cycling and pH problems

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baldegale

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Jun 17, 2018
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69
so ive been cycling this tank fish in for about a week. its a 10 gal with three neon tetras, a pound piece of mopani burl, sand, and “natural” rock.
the ammonia is going up, so i change it at 1ppm but the nitrates and nitrites are still at 0 ppm? anything im doing wrong? also, using a normal pH test it looks maxed out but using high range pH it looks not even on the scale.

heres a link to the pictures since i still cant post them: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1-Bd4-dSe8WZc61HKFN62PPQ9SamAvYKs
 
You are not doing anything wrong. Just keep up with the water changes to keep the ammonia down (for the fishes sake). One week is too early to see nitrites/nitrates. In a few weeks you should start seeing them. You can expect a completed cycle to take 4-6 weeks. Obtaining filter media or gravel from an established tank will help jump start the system and reduce the cycling time.
 
You are not doing anything wrong. Just keep up with the water changes to keep the ammonia down (for the fishes sake). One week is too early to see nitrites/nitrates. In a few weeks you should start seeing them. You can expect a completed cycle to take 4-6 weeks. Obtaining filter media or gravel from an established tank will help jump start the system and reduce the cycling time.



unfortunately i dont have anyone that i know with a cycled tank, if i added more fish would it help with the process? id only add 3 cardinal tetras.
 
still having cycling issues. its been almost one month since i started and im still not seeing any nitrates or nitrates. i check the ammonia every 3-4 days and do water changes on the same basis and i add a chlorine remover. i only have 3 neons in there. also i have a piece of mopani and two filters running at the moment. (a tetra whisper 10i and an aquaclean 20)
 
still having cycling issues. its been almost one month since i started and im still not seeing any nitrates or nitrates. i check the ammonia every 3-4 days and do water changes on the same basis and i add a chlorine remover. i only have 3 neons in there. also i have a piece of mopani and two filters running at the moment. (a tetra whisper 10i and an aquaclean 20)


are you sure your kit isnt expired? it should have the expiration date on the bottles. im guessing its not since you said you get ammonia readings. in a month you should have seen nitrites and most likely nitrates. also maybe something is slowing down your conversion from ammonia to nitrites. how large of water changes are you doing?


could you post pictures of the actual tank? what kind of rock are you using? there are some rocks that will raise ph. you can take the rock out of the tank and drop vinegar on it. if it fizzes then it will raise ph.
 
are you sure your kit isnt expired? it should have the expiration date on the bottles. im guessing its not since you said you get ammonia readings. in a month you should have seen nitrites and most likely nitrates. also maybe something is slowing down your conversion from ammonia to nitrites. how large of water changes are you doing?


could you post pictures of the actual tank? what kind of rock are you using? there are some rocks that will raise ph. you can take the rock out of the tank and drop vinegar on it. if it fizzes then it will raise ph.



pH isnt really an issue. its like 7.3-7.4. im doing 25%-50% water changesIMG_2276.jpg
 
are you sure your kit isnt expired? it should have the expiration date on the bottles. im guessing its not since you said you get ammonia readings. in a month you should have seen nitrites and most likely nitrates. also maybe something is slowing down your conversion from ammonia to nitrites. how large of water changes are you doing?


could you post pictures of the actual tank? what kind of rock are you using? there are some rocks that will raise ph. you can take the rock out of the tank and drop vinegar on it. if it fizzes then it will raise ph.



i don’t remember what kind of rock, i bought it from petco. ill test it later!
 
i don’t remember what kind of rock, i bought it from petco. ill test it later!

Sorry I'm at a loss. Those look to be common river pebbles and shouldnt be raising pH and the pH you quoted is nothing to worry about. I don't see anything in the tank that would be affecting your cycling either. By the way I love that whisper filter you have. I use that on my 20g long and its great. That filter alone is enough for your 10g. Hopefully the tank gurus can think of something and chime in.
 
Sorry I'm at a loss. Those look to be common river pebbles and shouldnt be raising pH and the pH you quoted is nothing to worry about. I don't see anything in the tank that would be affecting your cycling either. By the way I love that whisper filter you have. I use that on my 20g long and its great. That filter alone is enough for your 10g. Hopefully the tank gurus can think of something and chime in.



i know its enough! im running both of them cause i just got the aquaclean a few days ago and i didnt wanna mess up whatever cycling i do have! i wanted the aquaclean cause it has media that i can transfer to cycle other tanks because i plan on getting a 29gal and a 3gal
 
Well I'd say you are keeping your ammonia at the right levels. In fact, I never let it get above .5 when I do a fish in cycle. What is your tank temp?
 
Well I'd say you are keeping your ammonia at the right levels. In fact, I never let it get above .5 when I do a fish in cycle. What is your tank temp?



tank temp is like 78° i think? (im bad at reading the thermometer)
 
I've always cycled at 78-80 degrees. I was taught that a slightly higher temp promoted beneficial bacteria growth. More recently I've heard a slightly lower temp 74-76 degrees promotes BB growth due to more oxygen in the water??? Ive never tried the temp on the low end. I once was treating ich during the start of a fish in cycle.....i had the temp at 86 degrees with two water changes a day. I did this for 3 weeks and my tank was cycled at the end of my ich treatment....fastest i ever cycled a tank. Seem's theres several ways people have been successful at cycling a tank TBH.

I've used Tetras aqua safe in the past during a cycle so I don't believe that's affecting anything.
 
I've always cycled at 78-80 degrees. I was taught that a slightly higher temp promoted beneficial bacteria growth. More recently I've heard a slightly lower temp 74-76 degrees promotes BB growth due to more oxygen in the water??? Ive never tried the temp on the low end. I once was treating ich during the start of a fish in cycle.....i had the temp at 86 degrees with two water changes a day. I did this for 3 weeks and my tank was cycled at the end of my ich treatment....fastest i ever cycled a tank. Seem's theres several ways people have been successful at cycling a tank TBH.

I've used Tetras aqua safe in the past during a cycle so I don't believe that's affecting anything.



ill have to somehow get money to get a heater. currently im just using my room temp (75-80° on average) its just been warmer today thats why the temps are higher. i have a heater but i think it may be broken. it has a temp thing at the top but it wont move off of one temp, but it does turn on and get hot
 
ill have to somehow get money to get a heater. currently im just using my room temp (75-80° on average) its just been warmer today thats why the temps are higher. i have a heater but i think it may be broken. it has a temp thing at the top but it wont move off of one temp, but it does turn on and get hot
Might try that heater and see where it puts your water temp. Amazon sells 100 watt heaters pretty cheap. Like $15. It's good to have a heater that can heat your tank to 86 degrees in case your fish get ich.

zoohi Submersible Aquarium Heater 100W Fish Tank water Heater with Thermometer,Adjustable Temperature for 5/10/25 gallon Aquarium Tank https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D27P99Z/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_G.avBb75EBCM0
 
Might try that heater and see where it puts your water temp. Amazon sells 100 watt heaters pretty cheap. Like $15. It's good to have a heater that can heat your tank to 86 degrees in case your fish get ich.

zoohi Submersible Aquarium Heater 100W Fish Tank water Heater with Thermometer,Adjustable Temperature for 5/10/25 gallon Aquarium Tank https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D27P99Z/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_G.avBb75EBCM0



i think the temp is stuck at 80° if i remember correctly. also another question, i have a couple of large freshwater clam shells from a river that u was in after cleaning them do you think i could put them in the tank? IMG_2461.jpg
 
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