Day 51: Back from the Trip

Two weeks away, one dead snail, 60+ hitchhikers, and a blackout that actually worked. The tank survived—and so did we.

January 3, 2026 · 5 min

Day 35: Siesta Time

After 35 days, both ammonia and nitrite hit zero. The cycle is complete—and we’re celebrating with a new lighting schedule.

December 18, 2025 · 3 min

Day 33: The Final Countdown

Nitrite is crashing—in the best possible way. We’re days away from a fully cycled tank.

December 16, 2025 · 2 min

Day 31: Recovery Mode

After the chaos of the past week—plant losses, hitchhiker discoveries, ammonia spikes—today brings calm. The tank is recovering.

December 14, 2025 · 2 min

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.

December 12, 2025 · 2 min

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.

December 7, 2025 · 2 min

Day 23: Ammonia Hits Zero!

After over three weeks of cycling, we hit a major milestone: ammonia reached 0 ppm for the first time!

December 6, 2025 · 2 min

Day 19: Extended Plateau - Second Water Change

The plateau continues. Nitrite stubbornly holds at 5.0 ppm. Our snails are stressed again, so we did another water change.

December 2, 2025 · 2 min

Day 18: Stuck in the Plateau

Three days since the water change, and we’re not out of the woods yet. The nitrite plateau continues.

December 1, 2025 · 2 min

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.

December 1, 2025 · 2 min