Fishless cycling using bloodworms? And needing confirmation

Hello, everyone. This will be my first time keeping fish. I’m planning on keeping African dwarf frogs in this tank and later adding a betta. Maybe a snail. Any of them I am prepared to separate in case they do not get along.

I’m trying to figure out a few things about the cycling process. Before I ask my questions, here is some information on my set up: I have a 10 gallon tank. I’m using sand substrate that I’ve rinsed. I currently have two medium sized decorations and mini terracotta pots but will later be adding smooth rocks and real plants after the cycling process (I did some research on this and I just thought it less complicated for me during testing). For the filter I’ve replaced the cartridge with a coarse sponge. I’ve purchased the API tap water conditioner and the API Freshwater Master Test Kit. Tomorrow I’m getting their Quick Start bottle in the mail since supposedly it would help speed up the cycling process.

I’m wondering if I can use the Hikari freeze-dried bloodworms for cycling. I also have a small container of newt and aquatic frog food that was kind of expensive so for that reason I’d rather not use that for cycling. I’ve read that this process can take anywhere between 2 weeks-2 months, so I’m thinking I would end up using that whole container, if not most of it. Would using pure ammonia be better/faster? Would I be adding food everyday during cycling? And if I’m using freeze-dried bloodworms, how many should I add? Should I ever take any of the old bloodworms out?

So these are the steps for fishless cycling as I understand it:

• Rinse off the tank, gravel, and decorations. Do not use soap. Set up the tank.
• Fill tank with tap water and add conditioner.
• Run the filter and heater until water is 78 degrees.
• Add fish food (I’ll be adding the Quick Start tomorrow).
• Test every other day until ammonia and nitrite are 0, and nitrate is 5ppm or 10ppm (I’m going with betta instructions here. I wasn’t able to find nitrate for African dwarf frogs other than it should be below 20). PH should be between 6.8 and 7.2 on chart.
• Add more fish food (and Quick Start?). Repeat last step until ammonia and nitrate drop to 0 in a 24 hour period. I would repeat this step once more just to make sure.
• Once everything reads correctly, turn off the filter and do a 80% water change. Fill a bucket with tap water and add water conditioner (How long do I have to wait before adding the water to the tank, especially for when I have fish in there?). Make sure water is close to 78 degrees before adding to the tank.
• Turn filter back on.

Are any further tests needed after this? I plan on doing a 25% water change once a week, including using a syphon. Should I then test again or sometime before?

This was a lot of questions, sorry. I just want to make sure I’m doing everything correctly.

 

Hi mattgirl. Got some interesting results!
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0.25-0.5
Nitrate: 80-160!
pH: 7.0-7.2
Nitrite started out as sky blue but after five minutes it was purple.

 

With nitrates that high, it is time to do some water changes. to get it back down. Maybe change 50% each day for the next few days.

 

Hi mattgirl. Got some interesting results!
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0.25-0.5
Nitrate: 80-160!
pH: 7.0-7.2
Nitrite started out as sky blue but after five minutes it was purple.

Your nitrates are leaving me scratching my head. Strange how it spike up this high after hanging out at 5 for so long. Have you added any kind of ferts for your new plants? Some of them can spike that number.

The color you see at 5 minutes is your true nitrite level. I think you are finally on the right track now. I suspect you to see that sky blue before too much longer.

 

Your nitrates are leaving me scratching my head. Strange how it spike up this high after hanging out at 5 for so long. Have you added any kind of ferts for your new plants? Some of them can spike that number.

The color you see at 5 minutes is your true nitrite level. I think you are finally on the right track now. I suspect you to see that sky blue before too much longer.

I haven’t added any fertilizer. I’ve just been adding a plant here and there that I’ve soaked in alum but have rinsed. It is puzzling! I think I saw some of the fish flakes at the bottom have a small fuzz on them, so I guess this is rot? Should I do any water changes and syphon that stuff up at this point? Do I add any more ammonia?
I almost thought it was cycled when I saw the beginning nitrite color. I hope it happens soon!

