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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[–] cybervseas@lemmy.world 10 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I only know a few things:

Stay the course be patient. If you need to get some cute plastic jellies as a placeholder for Christmas, better that than risk your animals.
Salt water takes longer to cycle than fresh
Jellyfish are crazy sensitive so you need to be sure you’re safe.
Pre seeded media doesn’t help as much if the tank parameters are different from your own. Temperature, ph, salinity, bioload, etc. since the media comes with the jellyfish that might work out!

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

Yeah, the filter media is basically the only place in the tank where bacteria can grow, so I imagine it’s pretty easy for them to cater it to the tank. It still makes me nervous.

But that means I’ll need to dump the tank and start over since there won’t be enough time for the new filter to tackle the current ammonia and nitrite level before I introduce the jellies.

They did offer to send me the filter ahead of time for a $16 shipping fee. I’ll probably try that as a contingency if I’m still having trouble on Friday. Might just be an ego thing that’s kept me from doing that earlier.

If you need to get some cute plastic jellies as a placeholder for Christmas, better that than risk your animals.

We did see a dorky little toy jelly tank at Homegoods the other day. My wife commented on it. Wonder if she’s on to me…

[–] 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!

[–] Album@lemmy.ca 3 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Nh is 2ppm IMO based on the pic. Or whatever green that is it's kinda high.

So you gotta keep cycling.

Surprised your bio starter didn't work faster. How are your temps? I believe you can speed things up by increasing the temp.

If you have a fish store you trust you can get water from their tanks to get you going.

[–] ch00f@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

It’s hard to say. NH3 really does look lighter in person. It was a bluer green a few days ago.

I’ve got it at 80F which is as high as I can get it in my secret garage setup (it’s small enough to hand carry to its spot under the tree when it’s ready). I only cranked it up a few days ago.

I was going to say I lost a week due to the accidentally low ammonia for the first week, but the vendor reminded me that the bacteria in the bio starter is dormant and takes a while to wake up regardless.

My understanding is that the bacteria predominantly live in the filter media. Will water from another tank help that much? If I wanted water without nitrites or ammonia, I could mix it up from scratch.

Would bubbling O2 into the water help the bacteria? I know bubbles can be lethal to jellies, so if remove it before I introduce them. I happen to have a medical oxygen concentrator…

[–] sramder@lemmy.world -2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Get goldfish.

[–] ch00f@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Why?

[–] sramder@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

Sorry, just being an ass :-)