# New Thread--starting the cycle



## dagny0823 (Oct 20, 2009)

Rather than continue on my sick goldfish thread and any negative karma there, here's a fresh thread on what I'm doing so far.

So, last week, I completely emptied the tank, changed the water, replanted the plants in the sand, added the dechlor stuff I had on hand and some bacteria tablets (it's a 3 tablet start up system by Jungle: 1 for dechlor, 1 for pH, and one for bacteria), and started running two filters. I also added a pinch of fish food. And I left it alone except for topups with water that set out overnight or longer, but had nothing added to it.

I had a little time lag on getting the rest of the stuff together, but today I have a heater, a thermometer, a bubbler stone and pump, some plant bulbs (there are already 2 grown plants in there), some of that Seachem Prime, a huge bottle of plain ammonia (nothing smaller at the grocery store) and test kits for Nitrate and Ammonia. I was unable to find any for Nitrites nor could I find the API master kit. I hope this isn't the end of the world. I want to do this right this time. 

This morning, after battling the childproof tops on the test bottles for about 30 minutes :lol: I finally managed to test the water.

Ammonia is between .25 and .5 ppm and Nitrates around 5ppm.

So, what I'm understanding from all I read (thanks everyone for the links) is that I should add a little ammonia now to feed the bacteria, but I am on my way. I'm also going to remove the secondary filter as 1) I think it will cause too much water flow for a betta and 2) there isn't room for it with the heater. And I don't want its bacteria colony to affect the overall health of the tank.

So, does this look good? And what is a "good" level of Nitrates? I understand above 40 is too much, but is that all I really need to worry about?


Thanks again for all the advice past and future!


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## dagny0823 (Oct 20, 2009)

Argh----back to square one. Yesterday I was out because of a snowstorm. I live about 30 minutes from the office (where my tank is), but the family I work with is about 5 minutes away, so they stopped in and good thing they did. The hose on my bubble stone was loose at the filter and drained all the water out of the tank. The filter on my Chi malfunctioned and was sparking everywhere. The tank is now bone dry and my plants look sad, to say the least. I'm having a new filter sent out and if they let me o) I'm going to fill the tank back up and start all over again. If they don't, I'm taking the tank home and starting all over again . 

Anyway, would there be any downside to filling it back up and letting it sit until Monday or Tuesday without a filter? I'm afraid if I don't my plants will definitely die, but I'm guessing the bacteria has all ceased operations during the 24 hours plus that the water's been gone.


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## Phoenix24 (Apr 6, 2013)

No harm in just filling it back up and letting it sit - don't want your plants to die!! Obviously pre-treat the water first with the conditioner (eg Prime or whatever you have) on the off chance (a very small chance) that any bacteria that started to grow are still alive.

How did the hose thing empty the tank? Must have made a right mess! And filters can;t be run out of water, so no wonder it sparked. Lucky there wasn't a fire... (what about the heater? Or don't you have one?)

By the way you DO absolutely need a test kit for Nitrite. Nitrite is toxic, and takes a long time to be broken down by the bacteria (the bacteria are slower to grow than the ammonia ones), and you need to be able to see that the ammonia is being broken down into nitrite, and you need to know when all the nitrite has been broken down. There's no two ways about it, you need a test kit for this.

Nitrate is not really a problem, the levels will sky rocket during the cycle, but once the cycle is done you will be a big water change and that will deal with that (plus the plants will be using nitrate too).


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## dagny0823 (Oct 20, 2009)

Phoenix24 said:


> No harm in just filling it back up and letting it sit - don't want your plants to die!! Obviously pre-treat the water first with the conditioner (eg Prime or whatever you have) on the off chance (a very small chance) that any bacteria that started to grow are still alive.
> 
> How did the hose thing empty the tank? Must have made a right mess! And filters can;t be run out of water, so no wonder it sparked. Lucky there wasn't a fire... (what about the heater? Or don't you have one?)
> 
> ...


Thanks for all of that. I'll keep looking for a nitrite test kit then. Funny, 3 different stores didn't have that, although they had everything else :blink:.

I'm not sure about the heater yet. I hope it's fine--I JUST bought it Monday. I'm afraid to plug anything in yet to test, but I know it was the filter that was a problem. Oh it was a jolly mess---I had looped the loose end of the tubing back into the tank instead of connecting it to the air pump. I didn't have a way to plug the pump in yet, and I didn't know where I'd end up setting it so I didn't want to cut the tube and I didn't want to connect it. So, I stuck the loose end back down into the tank. I have no idea how it then decided to worm its way back out, since it was all the way down in the water and the loose coils were up on the desk, but it did once everyone was gone. You have no idea how relieved i am that there were no fish----how heartbreaking would that have been? And thankfully no fire.


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## Phoenix24 (Apr 6, 2013)

Strange - the nitrite test is the most important one (along with nitrate) - and you can't get the API master test kit??

I found this on ebay.com

api master test kit | eBay

and on amazon.com

Amazon.com: api master test kit

You need the freshwater one, obviously.

Amazon.com: nitrite test - Test Kits / Fish & Aquatic Pets: Pet Supplies (Nitrite test only)

I guess you will never forget now that tubes in tanks can act as siphons - if you ever get an external filter you will quickly come to appreciate this (I nearly emptied my tank by disconnecting the wrong part of the tubing, whoops) 

When a heater is left on without water it can burn out, so you will have to check it still works (and check for any other damage to it, eg cracks, from getting too hot)

Hope this time around your cycle goes well - but please do order yourself a nitrite test (the master test kit also does pH which can be handy too)


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## dagny0823 (Oct 20, 2009)

Phoenix24 said:


> Strange - the nitrite test is the most important one (along with nitrate) - and you can't get the API master test kit??
> 
> I found this on ebay.com
> 
> ...


