How long did it take you to cycle?

I tried a product called Stability, but I didn't really do a good test to see if it actually was helping. However, I just finished cycling my tank in only 35 days (I was expecting 6-8 weeks not just over 4 like I got). The question is how long has it taken other people using anything to help or not to cycle your tank?

Please list:
-- Gal size of your tank (and state if you are showing in US or US Gal please).
-- If you used any "helper" to assist in cycling (i.e. Cycle, Stability, etc.)
-- If you cycled with fish or without (if without then what did you use for ammonia (fish food, pure ammonia drops, etc.)
-- And of course list how long it took you to cycle (try to be as accurate as possible please)

 

I tried a product called Stability, but I didn't really do a good test to see if it actually was helping. However, I just finished cycling my tank in only 35 days (I was expecting 6-8 weeks not just over 4 like I got). The question is how long has it taken other people using anything to help or not to cycle your tank?

Please list:
-- Gal size of your tank (and state if you are showing in US or US Gal please).
-- If you used any "helper" to assist in cycling (i.e. Cycle, Stability, etc.)
-- If you cycled with fish or without (if without then what did you use for ammonia (fish food, pure ammonia drops, etc.)
-- And of course list how long it took you to cycle (try to be as accurate as possible please)

5 us gallons
no helper
without fish
2 months!

30 gallons
helper: cycle
with fish (4 serpae tetra-I kno very dangerous! but I didn't kno much about fish yet!)
2 weeks!

 

Are we the only one's that have cycled our tanks? (i.e. Shameless bump... come on it's for science people! ;D)

 

It's been so many years since I cycled a tank from scratch I really don't remember. I just use filter media (or a sponge filter) from an established tank, and stock lightly until the new setup ages a bit.

 

um I didn't know about cycling when I first set up my 15gall. :-\ :-[ but all the fish survived the cycle.

7.5gall tank
without fish
2 weeks
used pure ammonia

when I had my old Q-tank it took 6 weeks with no helper, and fishless.

Gwenz

 

20 days for 1 tank, 33 days for the other one.

 

Please list:
-- Gal size of your tank (and state if you are showing in US or US Gal please).
-- If you used any "helper" to assist in cycling (i.e. Cycle, Stability, etc.)
-- If you cycled with fish or without (if without then what did you use for ammonia (fish food, pure ammonia drops, etc.)
-- And of course list how long it took you to cycle (try to be as accurate as possible please)

5 US Gallon
Bio Spira
Mystery Snail (ammonia levels reached 4ppm and had to remove my Betta for it to finish)
about 6 weeks

 

I will list 2 of them for you...

10 US GALLONS
Used Cycle
2 Guppies and 1 sword (did lose fish but they were looking bad when we got them from meijers)
Kept DETAILED logs: 4 weeks to completely cycle with 0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrite , 10 Nitrate ::: verified by continued testing to date.

29 US GALLONS
Used Cycle
5 Assorted Danios
Once again detailed logs and it took 4 weeks to completely cycle.

Hope this is good for ya.. ;D

 

Good information so far... keep it coming people ;D

 

I'm only going to post the one tank that has cycled for sure (Second one's been on meds... so i'm unsure if it's actually cycled or not)

However, I have:

A 3-US Gal.
I used BioSpira
I cycled with 1 fish, 1 snail, and 1 live plant.
I started the cycle on March 29th, and it finished cycling on April 25th - So that makes 29 days.


My other tank is anotherr 3 gallon, with one betta and a snail. But the betta has finrot..so the tank's been on meds for quite some time. (With a couple med breaks) Though, when I tested the water the other day, there was no ammonia, no nitrites, and 10 nitrate. So it seems like it's cycled.. but i'm unsure due to the meds. I did put in BioSpira, but I read (afterwards) that most meds kill the helpful bacteria that develops during the cycle... So that tank has me baffled, currently. ???

 

75 gallon with 5 zebra danios and bio-spira...5 days. After more fish were introduced got ich, treated the whole tank, killed bacteria, second cycle with LOTS of water changes...2 months to re-cycle

 

Cycled 75gal 28 days. Gravel was from mature tank but it was below freezing when I brought the tank home. The filter was kept warm and wet for the move and I think that helped. Used no helpers like cycle or bio spira. Had fish in tank and was changing water 50% every other day. Had fish lost.
I'm cycling 10 gal right now, Fishless. I filed tank with water from 75 gal tank and tested water.
Day 2  ; ammonia 0.5 ; nitrite 0.3 ; nitrate 10
Question is will it help by using the water from the other tank or are the bacteria going to die off before they can get established?
I'm using brine shrimp food to feed the tank water.

