Help Needed Regarding Fishless Cycle!

HI everyone, I went down the path of fishless cycling. Initially I started with Dr. Tims one and only nitrifying bacteria and his Ammonia chloride. As directed, I poured the contents of the bottom into the tank and added 1 drop per gallon of the ammonia (2ppm). I let it set for 24hrs and did a test.

November 2nd Thursday
Ammonia : 0.5ppm
Nitrites:0ppm
Nitrates: 0ppm
PH: 7.2

After that ammonia reading I added another 1 drop per gallon and left it for 24hours.

Ammonia: 1ppm
Nitrites: 0ppm
Nitrates: 0ppm

I let it sit for around 2 - 3 days with the same test results. I decided to add another 20drops if ammonia. All the test come back the same. Am I doing something wrong or is this just about patience
as the Dr. Tims one and only nitrifying bacteria did clearly not work in my tank. Also doing research on this I saw people asking for tap water readings. In my area they release test of the water to the public.

 

I'm a newbie and am trying to do a fishless cycle myself, but I had one thought... do you have a heater in your tank? Maybe the water is too cold and it's slowed down the cycling process?

 

I'm a newbie and am trying to do a fishless cycle myself, but I had one thought... do you have a heater in your tank? Maybe the water is too cold and it's slowed down the cycling process?

indeed I do have a heater. It is currently set to 27c / 80f

 

Another thought that I had was that the Dr. Tim's Ammonium Chloride bottle that I have says to use 4 drops per gallon. I read that they changed up their formula and although before it said to use 1 drop per gallon online, the newer bottles say 4 drops per gallon. Could that be it?

 

Another thought that I had was that the Dr. Tim's Ammonium Chloride bottle that I have says to use 4 drops per gallon. I read that they changed up their formula and although before it said to use 1 drop per gallon online, the newer bottles say 4 drops per gallon. Could that be it?

I have read that as well on their website. My bottle says 1 drop per gallon. Says to read the directions on the label that the new bottles labels have changed. So I am not really sure what is going on. If the cycle has stalled or not.

 

FYI, it's probably better to bump your old thread (Dr. Tims One And Only) since you left out information this time (like your tank being 43 gallon ).

Do you test ammonia right after adding the ammonium chloride?



EDIT: Also, are you using the freshwater version? I haven't used Dr. Tim's but I do know that there is a freshwater version and a saltwater version. I'm not sure if that makes a difference.

 

FYI, it's probably better to bump your old thread (Dr. Tims One And Only) since you left out information this time (like your tank being 43 gallon ).

Do you test ammonia right after adding the ammonium chloride?



EDIT: Also, are you using the freshwater version? I haven't used Dr. Tim's but I do know that there is a freshwater version and a saltwater version. I'm not sure if that makes a difference.

Hi, Thanks I will bump my older post, just thought I should make a new post seeing as the problem is different to what I originally posted. I do the tests about 30 minutes after I add the ammonia just to let it circulate. I am currently doing like 3 tests a day for. Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate in the hopes that it will show different readings and I am confirming with other people as well just to rule myself out as making a mistake. I am using the fresh water version on one and only as well.

 

HI there. Sooo what is your pH?

Stop testing 3x’s per day. You need to be patient. It has only been 3 days. You are going to drive yourself crazy. Sometimes it takes 4-5 days before you see any movement in your cycle.

What did you use for your dechlorinator? Tim’s one and only is basically Tetra Safe Start plus. I believe they are owned by the same parent company. And in theory it shouldn’t be an issue. But in reality it can be. The bacteria is housed in ammonia, so it doesn’t starve while sitting in the bottle. For some reason if you add the bottle of bacteria to a newly dechlorinated tank, the bacteria die because of lack of food. Again, in theory this shouldn’t happen, but it happens all the time.

The first thing I would do is turn your temp up to 84F/28C. For some reason it speeds up the cycling process. 84 is the magic number.

If you haven’t seen any sort of movement in your ammonia dropping in the next 48 hours, I would add another bottle of Tim’s one and only. No need to add more ammonia until it drops all the way to 0.

There is also an ammonia calculator that may work a little better for knowing how much to add. Let’s you add in all your tank variables.

Ammonia Cycling Calculator

 

HI there. Sooo what is your pH?

Stop testing 3x’s per day. You need to be patient. It has only been 3 days. You are going to drive yourself crazy. Sometimes it takes 4-5 days before you see any movement in your cycle.

