ShrimplyDez Posted February 3, 2016 Report Share Posted February 3, 2016 Hello lovely shrimp people! I need your help with something, but you'll need some background info first. I think I am having problems cycling my lack, but it might just be a matter of patience. I am trying to cycle a 1.5 gallon tank to hold snails and plants on SS mesh to kinda grow them out. Day 1 - January 25 The tank has some sand in it. My sister got it in her k12 homeschooling box and i rinsed it really well and put it in the track. I put dechlorinated (with prime) tap water in the tank with an airline tubing and no air stone. Just blowing bubbles basically. My tap has 2 ppm of ammonia so I figured it'd be fine until I got some pure clear ammonia. Day 2 - January 26 Day 3 - January 27 I deed pure clear ammonia until it said 4 ppm. I am using API Freshwater Master Kit. Day 4 - January 28 I put a filter on the tank. It is rated for 5-15 gallons. It has a blue filter with carbon inside. It also has a yellow insert that is for growing beneficial bacteria on it. I also added half a bottle of SafeStart Healthy Nitrifying Bacteria. Ammonia is reading 8 ppm Day 5 - January 29 Nitrate readings are 10 ppm. I was so excited. I thought the bacteria were kickstarting the filter, but ammonia was still 8 ppm and nitrite was 0. Did a 50% WC. Ammonia reads 2 ppm so I add some to get it to 4. Nitrates are down to 5. Added an air stone for extra oxygen. Days 6 through 10- January 30 through February 3 (today) The tank is still the same. So my questions are: Does bacterial product have an expiration date? Is it possible to over oxygenate water and kill bacteria? Can too much mmonia or nitrate kill bacteria? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pokeshrimp Posted February 3, 2016 Report Share Posted February 3, 2016 Shake your ammonia if it bubbles it has surfactants in it which can stall a cycle. Or even read the ingredients it may have it listed on there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarah Posted February 3, 2016 Report Share Posted February 3, 2016 Sounds good! You're definitely on the right track. The most important thing in cycling a tank is patience. Try to keep the ammonia around 2ppm (not much above 4, or you will stall cycle). You will first see nitrites, then nitrates. It could easily be a couple weeks before your nitrate-producing bacteria really get going. (BTW have you tested your tap water for nitrate? I think that's probably where the nitrate in your tank is coming from right now.) As for your other questions - No, you don't need to worry about over-oxygenating the tank. Yes, bacterial products do tend to have expiration dates. Have you had yours for a while? Honestly, if you have time and patience you don't even need them at all. Do you have any other tanks running now? You could always move over some filter material to seed your new tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vpier Posted February 4, 2016 Report Share Posted February 4, 2016 I'm guessing the initial nitrates might have come from the sand from your sisters due to having organic materials in it??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShrimplyDez Posted February 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2016 Shake your ammonia if it bubbles it has surfactants in it which can stall a cycle. Or even read the ingredients it may have it listed on there. It's Ace Brand Janitorial Strength and I did. It didn't foam. Sounds good! You're definitely on the right track. The most important thing in cycling a tank is patience. Try to keep the ammonia around 2ppm (not much above 4, or you will stall cycle). You will first see nitrites, then nitrates. It could easily be a couple weeks before your nitrate-producing bacteria really get going. (BTW have you tested your tap water for nitrate? I think that's probably where the nitrate in your tank is coming from right now.) As for your other questions - No, you don't need to worry about over-oxygenating the tank. Yes, bacterial products do tend to have expiration dates. Have you had yours for a while? Honestly, if you have time and patience you don't even need them at all. Do you have any other tanks running now? You could always move over some filter material to seed your new tank. No nitrate in the tap, just ammonia. The nitrate came after I added the half bottle of bacteria I just bought the bacteria on Thursday (last week) No other tanks That's my main dilemma. I'm guessing the initial nitrates might have come from the sand from your sisters due to having organic materials in it??? No, I had the tank running with only an air pump and no nitrate showed in the tests. Nitrate came after adding that bacteria stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.