Sophie and Mom

Also, I made dirt soup at first, and scooped out all the floaties, so I wouldn't have wood pieces in there messing up my ammonia levels!

Sumthin Fishy

Wow...that is high. That's the thing with using potting soil...You never know what's in each individual bag.

I think your plants will thrive, but ammonia that high can interfere with the cycle, which is why when doing a fishless cycle they say to keep it under 5ppm. Still, if you are heavily planted it will be used up eventually. Just might take longer than if you do more water changes. So, you can save your back or have your tank finish faster, depending on your priorities.

If you don't already have one in there, I'd add an airstone to the tank. It sounds like there's a lot of soil decomposition which is causing the bubbles. This can cause a reduction in oxygen in the tank, which is bad for the cycle since the bacteria need oxygen in order to grow. My first NPT took forever to cycle because of this and it was only after the fact that I realized what had happened. So now I always add an airstone for the first couple of months. I've found it makes a huge difference.

Sophie and Mom

Thank you for your thorough replies. Now that there are no fish, and I know that it won't harm the plants, i'm going to give myself a break and wait until the weekend for any more water changing.

Thank you also for the tip about the airstone. I have one just waiting to be put to use!

Sophie and Mom

Another question--do i have to use my water conditioner if I have no fish in the tank? Potted plants do well on tap water; will aquatic do well too?

D9Vin

I would go ahead and de chlorinate. The plants may not mind the chlorine, but it will probably kill the bacteria you are trying to get started in there.

Sophie and Mom

I didn't even THINK of that. Thank you.

Sophie and Mom

New developments!!

This morning, the water was noticeably clearer than it has been, and has continued to get more clear as the day progressed. This allowed me to see plant growth that I didn't even know I had! The cabomba is going crazy (can I take clippings from that and spread it around the tank?), the Java ferns that I forgot about have sprouted taller, and the hornwort is much bigger than it used to be. I love being able to see all this stuff.

Ammonia levels are still ridiculous (higher than 8 ppm--but that's as high as the scale goes, so that's what I'll call it for now).

One question: I can now see that there is a whitish clear slime on all of my driftwood, and it is THICK--up to two millimeters in places as far as I can eyeball. Is this my bacterial bloom attaching itself to hospitable surfaces, or something I need to worry about?

Newt

The white material on the wood could be bacterial but more likely a fungus. I would take it out and pour hydrogen peroxide on it and scrub it clean,then put it back in the tank. If you have a big enough pot that you dont want to use for food you could boil it and then scrub it. This is not unusual for wood. If you didnt have the high NH3 I would suggest getting some Black Mollies to eat it up.

sandeepraghuvanshi

A soil substrate will release large amounts of ammonia when freshly submerged.
Large water changes about 70% every three days will help in keeping ammonia down
Also do not add any ammonia locking chemicals they might interfere with establishment of nitrifying bacteria.
Also they might be responsible for false reading of your test kits.
The whitish coating on your driftwood might be fungus, and is seen in woods which are not dead. Taking it out would be a better option.

Sophie and Mom

I would hope that it was dead...I got it from Foster and Smith specifically for tank use. It is Mopani. Taking it out would be a real hassle...I have plants tucked in around the edges at this point.

I'm trying to upload a pic of the slime, but photobucket isn't cooperating at the moment.

ETA
A lot of it came off when I was siphoning the tank. I just ran the siphon over it and it came right off. I'll see how fast it comes back....