media from has been cycled since November

Firstly, nitrate reading zero is absolutely normal for a planted tank. I don't know your tank size nor how many plants you have per se, but I'd wager it is plenty to keep nitrate in check.

Yeah, I have also noticed new growth on a few of the plants (especially the sword) so I guess they're doing pretty good consuming those nitrates. Tank size is 10g btw. I'm planning to stock it with just endlers

There is no need to restart the cycle. Dr. Tim's One and Only is also not that reliable anyways, of about a hundred or so posts about it in 2021 I saw, I recall one saying it worked. The rest had trouble. If you want a reliable brand, then FritzZyme is the only one that is truly reliable. That and Tetra SafeStart, but it's usage is super finicky so I would rather not touch it.

One and only has worked great for me in the past but I have also heard great things about FritzZyme. I probably don't need it because I have my cycled media - I was just gonna use it if I were to restart the cycle, but I see now I probably don't need to do that. Especially because the ammonia and the small reading of nitrites disappeared within a week.

Thanks everyone for your advice. Should I keep adding fish food (ghostfeeding), and see if I can get a nitrate reading to confirm that it's cycled, or should I just let the snails do their thing and wait a bit longer?

 

Thanks everyone for your advice. Should I keep adding fish food (ghostfeeding), and see if I can get a nitrate reading to confirm that it's cycled, or should I just let the snails do their thing and wait a bit longer?

Like I said, you probably won't see nitrate readings if your plants are efficient enough, so don't take that as a marker of a cycled tank.

Instead, just ghostfeed as if the tank is fully stocked. And if ammonia and nitrite remain zero for two or so weeks (or ammonia at 0.25ppm) then your tank can be considered cycled (or at least as closed to as possible with the ghostfeeding method).

 

Like I said, you probably won't see nitrate readings if your plants are efficient enough, so don't take that as a marker of a cycled tank.

Instead, just ghostfeed as if the tank is fully stocked. And if ammonia and nitrite remain zero for two or so weeks (or ammonia at 0.25ppm) then your tank can be considered cycled (or at least as closed to as possible with the ghostfeeding method).

Sounds like a plan. Ty for helping me out