What did you use for your dechlorinator? Tim’s one and only is basically Tetra Safe Start plus. I believe they are owned by the same parent company. And in theory it shouldn’t be an issue. But in reality it can be. The bacteria is housed in ammonia, so it doesn’t starve while sitting in the bottle. For some reason if you add the bottle of bacteria to a newly dechlorinated tank, the bacteria die because of lack of food. Again, in theory this shouldn’t happen, but it happens all the time.

The first thing I would do is turn your temp up to 84F/28C. For some reason it speeds up the cycling process. 84 is the magic number.

If you haven’t seen any sort of movement in your ammonia dropping in the next 48 hours, I would add another bottle of Tim’s one and only. No need to add more ammonia until it drops all the way to 0.

There is also an ammonia calculator that may work a little better for knowing how much to add. Let’s you add in all your tank variables.

Ammonia Cycling Calculator

Thanks for your response. PH is currently at 7.6. It was at 7.2 but I added more water today because of evaporation. The conditioner I use it Continumm Aquatics Fraction. In 12 hours it will be exactly one week since I have added the one and only. Is it possible to use tetra safe start instead as it is most locally available to me ?

 

Yes absolutely. I would definitely get another bottle of bacteria if it had been 7 days. Sometimes you just get a bad bottle. Be sure you get TSS plus. It is different than the regular Tetra Safe Start. Also be sure to wait at least 24 hours after your dechlorinator to add it. Since you topped off the tank today, don’t add the bacteria until tomorrow. Be sure you get a big enough bottle too. The front of the TSS+ is a bit misleading. Read the back and get a big enough bottle to treat your size tank. Be sure you shake your bottle very well before dumping it in the tank. When you go to add the bacteria, I would pour half of it directly into your filter, and the other half into your water column. That way the bacteria is already where it should be.

Then wait 24 hours after you add the TSS+ and test your water. I bet you will notice a difference.

Hopefully this will be the key. I would keep an eye on your pH also it’s a little concerning that it fluctuates that much. If it starts to drop again, I would get a kH/Gh testing kit. Sometimes you have a low mineral count in your water and it won’t support a stable pH. It is easily remedied, but it will affect your cycle. So you do need to pay attention to it.

 

Yes absolutely. I would definitely get another bottle of bacteria if it had been 7 days. Sometimes you just get a bad bottle. Be sure you get TSS plus. It is different than the regular Tetra Safe Start. Also be sure to wait at least 24 hours after your dechlorinator to add it. Since you topped off the tank today, don’t add the bacteria until tomorrow. Be sure you get a big enough bottle too. The front of the TSS+ is a bit misleading. Read the back and get a big enough bottle to treat your size tank. Be sure you shake your bottle very well before dumping it in the tank. When you go to add the bacteria, I would pour half of it directly into your filter, and the other half into your water column. That way the bacteria is already where it should be.

Then wait 24 hours after you add the TSS+ and test your water. I bet you will notice a difference.

Hopefully this will be the key. I would keep an eye on your pH also it’s a little concerning that it fluctuates that much. If it starts to drop again, I would get a kH/Gh testing kit. Sometimes you have a low mineral count in your water and it won’t support a stable pH. It is easily remedied, but it will affect your cycle. So you do need to pay attention to it.

Thank you very much for your help I will order the TTS+ right now. The PH out of my tap is around 8 and I have driftwood in my tank as well so that's probably why it dropped off a bit. I have ordered a KH/GH test kit which should be here tomorrow hopefully. I want to keep apistogrammas so they like more acidic and softer waters. But first I need to get this tank cycles and get it a bit more mature before I add them.

 

Ok so it has been around 48 hours since I last tested and I just want to share my results to be double checked.

PH



HIGH RANGE PH



AMMONIA



NITRITE



NITRATE

 

It's only been a week. Even with SafeStart Plus (or other bacteria additives) it could take a few weeks to a month. I know some say not to test water for a week after using SafeStart Plus.

 

Dr. Tims one and only nitrifying bacteria claims to take around 5-7 days. With their detailed instructions saying to test the water daily and add ammonia once it has dropped below 0.5ppm
A Quick Guide to Fishless Cycling | DrTim's Aquatics

 

Where did you start with your ammonia again? I can’t remember. I think that it looks like you have some nitrates, but it could just be a subtle lighting thing.

Does your high pH look like 7.4? Or 7.8? If it is 7.4 then your pH is actually 7.6. 7.4 is the default reading on the high pH kit, for anything 7.6 or below.

Make sure your temp is at 84 degrees.

Test in 24 hours see where you are.