cycling, fishless..

[tameem]

Well I started about a week now fishless cycling. Im using the add and wait method by adding ammonia directly and waiting to see the level drop.
Currently Im at 4ppm of ammonia and I have been at this level I think pretty much all week. I have not added any ammonia and my temp is about 83F. The water is real warm and I have an air stone, too. I dont notice any drops in ammonia, but just want to make sure things are normal. My family is growing increasingly impatient about a real nicely decorated 50 gallon tank that has been empty now for almost a month.

Im pretty sure Im doing things right, I jsut really want to see an ammonia drop to know bacteria is growing.

[HAAA]

patience young one i hope you put some pics, and also what kind of fish are you going to put in

[The Cable Guy]

tameem,
You really need to get some gravel (doesn't need to be much) or some used filter media from an established tank. The original bacteria needs to come from somewhere or it's going to be forever before your tank cycles.

Oh, wait I see you already did this in an earlier post. Please don't start a new thread on the same subject, just post a reply to your old one to bring it back to the front.

Too much ammonia will kill some of the bacteria that you need...

[tameem]

Thanks for replies. Im trying to be patient. You know its amazing because seeding the tank with gravel is the best, most efficient way of speeding up the cycling process. I tried that earlier, I finally convinced a petsmart to give me a handful of their gravel. But maybe the bacteria died, cuz i did not notice a difference. Sometimes you it makes a big difference, other times it does not. Its unfortunately how difficult it is to find a local dealer that is willing to help you out, even some LFS do not.

as far as what kind of fish im getting, I have been stuyding extensiviely on the kind of fish I may buy (I have two great aquarium books that I studied ever BEFORE buying a tank). I have several stocking schemes available that I am consiering for my 50 gallon tank:
a "typical" community tank
5 platies
to fill midwater area, 8 danios (or possibly 6 giant danios)
6 lemon tetras
6 serpae tetras make up thie third school

and lastly, for bottom dwellers, 6 cory cats (the best scavengers out there)

[tameem]

Im amazed at how quick other people on here have seen ammonia levels drop. Man, I've been monitoring my ammonia for several days now and there is just no change. I thought about adding BIospira, but it was just too expensive. I will continue to wait and wait until ammonia levels start to drop, but so far nothing. I think we have had our tank setup now for a month and still not 100% certain about our cycling....

[punkrockfish]

it takes about a month to fishless cycle, so don't worry. give it time and keep the ammonia at about 5. you should start to see ammonia drop in the 2nd week.

[Airborneguy]

Why did you wait 3 weeks to start the cycle? You said its set up for a month and the cycle has been going for a week. You could have started with the ammonia the first day. As a matter of fact, you should have.

[tameem]

well, I actually started doing it after a week or so not until my temperature and all equipment was working properly. I would check my filter, and temperature (i had a defective water heater the first time). And then I started adding ammonia daily every day a little, 1 tsp and a half. But I guess I was just getting a bit impatient, and wasn;t sure. So I did a massive water change to remove the ammonia and now started back to the add and wait method, add ammonia once and thats it. I just tested the water and its stil between 2 and 4.0. I ususally keep the last sample and compare the test tubes side by side, too, to see if there are any visible changes.

I think what I culd have also done is added one or two goldfish to cycle the tank, that wouidl have kept the tank interesting durin gthe whole time, but of course its not the choice for both that dont believe it the traditional cycling method.

we have a real nice setup and all so we are excited. We got such a great deal on a brand new 50 gallon tank and a cherry stand for both 50% off.

[punkrockfish]

always keep the ammonia at around 5 during the cycle. once it starts to go from 5-0 in 24 hours, then you are making progress, but you still need to keep adding the ammonia everyday. did you read the cycling recipe in missfishy's signature?

[Airborneguy]

The water change started everything over again... it was pointless.