Cycling my new 10g tank

[JohnM]

Hi Everyone...newbie here.

First off, great site! I'm sure it will be a great resource as my family grows into this hobby.

I have a new 10g tank, set up a couple of weeks before Christmas. I ran the tank for about a week without any swimmers, then added 3 platys. I have been monitoring the tank temperature (72 degrees), pH (7.8), ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels diligently. The recommended concentration of aquarium salt for the livebearers has been added. After making a few newbie errors (overfeeding , no heater to begin with), things seem to be stable, except for the ammonia levels rising about 0.25-0.50 ppm per day. Nitrite levels nowhere to be seen yet. I am changing about 2.5g of water every couple of days to keep the NH3 down, vacuuming the gravel periodically and occasionally doing a larger exchange (5g).

Other treatments used for the tank are Tetra AquaSafe for the de-chloride/chloramine, and AP Stress Zyme to boost the good bacteria count.

I just need some reassurance that I am not missing something and that my patience will eventually pay off! Oh ya, no live plants for now (one step at a time) and I have been able to keep the kids at bay for more fish (teaching them about compatible species and the Nitrogen cycle first).

 

[rich311k]

Sounds like you are on top of it. Just keep changing water to keep ammonia and nitrites below 1.0. You should not vacuum the gravel to much when you are cycling, the bacteria will grow on the gravel as well as the filter media.

Welcome to AA!!!!! and kudos to your for obviously doing you research.

 

[TomK2]

Ahh, this is to be expected when cycling with that number of fish in a 10 gal tank. Save your money on the cycle products, I don't think buying any more of them will help you out. With three Platies in a 10 gal, I would expect your elevated ammonia and nitrite levels to last about 2 or three weeks, potentially even more. You can reduce the toxin levels by reducing the feeding, and /or reducing the bioload (ie: return some of the fish until the cycle is done). If you can get your hands on some colonized biomedia from an established tank, and add that to your filter, you can reduce the time to a matter of days if you get enough of it.

Platies are hardy fish that can tolerate ammonia and nitrite levels, but you should do everything in your power to reduce the exposure to them. While they might live, the toxins are harmful to them. So, keep up those water changes to keep the ammonia and nitrtie as low as possible (personally I would keep it 0.5 or less if you could) and reduce the feeding or number of fish if possible.

Aquarium salt isn't absolutely necessary for Platies, but Chloride does reduce the toxicity of Nitrite in fish. Your cycle time starts when you add an ammonia source, which was fish in your case. The week before the fish doesn't count.

 

[aquarist15]

Looks like you're doing good. Mistakes are always made. We can't control it. What we can control is what we learn from them.

 

[JohnM]

Thanks for all the encouragement and words of wisdom. I will keep everyone posted on progress. There will be much rejoicing when the nitrites start to show!

 

[JohnM]

Well let's see, where to start.

After 46 days, 85 tests for ammonia, pH, and nitrites, an Ich outbreak, three weeks of raised temperatures and meds, countless buckets of water and dirty looks from the wife, the nitrites have started to show and the tank seems to be well on its way to cycling. Nemo, Crystal and Treasure seem to be doing well.

Thanks to everyone's advice in this thread and in the countless others I have read since first posting here!

 

[rich311k]

Good to hear. Glad it is working for you.

 

[Zagz]

Glad to hear things are working out well for you and your tank! It is very rewarding isn't it when all that hard work starts to pay off.