 

Time frame on that new tank will be nice to see. Please do keep us informed at the status . Also just a note about the other filter you used for the 75 Gal. You might have been better off letting it freeze. Just like they do with the Bio-Spira, when the bacteria get cold they go dormant. They don't need to feed and will take longer to die off. They don't breed either, but that's not needed as we just want them alive. Keeping them warm and wet is fine but if you didn't give them a constant source of ammonia, then they died from starvation after a few days. So depending on how long the filter was kept without food I'm not sure what to classify that tank under. I.e. cycled with help from old stock or cycled like new.

 

75 gal
The tank was drained in the morning and set back up by late afternoon.

 

Thanks for the reply, so definitely seeded from the old filter. Good info... thanks!

 

I just finished a cycle it took approximately 5 weeks
45 us gal hex tank
10 feeder fish (jumbos)
no helper
weekly 15% water change starting week 3
At 5 weeks the water tested low for ammonia and nitrites
I did however lose 4 of the fish not sure what from the others did fine and I ended up giving them back to the fish store I had bought them from.

 

29 US Gallon Tank
4 Zebra Danios
No used filter media, BioSpira, etc.

5-6 weeks.

I lost my logs during this time period - so I'm guesstimating.

 

15g with feeder goldfish as a booster - 6 weeks.

 

I'm cycling 10 gal right now, Fishless. I filed tank with water from 75 gal tank and tested water.
Day 2  ; ammonia 0.5 ; nitrite 0.3 ; nitrate 10
Question is will it help by using the water from the other tank or are the bacteria going to die off before they can get established?
I'm using brine shrimp food to feed the tank water.
Finshed cycling 14 days. Used filter media from cycled tank, no water changes. used "Cycle" in water once a week.
Water readings on 14th day were ; Ammonia 0 ; Nitrite 0 : Nitrate 110++
Did 3 - 75% water changes to get Nitrates down to 5
Water is good for two days now, added 4 Mystery Snails to start cleaning the alge bloom for cycling with fish food

 

g'morning!

1) I Have a 29 gallon tank

2) Used Prime with all water changes since setting up tank on march 28.

3) Started the cycle with fish on day 2. Started with 3 platy and 2 dwarf gourami (added & lost fish since).

4) Test log shows the same readings of: Ammonia:2.0; Nitrate: 5.0;Nitrite: 0 pretty consistant from 4/29-5/9.(Started using the API Master tester on 4/29). 
    5/09 Nitrates spiked between 5.0 ->10.0 Nitrite still zero, Ammonia still at 2.0.
    5/11 Nitrate 5.0, Nitrites 0, Ammonia 2.0. (back to pre 5/9 readings).
    5/13 Nitrate 10.0 Nitrite 0, Ammonia 1.0 ( 7th week into cycle)
    5/13 Been doing 20% water change done daily around 4pm since 5/6.  API Testing done daily around 7am.
           (rinsed off a lot of diatoms today, been collecting for a few weeks or so.)       
    5/14 Nitrate 5.0, Nitrite 0, Ammonia 1.0.   

I believe this tank just cycled at 7 weeks or so. Continual Ammo readings could have resulted in too many fish for a cycling tank. Thank goodness for a low PH level.
Hope this helps in your research! ~ kate 

 

I'm cycling 10 gal right now, Fishless. I filed tank with water from 75 gal tank and tested water.
Day 2  ; ammonia 0.5 ; nitrite 0.3 ; nitrate 10
Question is will it help by using the water from the other tank or are the bacteria going to die off before they can get established?
I'm using brine shrimp food to feed the tank water.
Finshed cycling 14 days. Used filter media from cycled tank, no water changes. used "Cycle" in water once a week.
Water readings on 14th day were ; Ammonia 0 ; Nitrite 0 : Nitrate 110++
Did 3 - 75% water changes to get Nitrates down to 5
Water is good for two days now, added 4 Mystery Snails to start cleaning the alge bloom for cycling with fish food

Did you find if the cycle took less time yet. was it faster with the main tank water?
I am thinking about doing the same.
mojo

 

Yes, Did water changes with first tank to keep fish alive.
Cycled 10gal in 14 days seems fast but taking a little of everything helped. Used water from 75gal, I took some cycled filter media and placed in new tank filter. Also took two plastic plants from cycled tank.  Then feed the bacteria dry brine shrimp food every 12 hours. Did no water changes. Had high ammonia readings then high nitrite readings 3.3 then when I had 0, 0 readings for ammonia and nitrites, my nitrates were 110++ off the scale. Took 2, 75% water changes to bring NO3 to safe level.
It's been one week with fish & crabs in tank and every one seems happy ;D

 

Very good! It took me almost 6 weeks without the other mediums to transfer bacteria to. good job thanks for sharing your results.
mojo.

