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Fishless Cycle Question

MorganMK

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Hi all,

I've been doing a fishless cycle for my axie's new tank for about two weeks now and have been following the guide in the link above for instructions. Today, I tested and my nitrates are around 10-20ppm, nitrites are at about 1ppm (it was a dark purple color and was kind of hard to identify with the guide so I'm making the educated guess on this), but my ammonia is still at 4ppm and has stayed at this level since I added the ammonium chloride. I've read a couple of guides that have reported the ammonia usually decreases when nitrites and nitrates increase. Today is the first day I've seen my nitrites go up so I'm not sure if I should give it more time or do a water change to reduce ammonia concentration?

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated as I fear my tank will stall! Thank you!!
 

wolfen

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what is the ph and temperature?
also make sure a air stone is also installed.
 

MorganMK

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Update: ammonia has dropped to 2.0. Nitrites at 1.0 and nitrates at 5.0 (slightly lower than yesterday). PH is still 7.6 and temp is 72 f
 

wolfen

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top the ammonia up daily to 4ppm until it is 0ppm after 24hrs keep an eye on the nitrites and nitrates but right at this time it is more important to watch the ammonia and ph.
only do a water change if the nitrates get to 110ppm or higher, if you do need to do a water change use a dechlorinater only in the water before it is added to the tank, do not use prime or any conditioner that will affect the ammonia as the bacteria require the ammonia for food and can affect the cycling.
keep an eye on the ph if it drops below 7 add enough bicarbonate of soda to bring the ph to 7.4 - 7.6.
once the ammonia and nitrites are 0ppm after 24hrs top back up and continue for two more days to ensure the the cycling has completed.
also whilst the tank is empty the bacteria will require feeding so continue to add ammonia daily until 24hrs before adding an axolotl into the tank.
once a tank has been confirmed as cycled then weekly water changes can commence, theses are done to remove waste and nitrates, water has to be dechlorinated before adding to tank.
things that can stall, slow and prevent cycling.
ph.. if the ph is too low the bacteria will have difficulty consuming the ammonia, never let it drop below 7.
oxygen.. the bacteria that consume/convert ammonia and nitrites require oxygenated water to live, always fit an air stone.
filter size.. if the filtration isn't large enough then a bacteria colony that is large enough to do the job wont form.
temperature.. bacteria grow fastest in warm water so whilst cycling it is good idea to use a heater, this can be removed once the cycling has completed.
 

MorganMK

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top the ammonia up daily to 4ppm until it is 0ppm after 24hrs keep an eye on the nitrites and nitrates but right at this time it is more important to watch the ammonia and ph.
only do a water change if the nitrates get to 110ppm or higher, if you do need to do a water change use a dechlorinater only in the water before it is added to the tank, do not use prime or any conditioner that will affect the ammonia as the bacteria require the ammonia for food and can affect the cycling.
keep an eye on the ph if it drops below 7 add enough bicarbonate of soda to bring the ph to 7.4 - 7.6.
once the ammonia and nitrites are 0ppm after 24hrs top back up and continue for two more days to ensure the the cycling has completed.
also whilst the tank is empty the bacteria will require feeding so continue to add ammonia daily until 24hrs before adding an axolotl into the tank.
once a tank has been confirmed as cycled then weekly water changes can commence, theses are done to remove waste and nitrates, water has to be dechlorinated before adding to tank.
things that can stall, slow and prevent cycling.
ph.. if the ph is too low the bacteria will have difficulty consuming the ammonia, never let it drop below 7.
oxygen.. the bacteria that consume/convert ammonia and nitrites require oxygenated water to live, always fit an air stone.
filter size.. if the filtration isn't large enough then a bacteria colony that is large enough to do the job wont form.
temperature.. bacteria grow fastest in warm water so whilst cycling it is good idea to use a heater, this can be removed once the cycling has completed.
Thank you so much for the detailed response! On second thought would adding a sponge filter with an air pump disrupt my cycling process rn? I'm concerned that my filter may not be large enough for the amount of material I have in the aquarium so I think it would be beneficial to add it as a supplemental filter. Also I understand that the sponge filter can help with the aeration in the water.
 

wolfen

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providing nothing is removed from the tank then adding addition filtration will allow for an increase in the bacteria colony.
although air sponge filters use air to pull water through the air bubbles tend to be large and don't create a lot of dissolved oxygen.
 
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