Test Results....Is this possible?

[Cherry Barb]

Okay, here's a good question from the newbie to all you fish experts out there.

I bought my [acronym:ed7d0da10f="Freshwater"]FW[/acronym:ed7d0da10f] master test kit after finding out from my forum friends that it was important to do some testing! For those who didn't see my last post, I have a 20g [acronym:ed7d0da10f="Freshwater"]FW[/acronym:ed7d0da10f] set up 11 days ago. Had 4 zebra danios and lost 1 on the 3rd day the same day my water became cloudy.

I had been considering bio-spira, but decided to test first. I think I'm glad I did. I tested 3x just to be sure but this is what my results showed.

[acronym:ed7d0da10f="Powerhead"]PH[/acronym:ed7d0da10f]= 7.4
Ammonia = 0
NitrItes = .25

Now, my water has become almost clear and these test results are what I have as of yesterday. Is it possible that my tank is cycling this fast? And I have NOT added any chemicals or otherwise to my tank. I wanted to see if I could cycle naturally. I have had to add small amounts of water to keep my level up and I did do 1 small water change the 7th day. So, what do you guys think?

Thanks a bunch!

[Zic]

I think your tank sounds like it's going great. I wouldn't do a thing to it.

[Voodoo Chilli]

Yes, your tank can be cycling this quickly. There's always a general guide line for how long the cycling process will take, but it really depends on your particular set-up. It sounds like your's is going pretty smoothly. I'd suggest continuing to test daily. That way, if the ammonia or nitrite should happen to spike you can do a water change and save your fish a lot of stress.

You'll know your tank is completely cycled when you get zero ammonia and nitrite and begin to see nitrates, which is the final stage in the nitrification cycle. Good luck!

[sweetsuvvyb]

Yea...be sure to keep testing!

My 10g seemed to have cycled in about a week and a half, but then I had a little mini-spike in nitrites that took another couple of days to go down....and since I'm keeping "dirty" fish, and rinsing my filter pretty frequently, it's actually taken a lot longer for the bacteria colonies to stabalize.

You can actually tell pretty easily just by sight and nose how the tank is doing...cloudy water and a strong smell usually correlate with high nitrites....of course then it's best to test to see just how high they are!!

[Cherry Barb]

Im glad to hear that this might actually be going smoothly. If everything keeps going well, I'd like to add a few painted tetras this weekend. By the way, what are "dirty fish"?

[Allivymar]

Goldfish, Plecs and Oscars generally top the list although there are others.

Plecs poo. And poo. And then poo some more. Most veggie plecs have no stomach, just long intestines. So they eat a LOT to get enough nutrients. And it all comes out in the end [acronym:f0301c6efe="Laughing out loud"]LOL[/acronym:f0301c6efe]

Goldfish give off lots of waste; ammonia as well as poo.

Oscars are horribly messy feeders and leave waste all over the tank. Heh, wonder if thats why they called the garbage character on Sesame Street Oscar....

[sweetsuvvyb]

lol...my fish kinda remind me of that Peanuts character Pigpen...surrounded by a cloud of mess! And loving it! They seem to seriously revel in it....

[TankGirl]

I'd like to add a few painted tetras this weekend.

I would not do that quite yet. While you are in the midst of your cycle you do not want to add any more fish, as it will be hard on them and set your cycle back as additional bacteria will need to grow to handle the increased ammonia. Once your cycle is complete (see VooDoo's post) then add your additional fish slowly, just three at a time, maybe, so as not to disrupt your biobugs. Kudos to you for doing this the old-fashioned way, as now you will really get a feel for how this thing works. Once you have this method down pat you can use the Bio-Spira for subsequent tank setups (oh yes, you WILL have more tanks! )

[acronym:a1a1c0e2e6="By the way"]BTW[/acronym:a1a1c0e2e6], it is just my opinion but I hate the idea of the painted fish. They have to dip the fish in a chemical to remove the slime coat and then dip it in dye, which sounds horrible to me. Some fish are actually injected. At any rate, that's just me!