 

First, I'd like to see some statistics on some already cycled tanks. Please answer only if you have completed the cycle.
1. Time to complete your cycle. (number of days, weeks, months)
2. Fishless or with fish?
3. tank size?
4. With or without media from established tank? If yes, please list it(them).
5. water treatment chemical? (for example, Aquasafe, Prime)
6. Filter?
7. temperature?
8. planted?
9. Substrate?
10. Day(? insert number. Ex: Day 6) to first see nitrite reading?
11. Day(?) to first see nitrate?
12. Day (?) first start to see rapid decrease in ammonia?
13. Day (?) first start to see rapid decrease in nitrite?


Second, please be so kind to do some analysis for me.

I am having a really slow progressing fishless cycle.
It's day 8 for me for my 10 gallon. And day 3 for my 40 gallon.
At the end of day 3 for 10 gallon, I got a driftwood from a friend's well established large (probably 75g+) aquarium. On day 6 I moved the driftwood into the 40 gallon which is day 1 for the 40 gallon. I used two sponge filters and a canister on the 10 gallon until the end of day 5, and then I moved one sponge filter and the canister to the 40 gallon.
So far I got 0 nitrite reading in both tanks. But in the 10 gallon, nitrate reading is about 15...however, some of it might come from the water I got from my friend's. I put maybe 1 gallon of his tank water into my 10 gallon tank when I planted this driftwood. His tank water had nitrate reading of 20+. He had squeezed his filter media in the water he gave to me.
I don't see why I am making no progress. Ammonia does drop in the 10 gallon since day 1 with 0 nitrite reading and 0 nitrate reading. I got the nitrate reading after I used friend's water, but the nitrate does seem to have raised since with no noticeable large decrease in ammonia, and nitrite always holds at 0.
I am getting impatient. My Red cherry shrimps are dying, and I am waiting to use either tanks. I heard with access to established tank, the cycle time can be 5~14 days. Why I don't see any real progress in my 10 gallon which has been cycled for 8 days?
P.S. The temperature is 83~85F.
I have lots of white spider web like things build up on rocks, decoration etc. I read somewhere it's the stress coat... It is annoying.

 

Hey, Vash! Welcome to Fishlore!
1. Around 1 month and 2 weeks... Maybe longer? I didn't keep track and let my tank stabilize for a while
2. Fishless, with a piece of raw fish
3. 60 gallons (48"x16"x18")
4. No established media
5. Tetra Aquasafe
6. Tetra Whisper 60, normal filter cartridge with biosponge.
7. 80 degrees
8. Yes. Fairly loosely at the time, just some dracaena and anubias.
9. Fluorite and gravel mixture
10. I don't know, didn't keep track
11. Didn't keep track
12. Didn't keep track
13. Didn't keep track

I see that you are using test strips, those are known for being inaccurate. That may be the reason why your readings are weird. An 8 day long fishless cycle is not slow at all. The average is usually around a month. Is your ammonia source the RCS? If it is, I would advise you cycle with something else, like a piece of shrimp, fish food, and ammonia.

I cannot help with the white spidery stuff, and I don't know about the established media helping. Could the temperature be hurting the shrimp? I hope your tank is going well and this information helps you! I hope another member will come along and help you with your actual cycle. Best of luck!

