Fishless cycle help ,please?

[joec]

I started a fishless cycle yesterday dosing ACE ammonia to 4.0. I plan on only dosing the one time to 4.0 and then one additional cycle verification to 2.0 when it appears that I am fully cycled (dose to 2.0 and then look for ammonia to drop to zero in 24 hours to confirm cycle, correct?)

At this point, when should I begin testing for nitrite and ammonia and then how often after that? When should I begin testing for nitrate?

Thanks!

 

[andyg1960]

Depends on if you add any bacterial supplements which speed things up a bit. You will make yourself crazy overtesting. Since you just dosed ammonia, dont test for it for a week or more. Test nitrite when the ammonia drops. Test nitrate when the nitrite drops

 

[Radman73]

+1 to above. A SeaChem alert badge is helpful as well. Lets you know when ammonia drops so you can test nitrite and nitrate. Your plan is pretty much exactly what I did, even using the ACE ammonia, when I cycled my 60 cube. I'm a fan of dumping a couple of different bacteria in a bottle products to assist with the cycle. But I'm impatient too!

 

[joec]

No bacterial supplement. I have a Seachem ammonia alert, I'll throw it in there.

When test in a week or so, how often should I test after that If I see ammonia drop?

 

[Mombo]

If you didnt use a bacterial supplement then it will be really slow. Prob dont need to test that often.

 

[mattgsa]

I used Seachem Stability when cycling my tank, I thought it worked great.