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brettk
PostPosted: Jun 29th, '13, 01:30 
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Hi All,

New here, but have been lurking absorbing all your knowledge for the last month or so.

My system is finally(almost) cycled. I did fishless cycling and it's been about 3 weeks. My water looks as follows.

PH - 7.4
AM - 8+
Nitrite - 5
Nitrate - 80

It's a 25 gallon tank with a 2x2 grow bed.

Question is my Ammonia has been over 8 for a couple of weeks now and I don't see it going down. Is there any way to drop this so I can add fish? Or is it just a waiting game?

Here are some pics
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mantis
PostPosted: Jun 29th, '13, 07:59 
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Very neat system and welcome to the forum :wave1:
Yes it is just a waiting game with the cycling
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brettk
PostPosted: Jun 29th, '13, 09:26 
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Thanks mantis! It's been a great time building and maintaining!

Should the ammonia steadily drop or will it just happen one day? And I believe I read when it gets to around 2 it's safe to add fish? Also, any idea on the number of goldfish to add to a 25 gallon system?
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mantis
PostPosted: Jun 29th, '13, 16:36 
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Wait till the ammonia zeros and also the nitrites. Don't worry about the nitrates as your plants will use all them.
About 5 goldies would power the system well
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arbe
PostPosted: Jun 29th, '13, 19:09 
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Looks like you are close to completing cycling.

It is time to practice patience and as Mantis says wait for ammonia and nitrite to 0. You don't want to kill your fish.

When ammonia gets to 0 I would add more trying to get it to 1 and see if it is reduced to 0 within 24 hours.

This is a good indication your system is fully cycled and is working well.

What is the trestle in the corner of your growbed (for plants to grow up/over). What is it made of?
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sheepy
PostPosted: Jun 29th, '13, 23:01 
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very cool little setup mate. A Just reminds be how simple it can be, but yet so effective to on learning the ways.

keep letting us know how your water levels go.

and when you add your fish
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Dave Donley
PostPosted: Jun 29th, '13, 23:06 
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All that black might heat up the water a lot in CA. Do you know what your water temp might be?
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j_b
PostPosted: Jun 30th, '13, 02:13 
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wow man, I have to say that system set-up is extremely aesthetically pleasing!

Where did you find the nice lil shelf? its perfect!

And the black is actually a great idea for ppl who live in colder climates!
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brettk
PostPosted: Jun 30th, '13, 05:20 
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mantis wrote:
Wait till the ammonia zeros and also the nitrites. Don't worry about the nitrates as your plants will use all them.
About 5 goldies would power the system well


Awesome, thank you!
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brettk
PostPosted: Jun 30th, '13, 05:27 
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arbe wrote:
Looks like you are close to completing cycling.

It is time to practice patience and as Mantis says wait for ammonia and nitrite to 0. You don't want to kill your fish.

When ammonia gets to 0 I would add more trying to get it to 1 and see if it is reduced to 0 within 24 hours.

This is a good indication your system is fully cycled and is working well.

What is the trestle in the corner of your growbed (for plants to grow up/over). What is it made of?


OK, I will practice my patience ;-).

It was some sort of trellis/garden gate I got from Lowe's. It seems to have a rubber type cover on it. Do you think it's okay to be in the system?
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brettk
PostPosted: Jun 30th, '13, 05:28 
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sheepy wrote:
very cool little setup mate. A Just reminds be how simple it can be, but yet so effective to on learning the ways.

keep letting us know how your water levels go.

and when you add your fish


Thank you, I appreciate that! I just checked my water today and my PH seemed to drop below 6 which has never happen so I'm trying to figure out why...
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brettk
PostPosted: Jun 30th, '13, 05:30 
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Dave Donley wrote:
All that black might heat up the water a lot in CA. Do you know what your water temp might be?


Yeah I thought of that after I got it all built out... ;-)

I don't have a thermometer yet but I'm going to get one int he next couple of days. The temp at my house today is around 100 so I'm a bit concerned. My understanding is Goldfish like colder type waters so I might have to figure out a new route. Are there any fish that like hotter water or do I need to get a new tank?
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brettk
PostPosted: Jun 30th, '13, 05:35 
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j_b wrote:
wow man, I have to say that system set-up is extremely aesthetically pleasing!

Where did you find the nice lil shelf? its perfect!

And the black is actually a great idea for ppl who live in colder climates!


Thank you! That was definitely something I was going for.

I picked up the shelf at Lowes, it's this one I believe and I just used half of it.

Yeah, I'm not too sure the black was the right choice for my location... 100 degrees today.
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