Building a self-sustaining aquarium ecosystem using the Walstad method, with a little help from Claude.
Day 33: The Final Countdown
Nitrite is crashing—in the best possible way. We’re days away from a fully cycled tank.
Day 31: Recovery Mode
After the chaos of the past week—plant losses, hitchhiker discoveries, ammonia spikes—today brings calm. The tank is recovering.
Day 30: The Hitchhikers Reveal Themselves
One month since setup. No water test today—just a visual observation day. And what we observed was… unexpected.
Day 29: Ammonia Spike, But Nitrite Progress!
Four days after the plant disaster, mixed results. Ammonia spiked from the melting plants, but the nitrite news is encouraging.
Day 25: Plant Disaster and Emergency Replacements
This was our worst day yet. Major plant losses, oxygen problems, and emergency trips to the fish store.
Day 24: Setback - Nitrite Spikes Back
Yesterday’s optimism took a hit. Nitrite spiked back to 5.0 ppm, and we made a risky decision to add fertilizer.
Day 23: Ammonia Hits Zero!
After over three weeks of cycling, we hit a major milestone: ammonia reached 0 ppm for the first time!
Days 18-19: Stuck in the Nitrite Plateau
The nitrite plateau is testing our patience. After four days at 5.0 ppm, we’re doing water changes to keep the snails alive while waiting for biology to catch up.
Day 16: Nitrite Peak - First Water Change
Nitrite hit 5.0 ppm today—the maximum our test kit can measure. Our snails are stressed, and we did our first water change.
Day 14: Nitrite Rising
Two weeks since setup, and the cycle is entering its next phase. Nitrite is rising—which is exactly what should happen.