cycling tank

geoj

geoj

Active Member
Well Joe, here is the basic types of bacteria the link has more in depth info. I can't at this time give you a source but, many bacteria can use multiple sources of carbon, they have a primary and a secondary source. So I can't agree with the idea that bacteria will be harmed only that there growth will slow when there primary food is depleted. There is normally a bacteria that takes over the carbon reduction as its primary source increase as the other bacterias decrease.

Aerobic and anaerobic bacteria can be identified by growing them in liquid culture:
1: Obligate aerobic (oxygen-needing) bacteria gather at the top of the test tube in order to absorb maximal amount of oxygen.
2: Obligate anaerobic bacteria gather at the bottom to avoid oxygen.
3: Facultative bacteria gather mostly at the top, since aerobic respiration is the most beneficial one; but as lack of oxygen does not hurt them, they can be found all along the test tube.
4: Microaerophiles gather at the upper part of the test tube but not at the top. They require oxygen but at a low concentration.
5: Aerotolerant bacteria are not affected at all by oxygen, and they are evenly spread along the test tube.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaerobic_organism
 
jordan01gts

jordan01gts

New Member
I used NovAqua+ plus,
I just checked the water this morning and here what I have, ph. 7.8, ammonia 8.0, nitrite .25 nitrate 0, does this sound about how it should be going?
 
geoj

geoj

Active Member
I would do a water change with disstilled or RO/DI water to remove some of the NovAqua+. You may be getting the total ammonia when you test.

MultiTest: Ammonia
This kit measures total (NH[sub]3 and NH[sub]4[sup]+) and free ammonia (NH3[/sub] only) down to less than 0.05 mg/L and is virtually interference free in marine and fresh water. Free ammonia is the toxic form of ammonia (vs. ionized Ammonia NH4[/sub]+[/sup] which is non-toxic) and thus it is much more important to keep an eye on the level of free ammonia in your system. This kit is based on the same gas exchange technology that is used in the Ammonia Alert™ and thus is the only kit on the market that can read levels of free ammonia while using ammonia removal products such as Prime®, Safe™,AmGuardhttp://www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/AmGuard.html™ and any similar competing products. The other kits (salicylate or Nessler based) determine the total ammonia by raising the pH of the test solution to 12 or greater. At this high pH all ammonia removal products will breakdown and rerelease the ammonia, thus giving you a false ammonia reading.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jordan01gts http:///forum/thread/382029/cycling-tank/20#post_3332007
I used NovAqua+ plus,
I just checked the water this morning and here what I have, ph. 7.8, ammonia 8.0, nitrite .25 nitrate 0, does this sound about how it should be going?
Lets wait and see what it is tomorrow and the next.
Quote:
Originally Posted by srfisher17 http:///forum/thread/382029/cycling-tank#post_3331900
Just to add more controversy: Why even test for nitrate as long as ammonia and/or nitrite is present?
Just my 3 kids ( ages 25,20, &12) and me for Thanksgiving; they are doing all the work and I'm just supervising this year. All that effort is paying off, Happy Thanksgiving to you all. BTW, isn't being thankful a terrible thing for atheists? They don't have anyone to thank. (stolen from ElRushbo.)
Well the end result is to have as much waste exit the system as a gas to reduce the algae blooms. If you are ghost feeding and the nitrate stays below 1 then you are doing good. Not that you have to keep nitrate that low. Feeding and having a very low nitrate tells you, you have a strong bio-filter.
 
florida joe

florida joe

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by GeoJ http:///forum/thread/382029/cycling-tank/20#post_3332023
I would do a water change with disstilled or RO/DI water to remove some of the NovAqua+. You may be getting the total ammonia when you test.

MultiTest: Ammonia
This kit measures total (NH[sub]3 and NH[sub]4[sup]+) and free ammonia (NH3[/sub] only) down to less than 0.05 mg/L and is virtually interference free in marine and fresh water. Free ammonia is the toxic form of ammonia (vs. ionized Ammonia NH4[/sub]+[/sup] which is non-toxic) and thus it is much more important to keep an eye on the level of free ammonia in your system. This kit is based on the same gas exchange technology that is used in the Ammonia Alert™ and thus is the only kit on the market that can read levels of free ammonia while using ammonia removal products such as Prime®, Safehttp://www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/Safe.html™,AmGuardhttp://www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/AmGuard.html™ and any similar competing products. The other kits (salicylate or Nessler based) determine the total ammonia by raising the pH of the test solution to 12 or greater. At this high pH all ammonia removal products will breakdown and rerelease the ammonia, thus giving you a false ammonia reading.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jordan01gts http:///forum/thread/382029/cycling-tank/20#post_3332007
I used NovAqua+ plus,
I just checked the water this morning and here what I have, ph. 7.8, ammonia 8.0, nitrite .25 nitrate 0, does this sound about how it should be going?
Lets wait and see what it is tomorrow and the next.
Quote:
Originally Posted by srfisher17 http:///forum/thread/382029/cycling-tank#post_3331900
Just to add more controversy: Why even test for nitrate as long as ammonia and/or nitrite is present?
Just my 3 kids ( ages 25,20, &12) and me for Thanksgiving; they are doing all the work and I'm just supervising this year. All that effort is paying off, Happy Thanksgiving to you all. BTW, isn't being thankful a terrible thing for atheists? They don't have anyone to thank. (stolen from ElRushbo.)
Well the end result is to have as much waste exit the system as a gas to reduce the algae blooms. If you are ghost feeding and the nitrate stays below 1 then you are doing good. Not that you have to keep nitrate that low. Feeding and having a very low nitrate tells you, you have a strong bio-filter.