 

I haven’t added any fertilizer. I’ve just been adding a plant here and there that I’ve soaked in alum but have rinsed. It is puzzling! I think I saw some of the fish flakes at the bottom have a small fuzz on them, so I guess this is rot? Should I do any water changes and syphon that stuff up at this point? Do I add any more ammonia?
I almost thought it was cycled when I saw the beginning nitrite color. I hope it happens soon!

The flakes may not decompose as well if they are growing fungus. It shouldn't cause a problem at this point though. Stir up the flakes to break them apart and expose new surfaces on them. If they start growing too much mold/fungus you may want to siphon the excess out of there. Just add a very small finely ground pinch of them every third day.

 

The flakes may not decompose as well if they are growing fungus. It shouldn't cause a problem at this point though. Stir up the flakes to break them apart and expose new surfaces on them. If they start growing too much mold/fungus you may want to siphon the excess out of there. Just add a very small finely ground pinch of them every third day.

Okay, I’ll just move them around for now, then I’ll syphon them up when the cycle is complete. So I guess I’ll add a small pinch of flakes right now, but stop adding the ammonium chloride? Maybe that’s what was causing the problem.

 

Okay, I’ll just move them around for now, then I’ll syphon them up when the cycle is complete. So I guess I’ll add a small pinch of flakes right now, but stop adding the ammonium chloride? Maybe that’s what was causing the problem.

I wouldn't stop adding the liquid ammonia.

 

I wouldn't stop adding the liquid ammonia.

Okay, thank you for all your help, mattgirl I’ll check in tomorrow.

 

It appears something has gone wrong with the cycle.
Ammonia: 2-4
Nitrite: back to 2-5 or off the chart
Nitrate: 80-160 or off the chart
pH: 7-7.2
Yesterday, I added a small pinch of flakes and only 50 drops (instead of 60) of ammonium chloride. I didn't get to change the water yet but I'm fixing to tonight. The only things I've added to the tank are a marimo moss ball and a cholla log with attached java moss. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't frustrated

 

I understand your frustration. I would change out at least 75% of the water. Once done add nothing, no fish food, no ammonia. Give it a couple of days and then test the water.

Be sure you temp match and add your water conditioner to the fresh water before pouring it back in there. I am sure you've already told me but if so I will ask again. What are your tap water numbers?

 

I understand your frustration. I would change out at least 75% of the water. Once done add nothing, no fish food, no ammonia. Give it a couple of days and then test the water.

Be sure you temp match and add your water conditioner to the fresh water before pouring it back in there. I am sure you've already told me but if so I will ask again. What are your tap water numbers?

I did the water change, made sure the temp matched and to add dechlorinator before pouring in, and now I’ll leave it alone until Tuesday. I tried to see if I could lift the tank up onto the stand with most of the water gone, but I heard noises when barely tipping it up so I was afraid of blowing out the bottom of the tank. It’s still too heavy with the sand in there, so I’ll have to empty everything out when/if the cycle completes. I really didn’t want to have to do that, but I guess it’s better than having to look at a tank without decorations and plants this whole time.

I thought I had tested the tap water for practically everything but now I don’t think I had. I just tested it straight from the tap and it reads:
Ammonia: 0.25
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
pH: 7.8-8.0
My tap water has chloramines in it, so the ammonia reading makes sense. The API tap water conditioner I use is able to treat water with chloramines with a higher dosage, and that’s what I’ve been going with. I’ll do another test on the treated tap water another day.

 

I'm trying not to get my hopes up, but here's the results:
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 80-160
pH: 7.8
I really don't know why nitrate is so high. Would it be so high if the cycle had crashed? I've just noticed a day or so ago that what appears to be white fuzz algae growing at the base of two plants in the tank. Also, for some time now there has been debris, I think mostly from plants, scattered over the sand. I syphoned some of that up while doing a 75% water change and I took out one of the plants to wipe off the algae.