Just ordered the Nitrite kit on Ebay. I am now shocked that neither huge big box pet store near me carries Nitrite tests, in store or online. They don't have the master kit except online. So, eBay is sending with free shipping, here by Tuesday. I'll check the heater tomorrow---I can't see any cracks, though. I'm afraid to touch it until I get the floor etc dried out over there and check with our office manager to find out if the sparks were from the wall or from the filter or what. She's now out with pneumonia, so if it's not one thing it's another! I'm beginning to feel like my tank is cursed.

And if only I realized that about tubes before---now, here's the question. When I'm sticking a tube in to drain water and vacuum gravel, why is it soooo hard to start a siphon, but when I don't want it to suck water out, a little tube just goes on overdrive! :crazy: It's firmly plugged into the air pump now, and no leaks, so I think I'm fine.

I can't wait until it's all done, the bulbs are sprouting, the water is testing pure, and I can finally put a fish in, sit back and relax!


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## Phoenix24 (Apr 6, 2013)

Its possible that water got down the wiring to the mains. You should always make sure you have a 'drip loop' - ie the flex bending down in a half loop below the mains socket, so that water running down drips off the bottom of the loop, rather than entering the socket.

What is a Drip Loop?

Do you have one of those gravel cleaners? I suspect your problem is your tank is quite small, and you haven't got the space to get the siphon started easily. Here's a tip - when the gravel cleaner part of the siphon is submerged, tip it up so that the trapped air bubbles out, and then thrust the tube in a sideways motion until the water reaches the top of the pipe, then start thrusting in an up-down motion to push the water 'over the hill' so to speak, and down the other part of the pipe. The outlet of the siphon pipe should be lower than the tank itself for the siphon to work.


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## NaomiM (Sep 22, 2012)

Good news that you've managed to get hold of a nitrite test, though sorry about the issues with the hose and the filter - that must have been a nightmare!

If you have trouble starting a syphon, try searching on ebay for one with a hand pump - mine has a concertina-like bit at the end that you just squeeze a few times to get the syphon started. It only cost a couple of quid, and is really easy to use! Just make sure the bucket you're syphoning into is lower down than the tank, or it won't work.


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## Phoenix24 (Apr 6, 2013)

NaomiM said:


> If you have trouble starting a syphon, try searching on ebay for one with a hand pump - mine has a concertina-like bit at the end that you just squeeze a few times to get the syphon started. It only cost a couple of quid, and is really easy to use! Just make sure the bucket you're syphoning into is lower down than the tank, or it won't work.


Can you find a picture or a link to one Naomi? - I have never seen one before so curious...


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## dagny0823 (Oct 20, 2009)

Phoenix24 said:


> Its possible that water got down the wiring to the mains. You should always make sure you have a 'drip loop' - ie the flex bending down in a half loop below the mains socket, so that water running down drips off the bottom of the loop, rather than entering the socket.
> 
> What is a Drip Loop?
> 
> Do you have one of those gravel cleaners? I suspect your problem is your tank is quite small, and you haven't got the space to get the siphon started easily. Here's a tip - when the gravel cleaner part of the siphon is submerged, tip it up so that the trapped air bubbles out, and then thrust the tube in a sideways motion until the water reaches the top of the pipe, then start thrusting in an up-down motion to push the water 'over the hill' so to speak, and down the other part of the pipe. The outlet of the siphon pipe should be lower than the tank itself for the siphon to work.


I knew about drip loops (just from all the reading lately ), but I don't think it would have been likely even without doing one. The hose was on the floor and all the water must have just gone through that hose--so it was just spilling straight onto the carpet, and not coming into contact with any cords. Thankfully! I tested the plugs in the wall just a few minutes ago and they are fine. I'll wait to test the heater on Monday--this way I won't be tempted to plug it in and let it heat the water over the weekend and have something else go amiss if it's no quite right. Monday I can watch it from 9-5 and if it's working, then I'm going to assume it's good.

I do have a small tank--5 gallon--and I got one of these gravel vacuum siphons that works like a shake weight---you jiggle it up and down until the water decides it will be fun to cooperate . It was supposed to be better for these situations and I didn't want to end up doing like I remember my father having to by sucking on one end until you get a mouthfull of aquarium water :yikes:.


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## dagny0823 (Oct 20, 2009)

NaomiM said:


> Good news that you've managed to get hold of a nitrite test, though sorry about the issues with the hose and the filter - that must have been a nightmare!
> 
> If you have trouble starting a syphon, try searching on ebay for one with a hand pump - mine has a concertina-like bit at the end that you just squeeze a few times to get the syphon started. It only cost a couple of quid, and is really easy to use! Just make sure the bucket you're syphoning into is lower down than the tank, or it won't work.


Ooh, that sounds cool---I'll have a gander over the weekend and see if I can find one.


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## NaomiM (Sep 22, 2012)

Here's a link to one that looks pretty much the same as what I have: PISCES INSTANT GRAVEL CLEANER SYPHON AQUARIUM FISH TANK VACUUM HAND PUMP | eBay You can get them cheaper than this though.


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## dagny0823 (Oct 20, 2009)

Got all my test kits and I'm on the road to cycling!

2 days ago, my ammonia was 0ppm, nitrite .25ppm, and nitrate 5ppm
Just tested a few minutes ago and Ammonia is 3ppm, nitrite .5ppm and nitrate holding steady at 5ppm

I added ammonia and fish food the first two days. So, things are moving in the right direction and I have all of you to thank so........

THANKS!!!!!​


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