 

1.it took me 14 days to cycle my tank(I know it sounds like a little but believe it or not I did cycle it in just 2 weeks)
2.fishless,I used household pure ammonia as an ammonia source. I don't suggest using raw fish or raw shrimp they get nasty and smelly so just use pure ammonia with no smells or detergents
3.10 gallons
4.nope I didn't have another cycled tank.
5.I used tetra aquasafe to get rid of chlorine and chloramine in the tap water.
6. Tetra whisper 2-10I
7. It was like 82 F
8.no I don't have any plants yet.
9. Yes I had gravel for substrate(it was not from a cycled tank)
10.day 1 ammonia-3.0
I added some pure ammonia from a discount store (1 tablespoon for every 5 gallons) you have to keep adding ammonia each day until you get nitrite readings and then stop.
11.day 3 ammonia-3.0(I still kept adding more)
Nitrite-0
Nitrate-0
Ph-7.8
12. Day 6Ammonia 3.0(I stopped adding more because nitrite finally appeared )
Nitrite-3.0
Nitrate-0
13.day 8
Ammonia 0
Nitrite-10.0
Nitrate-0
14. Day 10
Ammonia-0
Nitrite-10.0
Nitrate-60
Day 12
Ammonia-0
Nitrite-0
Nitrite-20
Day 14
Ammonia-0
Nitrite-0
Nitrate-20
Ph-7.8(so I added a ph tablet and it set the ph to 7.2)
Alkanity- 180
Hardness-150(hard)
My tank cycled a lot faster than what I thought.what you cand o to speed it up is add some bio-spira but you will probably need to order it online I have never seen it in stores. Also if you have a friend with a cycled tank then run your filter in his tank for a week and then put it in yours it will speed it up a bit and also if you use some of his\her gravel or some water.
In order to have healthy fish then you need to be really patient or else your fish will die if you rush things. So just be patient and the cycle will be done . Add some pure ammonia everyday til u get a nitrite reading and then stop and that's mostly it ok.
I now have 3 happy platies in my tank and 1 female guppy.
Good luck

 

I am having a really slow progressing fishless cycle.
It's day 8 for me for my 10 gallon. And day 3 for my 40 gallon.

I am getting impatient.

Well, I was going to fill out the info until I read the above lines a few more times.

You consider 8 days and 3 days to be really slow progress? My first tank probably took a month to cycle (with fish, I didn't know any better then). Now, having 3 cycled tanks in the house, we always have filter media, tank water, substrate and decor to help cycle a new tank which means we can pretty much have an instantly cycled tank.

H O W E V E R...... when I set up my own tanks, I didn't keep switching things out from this one to that one and back to the other one in hopes of rushing things along, at the same time hoping I'm not doing any damage to the fish I chose to put into the tanks before they were cycled.

Slow and easy wins the race in fishkeeping..... rushing can only lead to frustration and ill health for your fish.

My personal methods now are to cycle instantly as mentioned above. What would I suggest for anyone else new to fishkeeping?

Set up tank, add water & prime, put together filter media, lights, decor, substrate, etc. (all the lovely fish amenities). Take water readings using API master kit (liquid) to get base readings. Add a natural source of ammonia (fish food). Wait 3 days. Take readings. If rise in ammonia and nitrIte, do 50% water change, add prime. Wait 3 days. Take readings. Water change, prime, repeat as necessary until readings are 0, 0, 5-20. Add a few fish.

Rinse, repeat. In a week, if numbers are good, add a few more fish. Rinse, repeat. And so on.

 

I am getting impatient not because the cycle is incomplete. It is because nitrite reading is always 0. It's the 9th day, and I still get 0 nitrite reading. I had media from an established tank from a friend... This is just not normal...

I didn't switch things in hope of rush.
I ordered everything online but my 10 gallon tank which I had from way back.

The 40 gallon tank took over 2 weeks to deliver to me.

So I started cycling the 10 gallon first with all 3 available filters that had arrived before the 40 gallon. Out of the 2 sponge filters and 1 canister filter, I originally planned to use 1 sponge and 1 canister for the 40 gallon. So when the 40 gallon arrived, naturally I moved them to the 40 gallon. And if I did not use all 3 filters in the 10 gallon to cycle for 5 days before 40 gallon arrived, it would be not "not rush it", but rather being dumb.

The 10 gallon still have and always had that one sponge filter running the cycle since day 1.

Basically I had everything started to cycle in the 10 gallon because the 40 gallon tank's slow delivery, and moved only everything I intended to have them in the 40 gallon to the 40 gallon once it arrived.

I am not rushing it. I am well aware of the cycle could take up to 6~8 weeks. But I did read some articles claiming the cycle time could be reduced to 5~14 days with the help of some media from an established tank.

Either way, I read that even without the help of a well established tank, nitrite reading should have shown up at around 1 week. Nope, I am still getting 0 after 9 days with access to bacterias.

Do you see the problem now?

Well, I was going to fill out the info until I read the above lines a few more times.

