Fish in cycle journal thread!

[Mrs.h2012]

My API test kit arrived today. First readings are...
8/22/12
Ammonia: .25-.50ppm
pH: 8.0-8.2
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 0ppm.
I forget which your supposed to have first, nitrites or nitrates, but shouldnt I have a trace of one of the two with this being a first testing? The nitrite and nitrate tests were both obviously 0ppm; the pH and ammonia were the ones I couldn't pick between, both colors looked more in between the two that one or the other.

 

[Mrs.h2012]

And my readings after a 50% WC...
Ammonia: 0.25ppm
Nitritate and nitrite both 0 ppm
Didn't do a pH test yet because I remember a member telling me to wait the water circulate for 24 hrs before testing.

 

[M1k3y_gumi]

That advice on the ph correct. Nitrite comes first and then gets converted to nitrate! Good luck!

 

[Mrs.h2012]

So I should keep ammonia in check, under .25ppm, and keep an eye out for nitrites. What levels should I keep nitrites at once they start showing up? I remember once nitrates start to show up it needs to be less than 20ppm correct?

 

[Joeeamer]

Hello

You should go through a spike in each one in order.

Firstly ammonia should have a reading and nitrites and nitrates should be at 0ppm (like your reading.) Ammonia is the most dangerous part of cycle.

Then ammonia should come back to 0ppm as bacteria changes it to nitrite. At this point ammonia will be 0ppm, nitrite will have a spike and nitrate should be 0ppm.

Then nitrite should reduce to 0ppm as bacteria further change this to nitrate. At this point both ammonia and nitrites should read 0ppm and nitrates spike. Nitrates are the least dangerous, however fish still won't be happy.

Finally nitrates should reduce. They may not go back to 0ppm but you should see a decline. You can then keep in control of nitrates with water changes.

The whole process should take 2 weeks but may need more depending on what you have in.

Hope this helps

 

[tamtam]

So I should keep ammonia in check, under .25ppm, and keep an eye out for nitrites. What levels should I keep nitrites at once they start showing up? I remember once nitrates start to show up it needs to be less than 20ppm correct?

you want nitrites to stay in the same range as ammo, it's also toxic to fish so you'll want to treat it the same as water changes are concerned during the cycle.

Your readings are pretty normal. You will go through your ammo spike, so lots of water changes to keep that down. Around the time you start to see nitrites your ammo will drop to 0. Then nitrites will spike and water changes continue, you will start to see nitrates and your nitrite will drop to zero. Remember the ammo to nitrite conversion is faster than the nitrite to nitrate conversion so you may start to get impatient. It's not uncommon for fish in cycles to take a few weeks or more depending on stock and situation.

You will know you are cycled when ammo and nitrite stay at 0 consistently and your nitrate is up a bit. As you've said you want to aim to keep in below 20 and weekly water changes will handle that.

If you haven't already there is a great article on here about fish in cycle that you may like to read.

Fish-in Cycling: Step over into the dark side - Aquarium Advice

 

[Nimo]

Im not gonna go over the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate conversions because they have already been answered.
I just want to add that the entire process of the cycle can take up to 8 weeks to complete. You can have hiccups after that where you see a small ammonia reading.
It sounds like you are doing a great job in testing and water changes the main thing is patience during the cycle and it is all worth it in the end.
I don't know what water conditioner you are using but I always recommend Prime. It detoxifies chlorine, chloromine, ammonia, nitrites and copper along with providing slime coat for the fish, so it eliminates having multiple bottles of chemicals to help water conditions and you don't have to use much of it so it lasts longer too.
Keep up with your water changes and good luck with your new fishy friends.

 

[Mrs.h2012]

Thank you so much for all the info everyone! I had read about the cycle process so much and thought i had it down, but I got threw me off when my mom took my son out one day and came back with the two platies that I have, and it turned into a fish in cycle, and I hadn't read anything about a fish in cycle yet! Ive had the fish for a week now, but wasn't able to order the test kit until Monday and didnt get it until yesterday evening. Up until then I was just doing daily PWC's in hopes of keeping ammonia down. Quite honestly I was surprised my first ammonia reading wash higher than what it was. I'll keep this post updated with my daily testing results. Thanks again everyone, the info really helped a lot!

 

[Mrs.h2012]

8/23/12 readings...
Ammo: 0.25-0.50ppm (This one was a tough one for me to decide on... I thought it was closer to 0.25)
Nitrite and nitrate both 0
pH:7.6 hi pH: 8.0 (pH readings are after I let the water circulate after last nights WC).

First picture is my test tubes without the flash, second one is with flash, which made the test liquid glow lol, didn't know which would be easier to be seen.

 

[Mrs.h2012]

Just realized I haven't updated this thread in a while. I've been keeping up with all my readings in a notebook I keep with my fish food and test kit. So here are the updates....