 

The cycle hasn't crashed. This is the time for the happy dance. Seeing 0 nitrites is what we were hoping to see. Add ammonia again. If both it and the nitrites are 0 within 24 hours I have to think this cycle is finally done. If that is the case it is time to get the nitrates down and add your fish.

If it will process at least 2ppm ammonia straight through to nitrates within 24 hours you can go ahead and add your full stock of fish, frog and snail all at the same time. Since we were adding fish food along the way I don't expect any kind of spike once they are added.

 

The cycle hasn't crashed. This is the time for the happy dance. Seeing 0 nitrites is what we were hoping to see. Add ammonia again. If both it and the nitrites are 0 within 24 hours I have to think this cycle is finally done. If that is the case it is time to get the nitrates down and add your fish.

If it will process at least 2ppm ammonia straight through to nitrates within 24 hours you can go ahead and add your full stock of fish, frog and snail all at the same time. Since we were adding fish food along the way I don't expect any kind of spike once they are added.

I guess since there's been so many surprises, I'm waiting for the testing to say "syke"! Haha. But I'm very glad I've finally gotten nitrite to zero. I added 40 drops ammonia. If ammonia and nitrite are back to zero again, I'm going to move the tank. I hate to disrupt everything, but I think everything should be okay as long as I don't rinse off any of the decorations.

 

I guess since there's been so many surprises, I'm waiting for the testing to say "syke"! Haha. But I'm very glad I've finally gotten nitrite to zero. I added 40 drops ammonia. If ammonia and nitrite are back to zero again, I'm going to move the tank. I hate to disrupt everything, but I think everything should be okay as long as I don't rinse off any of the decorations.

Once you start to add livestock to your tank, discontinue adding ammonia. It is best to add just a few fish at a time as the bacteria will need to adapt to the new stocking level.

Since the beneficial bacteria are attached to surface of the tank, substratel, and filter media, doing water changes will lower the nitrate levels without harming the bacteria (assuming you dechlorinate the water). However, be careful cleaning substrate and your filter as your cycle is still fragile. If it is disturbed, you may see a minor spike in ammonia or nitrite levels if there is an upset in the tank. That could include adding new fish, overfeeding, etc. However, do not panic as the cycle should recover quickly.

 

Ammonia: 1
Nitrite: 0.5
Nitrate: 20-40
pH: 7.8
Maybe I added too much ammonium chloride. I feel like the filter should be able to clear out ammonia and nitrite in 24 hours by now. I wanted to get the fish tomorrow but I guess it’s not safe yet. Can I go ahead and move everything out of the tank so I can put it on top of the stand? I’ll test the water again, and if there is no ammonia or nitrite, I’ll add 30 drops this time and wait 24 hours to see if it’s cleared up.

 

I would do the big water change so I could get it moved where it needs to be. Just be sure to keep everything wet. We know you have both ammonia and nitrites eating bacteria so it is time to get this tank where it needs to be and get some living creatures in it.

 

I would do the big water change so I could get it moved where it needs to be. Just be sure to keep everything wet. We know you have both ammonia and nitrites eating bacteria so it is time to get this tank where it needs to be and get some living creatures in it.

I had went ahead with the move and hadn’t thought of keeping everything wet in the chaos (long story). I ended up losing one plant, and the banana plant is recovering but will probably lose all its leaves. I’m now waiting on a replacement for the dead plant, so I’ll keep testing the water until Wednesday when I go out to the pet stores. I think the cycle is taking two days to process ammonia and nitrite. I’ll update when it clears in 24 hours. All this work, I should probably see it through completely anyway.
I wanted to say thank you very much for being so patient with me asking all these questions. I updated here practically everyday for over a month, and I really appreciate the help throughout this entire process. I would not have been able to figure all this out on my own. So thank you so much!

 

The tank has been stocked! If anyone now or in the future has been following this thread, and want to know how things turned out, I’ve documented the story here: LinasPlantLife is now LinasFishLife! (10 gallon) | Freshwater Aquarium Builds Forum | 482845
The tank is cycled. I did a check up and ammonia is 0, nitrite is giving me an error reading of 0.25, and nitrate is 5ppm.