Half way through?

[eco23]

Here are my colors tonight.

Wow Jimmy, that really is a lot of no2! The ammo looks a bit high too. How big are the water changes you've been doing? It may be worth doing a really big one or multiple smaller ones to get your no2 down to around .5-1 and see what happens. You're really deep into the nitrIte spike and it shouldn't be to long before it starts dropping it's own. But I think you're doing the right thing by not letting it get too awful high.

 

[JimmyA]

Believe it or not I have to to a whole tank water change to get it down. I'll do the tank change again and redose the ammonia. I hope tomorrow night my nitrite is not 5 ppm again!

 

[eco23]

Believe it or not I have to to a whole tank water change to get it down. I'll do the tank change again and redose the ammonia. I hope tomorrow night my nitrite is not 5 ppm again!

Well at least it makes you strong carrying all those buckets, lol. Since you have nitrItes climbing so quickly, it may be a good idea to only add about 1-2ppm of ammonia for the next few days instead of 4ppm. The fact that your nitrItes climb that high so fast means you have a TON of healthy and strong bacteria. If we add a little less ammonia for the next few days hopefully it will give the other type of bacteria a chance to catch up and help your cycle finish. You're doing a really good job

 

[eco23]

Have you decided what type of fish you're going to get when your cycle is done? It shouldn't be too long before you're able to go get them

 

[JimmyA]

I dosed to ammonia .50. I thought I would start with 6 zebra danios. Don't know after that.

 

[eco23]

I dosed to ammonia .50. I thought I would start with 6 zebra danios. Don't know after that.

Sounds good. I was thinking about it more and I definitely wouldn't add any more than 1ppm for a while. Your ammo to nitrIte bacteria is very strong, and as long as you feed them a little bit of ammonia every day, they'll stay alive and healthy. