Need some cycling advice

[Karegg]

How do you match the temp of the water if it's coming straight out of the faucet? Or do you just set it to something that feels close and just wing it?

 

[CatatonicBug]

I just stick my hand in the tank, then in the faucet. In the winter, my water comes out REALLY COLD, so I just try to make it relatively comfortable for the fish.

 

[Purrbox]

I just bought some Prime, and a couple of real plants I am so excited! Real plants!! At the suggestion of the LFS person, I also got some liquid fert for the plants. I plan a large PWC tonight. With the water level down, that will give me the opportunity to get the plants down in the gravel when I can actually reach it. I also bought a new 18,000K bulb for light, since I had not changed the bulb since I bought the tank. I will continue to monitor the chem levels and we'll see what happens!

Thanks to all!

Which fertilizer did you buy? Generally bulbs from 5000K to 10000K are recommended for growing plants.

 

[CatatonicBug]

I bought Flourish, by Seachem. Is that good? I figured everyone here seemed to like Prime, and it was from the same company. As for the light, will the 18000k be bad for the plants? it was kinda pricey to have made a mistake on.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

You use the hot and cold to get the right temp. When you get the right temp then turn the knob on the Python and it reverses the flow into the tank.

 

[CatatonicBug]

I just did a 50% PWC, and while browsing this website, I looked over and one of my Tetras is floating!!! Ughhh!!

The Ammonia is down to 2ppm, but now the PH is at 7.2. The water has this slight whitish haze to it too.

 

[marchmaxima]

A white-ish haze is a good sign. It means that you are getting a bacterial bloom. It'll settle down by itself.

As for the temp, I use buckets and I move my thermometer into the bucket to make sure that the temp is the same as the tank. I also have a spare heater, or if I'm in a hurry, I boil the kettle and warm the water by adding a bit of boiling water.

 

[p3purr]

^^
l l
Exactly what I do Works great. As Sharon said, white-ish = good.

 

[Purrbox]

I bought Flourish, by Seachem. Is that good? I figured everyone here seemed to like Prime, and it was from the same company. As for the light, will the 18000k be bad for the plants? it was kinda pricey to have made a mistake on.

That's a great Trace Fertilizer. However with as little light as you have over the aquarium (I believed it was figured at less than 0.4WPG in another tread) it's not likely to do you much good. Without sufficient light the plants won't be able to grow and make use of the nutrients. While 18000K wouldn't be "bad" for the plants, most recommend 5000-10000K for plants. The lighting tends to be more natural and many report better results.

 

[p3purr]

I wouldn't worry about using pH adjusters. They usually end up causing more problems. I perform 50 to 75% water changes weekly and haven't ever adjusted the pH. A water change is simliar to an acclimation. You're not replacing all the water and you are adding the new water slowly.

Normally I don't like using PH adjusters/buffers either but with a PH of 8.8 going into a tank with 7.8 that's a HUGE difference. The water changes will be 25-35% since more would interfer with the cycle. Normally you don't do water changes during a cycle but with the fish load and the high ammonia it has to be done.

The PH change will be pretty significant and the fish are already way to stressed from the ammonia so a PH shift may kill them or do more damage.

Just my opinion

 

[CatatonicBug]

WooHoo!! My tank FINALLY has zero ammonia! However, I still detect zero Nitrites. Is that ok?? I have never found any nitrites in this tank at any point since I began testing. Of course, it has been running for quite a while. Is there a chance that the Ammonia-eating bacteria were lost when I removed the filter (and started a mini-cycle), but the Nitrite-eating bacteria remained in the tank?

 

[Purrbox]

Perhaps you have a bad Nitrite Test Kit. Check the date to ensure that it isn't expired. Check the Nitrates to see if they're rising. As long as Ammonia and Nitrite (may want to have LFS double check the Nitrite results) are 0 and Nitrates are rising you're good to go.