You consider 8 days and 3 days to be really slow progress? My first tank probably took a month to cycle (with fish, I didn't know any better then). Now, having 3 cycled tanks in the house, we always have filter media, tank water, substrate and decor to help cycle a new tank which means we can pretty much have an instantly cycled tank.

H O W E V E R...... when I set up my own tanks, I didn't keep switching things out from this one to that one and back to the other one in hopes of rushing things along, at the same time hoping I'm not doing any damage to the fish I chose to put into the tanks before they were cycled.

Slow and easy wins the race in fishkeeping..... rushing can only lead to frustration and ill health for your fish.

My personal methods now are to cycle instantly as mentioned above. What would I suggest for anyone else new to fishkeeping?

Set up tank, add water & prime, put together filter media, lights, decor, substrate, etc. (all the lovely fish amenities). Take water readings using API master kit (liquid) to get base readings. Add a natural source of ammonia (fish food). Wait 3 days. Take readings. If rise in ammonia and nitrIte, do 50% water change, add prime. Wait 3 days. Take readings. Water change, prime, repeat as necessary until readings are 0, 0, 5-20. Add a few fish.

Rinse, repeat. In a week, if numbers are good, add a few more fish. Rinse, repeat. And so on.

 

But I did read some articles claiming the cycle time could be reduced to 5~14 days with the help of some media from an established tank.

Let's stick with some preliminaries. I'm not good at math, but hopefully I'm good with logic.

For a 40 gallon tank, with existing filter media, you need to sustain the bacteria (again for 40 gallons) with a constant source of ammonia. Same thing for the 10. Was that done?

In other words, were the tanks treated based on their size? Or, were you trying to sustain 40 gallons of bacteria in a 10 gallon tank? It sounds like you had all your filters in a 10 gallon tank to start, and then expected them to sustain two tanks, once you had your 40 gallon delivered.

Am I making sense at all? I do have quite the headache and might not be getting my thoughts transferred here well.

 

The only stuff from your friend's tank is the driftwood and a few gallons of water in which he wrang (wringed?) out his filter? While that's a good start it's not as good as actual filter media.

What is your ammonia source?

ETA: would your friend be willing to keep your RCS until you're cycled? Get a breeders net and put it in his tank so no one can eat them. Just be sure to sloooooooooooowly acclimate them (ask if you aren't sure how).

My 5 gallon is the only tank I cycled without TSS so I can really only answer for that one. It took about a month, I cycled with fry and one platy refugee from the 20 gallon (not recommended but I had a failed run with TSS on this tank so I hadn't planned on cycling with fish). I used TopFin water conditioner until I learned that I have 1ppm ammonia in my tap water so I switched to Prime. At the time I had gravel, two Penn Plax Small World filters, a few marimo balls and I added lace java fern, java moss and flame moss somewhere during the process. Temp was around 80. No media from another tank. I missed the nitrite spike while on vacation, which was probably two weeks in; I caught the very tail end by seeing just a hint of purple with the API kit. And I hung at 0.25-0.5ppm of ammonia, 0 nitrites and just a hint of nitrates for at least a week, but I knew things were going well because I had less ammonia in the tank than in my tap water. I didn't keep a log of days and readings, I just eyeballed the colors.

By comparison, I dragged on for the same amount of time with daily water changes and no progress in my 37g before I said forget it and went with the TSS. Once I dis, it was cycled in four days.

-Lisa

 

Let's stick with some preliminaries. I'm not good at math, but hopefully I'm good with logic.

For a 40 gallon tank, with existing filter media, you need to sustain the bacteria (again for 40 gallons) with a constant source of ammonia. Same thing for the 10. Was that done?

In other words, were the tanks treated based on their size? Or, were you trying to sustain 40 gallons of bacteria in a 10 gallon tank? It sounds like you had all your filters in a 10 gallon tank to start, and then expected them to sustain two tanks, once you had your 40 gallon delivered.

Am I making sense at all? I do have quite the headache and might not be getting my thoughts transferred here well.

Lets please not treat me like a noob that is missing some important step.
Of course I added pure ammonia, and watched the levels closely.

Ammonia never dropped to 0, but it was somehow decreasing since day 1 without having any nitrite reading at all. Which made me thinking maybe ammonia gets released to the atmosphere and also probably my canister filter absorbed some of it too.

I added ammonia several times and paid attention on the reading every day.
Bottom line, there was ALWAYS high level ammonia in there with 0 nitrite reading.