8/24/12 pre-WC
Ammo: 0 - .25
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 0ppm
pH: the color was darker than 7.6
Hi pH: 8-8.2

Post WC (taken that night after WC, maybe 5/6 hours later)
Ammo: 0 - .25ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 0ppm
pH: same as earlier that day, color was darker than 7.6
Hi pH: 8-8.2

8/25/12 (took 3 tests, morning, afternoon and night)
10am pre-WC
Ammo: .25-.50ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 0ppm
pH: same as before, color darker then 7.6
Hi pH: 7.8-8.0

4:30pm post morning WC
Ammo: 0-.25ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 0ppm
pH: same as other tests, darker than 7.6
Hi pH: 7.8-8.0

9:30pm night testing
Ammo: 0-.25ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate:0ppm
pH: same as others, darker than 7.6
Hi pH: 7.8-8.0 (this test was closer to 7.8 than 8.0)

8/26/12
10am morning test
Ammo:0-.25ppm (closer to .25 but not quite there)
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 0ppm
pH: same as others; darker than 7.6
Hi pH: 7.8-8.0 (closer to 7.8 than 8.0)

 

[jetajockey]

You don't have to do both ph tests, they are meant to be there for a broader testing range. So if you're ph is off the charts of the regular test then use the high range and vice versa.

 

[Mrs.h2012]

I'll do that from now on, thanks! I know a lot of members here prefer fishless cycling, which that was my plan until my mom went out and bought my son fish lol. For those of you who do fish in cycles, and I realize that each tank is different when it comes to cycling, but what have been your experiences of how long it takes for nitrites
to show up? I do a WC anytime my ammonia is at or above .25ppm, and I've been at zero nitrites and of course nitrates the whole time. Highest my ammonia has tested was .50ppm. And to add to my info.. I had the fish about a week before I was able to get my test kit, and before I had the test kit I was doing atleast one WC a day, if not daily changes in hopes of avoiding ammonia spikes. When I did once a day WC I would do half and on days I did daily changes I would only do PWC's of 20-30%.

 

[Mrs.h2012]

And last night I spotted a fry in my tank, I'm honestly kinda nervous about doing a WC now, I saw the fry for all of 30 seconds before it went back off to hide and of course I haven't seen it since... I have no idea if it survived the night or not I have a pregnant Micky mouse platy, she is huge and so is her gravid spot, and her belly is getting more and more square.

 

[jetajockey]

I'll do that from now on, thanks! I know a lot of members here prefer fishless cycling, which that was my plan until my mom went out and bought my son fish lol. For those of you who do fish in cycles, and I realize that each tank is different when it comes to cycling, but what have been your experiences of how long it takes for nitrites
to show up? I do a WC anytime my ammonia is at or above .25ppm, and I've been at zero nitrites and of course nitrates the whole time. Highest my ammonia has tested was .50ppm. And to add to my info.. I had the fish about a week before I was able to get my test kit, and before I had the test kit I was doing atleast one WC a day, if not daily changes in hopes of avoiding ammonia spikes. When I did once a day WC I would do half and on days I did daily changes I would only do PWC's of 20-30%.

I think fish-in is the best way to go, personally. If a person understands the process and plans accordingly a fish-in cycle is easier than fishless. And no fish are harmed, so that aspect of it is a moot point. It just takes a bit of research.


In an unseeded tank you can wait anywhere from 2-4 weeks usually, sometimes longer. And there are times where there is no nitrite spike at all because a low bioload fish-in cycle introduces the ammonia gradually, so the nitrite >nitrate bacteria have a chance to catch up before a spike happens.

 

[Mrs.h2012]

Gotcha. All I have in my tank are 2 platies, a Micky mouse and a red wag.

 

[librarygirl]

If nitrites are going to show up, it'll take more time. They typically show about 3-4 weeks in, on average. I wouldn't worry about doing pwc with fry in the tank as long as you're careful not to suck it up with the siphon. Toxins will hurt the fry more than a water change will.

 

[jetajockey]

I do a WC anytime my ammonia is at or above .25ppm, and I've been at zero nitrites and of course nitrates the whole time. Highest my ammonia has tested was .50ppm. And to add to my info.. I had the fish about a week before I was able to get my test kit, and before I had the test kit I was doing atleast one WC a day, if not daily changes in hopes of avoiding ammonia spikes. When I did once a day WC I would do half and on days I did daily changes I would only do PWC's of 20-30%.

I don't link this often but it might be of some use to you, it's what I go by when I cycle fish-in and I use it as a rough guideline when planning wc's. It needs to be updated but it's still pretty accurate. There's a lot of misinformation that goes around about ammonia toxicity. I'll eventually do one for nitrite toxicity also if I can find some hard data to build on.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f12/your-guide-to-ammonia-toxicity-159994.html#post1442989

 

[Mrs.h2012]

Thank you thank you for this! I took
Screen shots of the charts on my phone lol.

 

[Mrs.h2012]

And today's results.. I had a busy morning so I didn't get around to even testing until 30 minutes ago.

8/27/12 3pm
Ammo: 0.25-.50ppm
Nitrite and nitrates: 0ppm
pH: 7.8-8.0 (as before color was closer to 7.8 than 8.0)

I'm doing a PWC right now, and will update with those results later tonight. I guess you would say this is my 3rd week into fish in cycling, I got the fish on 8/16 and didn't get my test kit until the 8/22. And before I got the fish I had the tank running for almost two weeks.

 

[Borderlesscott]

It gets to the point you start to see test tubes in your sleep, I done 2 15 gallons at the same time and for about a week I had dreams about test tubes and funny coloured liquid, never do 2 at the same time again.