New Guy - Staring Aquarium - yes another

[jeevster]

I have been doing lots of reading on this site and have gained lots of vital knowledge.
I purchased a 150 L tank 10 days ago and 7 days ago I added 4 corys (to start the cycle - didn't know about fishless cycle - told by the lfs to do so)

well its been 7 days since I added my fish .. and currently I'm getting a constant reading of 0.5 Ammonia .. and 0 Nitrite ... was wondering when nitrite would start to show .. ? or in there something wrong with my tank ?

I have been doing water changes every other day 40 L each time.... fish are doing fine .. no signs of stress ...

Thanks

 

[Jchillin]

Welcome to AA!

Please read this article regarding the cycle:

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/showquestion.php?faq=2&fldAuto=21

Cycling with fish takes time and requires patience. You have a very large tank which adds to the time.

Good luck!

 

[FawnN]

Cory's are pretty sensitive and should not be used to cycle a tank. Can you return them and get some hardier fish to cycle your tank?

The cycling process takes about 4-6 weeks, unless you have some established items from another tank you can put in your tank.

 

[jeevster]

Thanks folks for the quick responses.
my lfs suggested the cory as been a real hard fish .. arrgg!
so far I have not noticed any weird behavior in the fish ... I have 2 Bronze and 2 Albino ... will check with lfs to see if I can exchange them .. they are NOT a very help full bunch. I did add a drift wood with a plant .. a couple of days ago which was in a tank full of fish @ the lfs.

So should I just keep at the water changes .. ? 40 L or should I do more / less ? also my tank is slightly murky ?

 

[BASSNMAN]

You have a light load of fish and you need the ammonia levels to come up some to get the bacteria to grow. You might try doing 25 l for your changes, but if the level jumps or the fish act distressed, increase the amount back. People have been cycling tanks with fish for over 100 years so it will work. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[jeevster]

Thanks BASSMAN, I'm also having some issues with my water color, I have this big (beautiful) piece of driftwood (rinsed it well and a bit of scrub with fresh water before I added it in) - and I think its causing the water to turn a bit *brown* cant notice the color in the tank, but when I'm doing my pwc I notice the color ... should I remove this wood ? (I love that piece)
also will be visiting some lfs today and try to get some rocks / drift wood / plants from some established tank ....

 

[FawnN]

Just leave your wood there. It will clear in time.

 

[lyquidphyre]

One thing you should know now, is don't always trust your lfs =o)

 

[jeevster]

Thanks FawnN, I really loved that piece of wood ......
lyquidphyre - learned not to trust my lfs the hard way I guess - I thought they would be much more knowledgable - arrg !

 

[jeevster]

Folks ... Question - should I let the ammonia build up real high before I do any pwc ? or keep doing a regular pwc regardless ? (a bit confussed ?)
Thanks

 

[jsoong]

You will cycle faster if you let your ammonia go up high .... BUT, this will stress the fish, and even hardy fish may not make it through the process.

For the sake of the fishies (esp. since you don't have particularly hardy ones), I'd keep up with regular pwc & keep the levels low. The cycling will take longer (In my case was 8 weeks), but you give your fish better chance of surviving it.

 

[jeevster]

Great news ... Yesterday Morning my readings were
Ammonia : > 0.5 (almost 1 )
Nitrite : 0

today morning

Ammonia : 0.25
Nitrate - not zero as the color was not the same .. a bit towards the next level which was (purple) ... very slight

does this mean its started ....

I managed to get a piece of driftwood from a lfs from one of thier display tanks ... I think that helped ???

 

[shannon m]

I wouldn't let it get high. It is harmful to your fish from what I have gathered. And then the nitrates get high. And you can have a problem. But that is what the lfs has told me and I don't trust them completely. They started us off with 15 fish at one time when we set up our tank. WE are now down to 4 because of ich! A lot of money down the toilet so don't trust them till you have delt with their store and know them really well. Good Luck!

 

[TomK2]

Folks ... Question - should I let the ammonia build up real high before I do any pwc ? or keep doing a regular pwc regardless ? (a bit confussed ?)
Thanks

Good question. I don't think you need high NH3 levelsl to get the bacteria to grow. Why not keep doing the water changes, and when the NH3 goes to zero you are done. I don't think it will lenghten the cycle time, sincle they can only multiply so fast, and I would think they would grow as fast as they can with 0.2 ppm, so what benefit is there to having ten times as much?