You see, I had all 3 filters running in the 10 gallon with high ammonia. Sure all 3 filters should have developed bacterias as fast as they could, regardless the size of the tank. The amount of bacterias do not adjust themselves according to the tank size, they adjust themselves according to the amount of ammonia available and the amount of surfaces of the media available (in this case my 3 filters) for colonizing.

I just checked the readings. Ammonia in both tanks are still somewhere between 3~6. Still 0 nitrite. There is somewhere between 0~20 amount of nitrate in the 40 gallon which it wasn't there before.

The only stuff from your friend's tank is the driftwood and a few gallons of water in which he wrang (wringed?) out his filter? While that's a good start it's not as good as actual filter media.

What is your ammonia source?

ETA: would your friend be willing to keep your RCS until you're cycled? Get a breeders net and put it in his tank so no one can eat them. Just be sure to sloooooooooooowly acclimate them (ask if you aren't sure how).

My 5 gallon is the only tank I cycled without TSS so I can really only answer for that one. It took about a month, I cycled with fry and one platy refugee from the 20 gallon (not recommended but I had a failed run with TSS on this tank so I hadn't planned on cycling with fish). I used TopFin water conditioner until I learned that I have 1ppm ammonia in my tap water so I switched to Prime. At the time I had gravel, two Penn Plax Small World filters, a few marimo balls and I added lace java fern, java moss and flame moss somewhere during the process. Temp was around 80. No media from another tank. I missed the nitrite spike while on vacation, which was probably two weeks in; I caught the very tail end by seeing just a hint of purple with the API kit. And I hung at 0.25-0.5ppm of ammonia, 0 nitrites and just a hint of nitrates for at least a week, but I knew things were going well because I had less ammonia in the tank than in my tap water. I didn't keep a log of days and readings, I just eyeballed the colors.

By comparison, I dragged on for the same amount of time with daily water changes and no progress in my 37g before I said forget it and went with the TSS. Once I dis, it was cycled in four days.

-Lisa

I use Ace Ammonia Janitorial Strength Formula. Some people confirmed it is pure ammonia and they had used it.

My friend will be able to do nothing for my red Cherry shrimps. He has only 1 huge tank with lots of large fish that will eat everything I am going to buy.

His power filter media will not fit in my canister filter. He did all I asked. He took out some tank water, then took out his driftwood and put in the tank water, then he took out the disgusting filter media and squeezed in the water. I planted the driftwood into my 10 gallon at the end of day 3 as soon as I got it from him. And dumped some water into the tank as well.

P.S. I have only 7 out of original 12 RCS left. They seem to turn really red before dying. I suspect they might have tried to molt and failed.

 

First, I'd like to see some statistics on some already cycled tanks. Please answer only if you have completed the cycle.
1. Time to complete your cycle. (number of days, weeks, months)
4 days (seeded filter) to 13 days (all new)
2. Fishless or with fish?
Fishless all the time
3. tank size?
5.5gal to 145gal
4. With or without media from established tank? If yes, please list it(them).
Seeded sponge fragment; seeded bio-ceramic media
5. water treatment chemical? (for example, Aquasafe, Prime)
, Cycle, Stress Zyme, Stress Coat, AquaSafe, Prime, ChloroXchange...
6. Filter?
Sponge, HOB, Internal, Wet/Dry sump, mini-canister
7. temperature?
24-30C (75-86F)
8. planted?
Most are heavily planted
9. Substrate?
Natural [Jimenoa] River Sand mixed with Eco-Complete (both black and red varieties), as well as ActivFlora (black)
10. Day(? insert number. Ex: Day 6) to first see nitrite reading?
From day 2 (seeded filter) to day 6 (all new)
11. Day(?) to first see nitrate?
From day 3 (seeded filter) to day 11 (all new)
12. Day (?) first start to see rapid decrease in ammonia?
Same as question #10.
13. Day (?) first start to see rapid decrease in nitrite?
Same as question #11

Second, please be so kind to do some analysis for me.

