Aquariums and Fish Keeping

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Cabbage@lemmy.world

2.5 weeks into a fishless cycle. Could use some words of encouragement. (lemmy.world)

submitted 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) by ch00f@lemmy.world to c/aquariums@lemmy.world

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First time keeping saltwater fish. Started on the 11/22 using the recommended amount of Dr. Tim's and bio starter. Test kit was still in the mail, so didn't notice the ammonia was only at 0.5ppm until 12/1. Added more to get it up to 2ppm. Nitrate and nitrite were still at 0ppm.

I've added a small amount of bio maintain since then, but otherwise let it work its magic.

So a week and a half later, and I took the test in the pic above. There's definitely some change to nitrate/nitrite, but I could convince myself that ammonia is anywhere from 0.5ppm to 2ppm depending on lighting. Maybe I'm colorblind. It's especially hard to decipher through photos (which I just started taking today).

I'm hoping to get the fish by the 18th so I can have them ready for a Christmas surprise. I know patience is a virtue when it comes to fishless cycling, but am I screwed? I have another option to get pre-cycled filter material, but I was hoping to grow this on my own.

If it matters, I'm using the 10L kreisel from jellyfishart.com. Hoping to order the jellies on the 16th so they arrive by the 18th. They ship with a pre-cycled filter, but something about introducing all of that at the same time makes me nervous.

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[–] ch00f@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Okay, sounds like I'm on the right track, but just in case, I did the following:

Added a bubbler to increase oxygen to speed things along (I assume the bacteria need O2 to get NH3 to NO3) . I also think it might increase agitation and help the heater get the whole tank warm. There's very little flow in the jelly tank (by design), so the heater is shutting off a full 10 degrees before its setpoint is reached. I assume that's the problem since it's not running all the time and the tank remains 10 degrees below setpoint.
Taped some foam insulation to the outside of the tank. It's chilly in the tank's current home, so this will also help with the heat as well as offset the cool air coming from the bubbler.

Wish me luck!