Regular Member Julie Posted November 7, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted November 7, 2010 Hopefully this is the right place to put this... Right now I'm cycling a 75 gallon tank. Today is the 6th or 7th day of cycling, and I've come up with strange testing results. Today, I have: 2.0 Ammonia 0 Nitrites 5.0-10 Nitrates. Now, admittedly, I do suck at performing the Nitrate test. Today is the first day I've actually done this particular test. (I've only been testing ammo and nitrites) For the Nitrate test I made sure to shake bottle #2 for a full minute, add the drops, and shake the test tube for a full minute. This tank has an established TopFin 60 filter (Will add another filter very soon), and I added an entire bottle of Tetra SafeStart to the filter pads themselves on the first day. Also, I've kept the lights on 24/7. (I heard that helps speed up the cycle...) Could it be the excess lighting causing this? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin koko Posted November 7, 2010 Admin Share Posted November 7, 2010 Is there fish in there? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Julie Posted November 7, 2010 Author Regular Member Share Posted November 7, 2010 No, I'm doing fishless. Sorry, forgot to mention that! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member blackteles Posted November 7, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted November 7, 2010 Following up to Koko...need to know if you have fish in the tank which would make a difference. Cycling your tank is a 4-5 week process at least until your BB is established. I'm cycling a tank that's been up and running now for about the same time as you...seven days. I'm showing .5 nitrates and .5 nitrites with fish in my tank. Nitrites before my 50% water change this morning were at 1.0. After the water change nitrites are at .25. Am also using Nutrafin Cycle to help the cycle along. I would hold off on adding your additional filter until you have cycled your tank...adding another filter too early would set you right back to day one. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin koko Posted November 7, 2010 Admin Share Posted November 7, 2010 Ok its the "Tetra SafeStart" that is showing the nitrates in your tank. i keep this stuff on hand incase my ph goes down to far and crashes my cycle, and this stuff does the trick.... Let the tank do its thing, then I would say in a few days add some more in the tank... and test in 24 hours, it might cycle the tank 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Julie Posted November 7, 2010 Author Regular Member Share Posted November 7, 2010 Following up to Koko...need to know if you have fish in the tank which would make a difference. Cycling your tank is a 4-5 week process at least until your BB is established. I'm cycling a tank that's been up and running now for about the same time as you...seven days. I'm showing .5 nitrates and .5 nitrites with fish in my tank. Nitrites before my 50% water change this morning were at 1.0. After the water change nitrites are at .25. Am also using Nutrafin Cycle to help the cycle along. I would hold off on adding your additional filter until you have cycled your tank...adding another filter too early would set you right back to day one. There's no fish, I forgot to mention that. Hmm, I've got the nitrates, but for some reason I haven't read any trace of Nitrites. Maybe I'm being impatient... I'm glad you told me about adding a second filter! I'm just curious, why would it get set back? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin koko Posted November 7, 2010 Admin Share Posted November 7, 2010 it would have to cycle and seed the filter so it might cause a kink... But on the other hand having the "Tetra SafeStart" you could seed the filter with that stuff..... I would still say do what I posted before so we can see it will help and do its thing before adding another filter 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Julie Posted November 7, 2010 Author Regular Member Share Posted November 7, 2010 (edited) Ah!! That makes sense. I'll hold off on the filter and try that out. Thanks Koko! Edited November 7, 2010 by Commis 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin koko Posted November 7, 2010 Admin Share Posted November 7, 2010 Keep me posted so i can help ya 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member blackteles Posted November 7, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted November 7, 2010 Maybe I'm being impatient... Patience, grasshopper..... It's a long and painstaking process....be patient, test your parameters daily, and change your water to reduce toxins and you'll be fine. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member CountryLovah Posted November 7, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted November 7, 2010 Hmm maybe someone else has covered this, but also be sure to run a test on your tap water. Many people, like me for example, have high nitrates in their tap. Mine are always between 5-10.... So double check yours, perhaps that could explain some of the nitrates? In my experience it can take a while for nitrites to show up. Sometimes weeks.. A full cycle can take up to 8 weeks to establish (possibly longer but for me it's always been about that long)... As others have said, give it time, be patient and it will run it's course and you'll have your cycle:) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Julie Posted November 7, 2010 Author Regular Member Share Posted November 7, 2010 Maybe I'm being impatient... Patience, grasshopper..... It's a long and painstaking process....be patient, test your parameters daily, and change your water to reduce toxins and you'll be fine. But I want it noooooooow! Hehe Yeah, I'll just have to keep reminding myself that the cycle WILL come eventually. Hmm maybe someone else has covered this, but also be sure to run a test on your tap water. Many people, like me for example, have high nitrates in their tap. Mine are always between 5-10.... So double check yours, perhaps that could explain some of the nitrates? In my experience it can take a while for nitrites to show up. Sometimes weeks.. A full cycle can take up to 8 weeks to establish (possibly longer but for me it's always been about that long)... As others have said, give it time, be patient and it will run it's course and you'll have your cycle:) Aha, I didn't think of the tap! I'll test that too, maybe that's contributed as well. For some reason, I keep setting silly deadlines for things I can't control when it comes to aquaria. This time it was, "Maybe the tank will be cycled by Christmas!!" So I get all antsy. I need to accept that the tank works on its own time, hehe. :B 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Julie Posted November 7, 2010 Author Regular Member Share Posted November 7, 2010 OH! Another question! Would it be bad to mix two different brands of cycling bacteria with each other? For instance, I had added SafeStart at the beginning. If I buy some Seachem Stability and add that to the tank later on, would the differing chemicals/bacteria cancel each other out or ...something? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member blackteles Posted November 7, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted November 7, 2010 Personally I'd only stay with one type...two different kinds may work against each other and slow down your cycling process even more... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member CountryLovah Posted November 8, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted November 8, 2010 I can't answer for sure but I think personally I would stick with one type as well. I can't see them being bad together though? Honestly, I've never had much luck with those products. I know some people on this board who have, but I've tried so many of them, and run a couple tests to see which product helped jumpstart the cycle the fastest, and none of them made much difference for me. The one I've read the best things about is sold by Dr. Tim's Aquatics called One & Only Bacteria.. I have actually heard a few people recommend the SafeStart as well, but neither of these made a difference for me when I tested them. But if you find one that works for you that's great! I think Christmas is a possibilty! I wouldn't rule that out :-) It feels like it will never end doesn't it? But it will! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Julie Posted November 8, 2010 Author Regular Member Share Posted November 8, 2010 I'll stick to SafeStart, then. Yeah, I had read very mixed reviews about most of the cycling products as well, pretty much that buying one gives you a 50/50 chance of actually working, lol! But at least the color of the liquid RESEMBLES beneficial bacteria, haha! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member blackteles Posted November 9, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted November 9, 2010 Sounds good! Go into it with high expectations, plenty of patience and water changes and it'll come soon. Best of luck! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin koko Posted November 9, 2010 Admin Share Posted November 9, 2010 Actually guys you can mix them together. When i lost my cycle after moving here, i had one bottle of cycle and ran out, so i had to get another kind cause they didnt sell the stuff I bought in CA... I did mix them together in my tank and WALLA cycle in a week WHOOT for me Just to let you guys know you can mix BB bottles 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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