I have to agree with Srfisher here. If you are reading ammonia and nitrites WHY waste your time and test liquids testing for nitrates. Nitrate test results mean absolutely nothing if you are still reading the toxins ammonia and nitrites
 
geoj

geoj

Active Member
To have a flow chart to look at and compare to your experience. Allowing you to see that you have a reading that is not normal and may be wrong...
 
geoj

geoj

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jordan01gts http:///forum/thread/382029/cycling-tank/20#post_3332007
I used NovAqua+ plus,
I just checked the water this morning and here what I have, ph. 7.8, ammonia 8.0, nitrite .25 nitrate 0, does this sound about how it should be going?
Compatibility of AmQuel+ with water test kits: since a significant number of water test kits for aquarium and pond keeping are inaccurate, this is an important issue for those trying to make water tests. See Kordon Article "The Truth About Water Test Kits...", as well as other Kordon Articles on this subject listed on Kordon's home page. AmQuel+ is completely compatible with all Kordon Aqua-Tru™ test kits (see the Kordon Articles on Water Quality Test Kits on Kordon's home page), because their reagents are full strength and scientific grade.
AmQuel+ is compatible to use with those water quality test kits on the market that are fully effective (see note below), except for the ammonia test kits that use Nessler reagents that read in shades of amber or yellow, and the oxygen test kits that use Winkler reagents. Residual AmQuel+ and its reaction products are incompatible with the Nessler and Winkler type reagents, resulting in false, high ammonia and low oxygen concentration readings.
Ammonia test kits using Salicylate-type reagents (reading on a colorimetric scale from yellow to green to blue green) are appropriate for accurate test results. A notable exception for what appears to be a Salicylate-type test kit that should not be used with AmQuel+ is the API (Aquarium Pharmaceuticals) ammonia test kit. For reasons unknown to us, it is incompatible with AmQuel+. Also it is important to read the Kordon Article "The Truth About Water Test Kits..."to have a basic understanding of the quality differences in test kits.
Excellent examples of high quality Salicylate-type test kits with technical grade reagents are Kordon's AquaTru Ammonia Test Kit #35970 for salt water and #35980 for fresh water, as well as the AquaTru Master Test Kits. Any oxygen test kit other than those using Winkler's method is compatible with AmQuel+. For further information on the effects on medications and test kits see in the Kordon Article "About Water Conditioners. "
 
srfisher17

srfisher17

Active Member
Makes sense to me too; but cycling is so simple, I still don't understand why so many folks have problems. I think it may be obsession with nitrates, additives, and the "hurry up" that everyone goes through. Also, aren't most nitrate test kits notoriously unreliable?
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
Quote:
Originally Posted by srfisher17 http:///forum/thread/382029/cycling-tank/20#post_3332219
Makes sense to me too; but cycling is so simple, I still don't understand why so many folks have problems. I think it may be obsession with nitrates, additives, and the "hurry up" that everyone goes through. Also, aren't most nitrate test kits notoriously unreliable?
I also think it's the "hurry up". I'm always amazed at the number of people that have been told that getting ammonia to 2.0ppm will cycle twice as fast as 1.0ppm.
 
srfisher17

srfisher17

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bang Guy http:///forum/thread/382029/cycling-tank/20#post_3332221
Quote:
Originally Posted by srfisher17 http:///forum/thread/382029/cycling-tank/20#post_3332219
Makes sense to me too; but cycling is so simple, I still don't understand why so many folks have problems. I think it may be obsession with nitrates, additives, and the "hurry up" that everyone goes through. Also, aren't most nitrate test kits notoriously unreliable?
I also think it's the "hurry up". I'm always amazed at the number of people that have been told that getting ammonia to 2.0ppm will cycle twice as fast as 1.0ppm.
This falls into the area of Joe's favorite subject: lack of basic research. (Not intended as a jab at the TS; I admit to a "lack of research" and haven't read the entire thread.)
 
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