I am having a really slow progressing fishless cycle.
It's day 8 for me for my 10 gallon. And day 3 for my 40 gallon.
At the end of day 3 for 10 gallon, I got a driftwood from a friend's well established large (probably 75g+) aquarium. On day 6 I moved the driftwood into the 40 gallon which is day 1 for the 40 gallon. I used two sponge filters and a canister on the 10 gallon until the end of day 5, and then I moved one sponge filter and the canister to the 40 gallon.
So far I got 0 nitrite reading in both tanks. But in the 10 gallon, nitrate reading is about 15...however, some of it might come from the water I got from my friend's. I put maybe 1 gallon of his tank water into my 10 gallon tank when I planted this driftwood. His tank water had nitrate reading of 20+. He had squeezed his filter media in the water he gave to me.
I don't see why I am making no progress. Ammonia does drop in the 10 gallon since day 1 with 0 nitrite reading and 0 nitrate reading. I got the nitrate reading after I used friend's water, but the nitrate does seem to have raised since with no noticeable large decrease in ammonia, and nitrite always holds at 0.
I am getting impatient. My Red cherry shrimps are dying, and I am waiting to use either tanks. I heard with access to established tank, the cycle time can be 5~14 days. Why I don't see any real progress in my 10 gallon which has been cycled for 8 days?
P.S. The temperature is 83~85F.
I have lots of white spider web like things build up on rocks, decoration etc. I read somewhere it's the stress coat... It is annoying.

Try placing your Red Cherry Shrimps in a container you could change most of its water daily as you cycle fishless. Freshwater inverts don't tolerate ammonia and nitrites as fish do (to die, I mean, it harms all of them)

Pepetj
Santo Domingo

 

Try placing your Red Cherry Shrimps in a container you could change most of its water daily as you cycle fishless. Freshwater inverts don't tolerate ammonia and nitrites as fish do (to die, I mean, it harms all of them)

Pepetj
Santo Domingo

My red cherry shrimps are in a one gallon container. They had been in there for the last 10 days...since the Thursday before last.

I do daily partial water change up to 50% at most. I let the water sit for a day and added Aquasafe.

They still die off one by one. Even though they looked normal. Just that I noticed the dying ones actually turned really red before dying.

 

So far I got 0 nitrite reading in both tanks. But in the 10 gallon, nitrate reading is about 15...however, some of it might come from the water I got from my friend's.

Since you seeded your tank from water used to rinse your friend's filter into, it is possible that you'll never seen any nitrites. As your friend's tank water had 20+ PPM nitrate and you're only measuring 15PPM, odds are this is how the water mixed in your tank.

I don't see why I am making no progress. Ammonia does drop in the 10 gallon since day 1 with 0 nitrite reading and 0 nitrate reading. I got the nitrate reading after I used friend's water, but the nitrate does seem to have raised since with no noticeable large decrease in ammonia, and nitrite always holds at 0.

What ammonia source are you using? Do you know what your pH is at? If the pH drops too low or goes too high, it can stall your cycling process.

I am getting impatient. My Red cherry shrimps are dying, and I am waiting to use either tanks. I heard with access to established tank, the cycle time can be 5~14 days. Why I don't see any real progress in my 10 gallon which has been cycled for 8 days?

Sorry to hear that your shrimp are dying. I assume they are not in either tank you are trying to cycle currently. Make sure the water your shrimp are in meets their needs in regards to heat, pH, nitrates < 20PPM, etc.

Usually seed gravel or filter material can help speed up the cycle process, so long as there is a proper ammonia source to maintain the bacterial colony and allow it to grow in the new tank. As stated above, there are reasons for a slow cycle process.

P.S. The temperature is 83~85F.
I have lots of white spider web like things build up on rocks, decoration etc. I read somewhere it's the stress coat... It is annoying.

How much StressCoat are you using in your tank(s)? I've used this product for many years and never had it cause a negative impact. Would it be possible to post an of the white stuff?

As a best guess, I suspect you have some type of algae. There are a few varieties of algae that actually are common in a cycling tank, so may not be a problem, unless it is excessive. Do you turn on the tank lights while cycling? Does your tank get any direct sunlight? Most algae will die out from lack of light.

Good luck with your tanks.

 

Put the RCS is a breeders net in his tank. They will be safe in it.

Ammonia of 3-6 is too high, you're killing off the bacteria. Do a 50-75% water change and get it to 2 and see if that helps.

Depending upon the RCS's coloring, it'll go from the translucent to an opaque color when they die. Have you seen any molted shells? I wonder if they're growing in the container they're in.

-Lisa

 

Since you seeded your tank from water used to rinse your friend's filter into, it is possible that you'll never seen any nitrites. As your friend's tank water had 20+ PPM nitrate and you're only measuring 15PPM, odds are this is how the water mixed in your tank.

I only used maybe at most 1 gallon of his water in my 10 gallon tank.

What ammonia source are you using? Do you know what your pH is at? If the pH drops too low or goes too high, it can stall your cycling process.

Ace Ammonia Janitorial Strength Formula.
Some ppl confirmed it is pure since they used it.

Sorry to hear that your shrimp are dying. I assume they are not in either tank you are trying to cycle currently. Make sure the water your shrimp are in meets their needs in regards to heat, pH, nitrates < 20PPM, etc.

They are a separate container with about 1 gallon of water.

Usually seed gravel or filter material can help speed up the cycle process, so long as there is a proper ammonia source to maintain the bacterial colony and allow it to grow in the new tank. As stated above, there are reasons for a slow cycle process.

I don't know the reason. Ammonia is holding at 3~6. Temperature is 83~85.
Do you see a problem?

How much StressCoat are you using in your tank(s)? I've used this product for many years and never had it cause a negative impact. Would it be possible to post an of the white stuff?

I am not using StressCoat. I am using AquaSafe I bought from Walmart. It has stresscoat in there as it says on the bottle.

As a best guess, I suspect you have some type of algae. There are a few varieties of algae that actually are common in a cycling tank, so may not be a problem, unless it is excessive. Do you turn on the tank lights while cycling? Does your tank get any direct sunlight? Most algae will die out from lack of light.

Good luck with your tanks.

There is no algae I can see. The white spider web stuff sometimes like dust. It's not live materials. I first thought they might be algae, but I did some research people say it's stresscoat.

Same thing happened in my shrimp container. One time it was so bad(I probably used too much Aquasafe), that the flake I put in there stuck in middle water on the way down...caught in the "spider web".

Put the RCS is a breeders net in his tank. They will be safe in it.

Ammonia of 3-6 is too high, you're killing off the bacteria. Do a 50-75% water change and get it to 2 and see if that helps.

Depending upon the RCS's coloring, it'll go from the translucent to an opaque color when they die. Have you seen any molted shells? I wonder if they're growing in the container they're in.

-Lisa

I don't have a breeder net. I doubt he has one either. He has only large fish and was never into breeding.

Are you sure 3~6 ammonia is too high? I read most cycle articles talking about that we need 3~5 ammonia.

I saw no molted shells. A few of the dead ones were stretching and making J shape of their own body. And their color turned very red. Then all the sudden they would lie upside down or on their side at the bottom. At that point, they would still be alive. But they were not getting better...and death was the only result after a day or so.

 

Ammonia is holding at 3~6. Temperature is 83~85.
Do you see a problem?

Issues can arise when the ammonia level goes over 5PPM.

 

Issues can arise when the ammonia level goes over 5PPM.

I doubt mine is over 5.

I think it's more like 4 or so. My test kits has only 0.25, 0.5, 3, 6 for ammonia. I took a guess based on my analysis of which color it is closer to.

Also most articles I read suggest the point to slow bacterias' growth is a lot higher than 5. One article suggested 8 is the point.

 

Lets please not treat me like a noob that is missing some important step.
Of course I added pure ammonia, and watched the levels closely.

Well, you must understand that most of the people who come here with the problems you are having and asking such questions are noobies. Without cycled tanks, I don't see how you could considder yourself anything but a noob.

People are here to help you, and they will as long as you don't bring an attitude with you. That's not true....people will still help you, as is evidenced by the subsequent posts.

 

Well, you must understand that most of the people who come here with the problems you are having and asking such questions are noobies. Without cycled tanks, I don't see how you could considder yourself anything but a noob.

People are here to help you, and they will as long as you don't bring an attitude with you. That's not true....people will still help you, as is evidenced by the subsequent posts.

I am new, but I don't think I made any critical mistake or missed any steps.

I did weeks of research and read countless articles and forum threads about cycling before I actually started.

Unless the articles I read were wrong.
They stated that by using low to middle 80s F could speed up the reproduce of bacterias.
They also stated that 3~5 or even a little more ammonia should be ideal for ammonia eating bacterias.

I don't have plants in there, I don't change water. I used pure ammonia.

Well unless my test kit somehow can't read nitrIte, I don't see how nitrite was always 0 after 9 days.

I hope people read more carefully before replying. I did state that my ammonia level in a fishless cycle wasn't dropping fast in my first post. Can't have high level of ammonia in a fishless cycle if I did not add any.

Even though the ammonia had dropped at least once magically on the first a few days since day 1, there was 0 nitrate reading until I got the driftwood from my friend's tank. Since then, ammonia hasn't really dropped, nitrite was always 0, nitrate had magically raised.

I started to think my kit's nitrite test is defect.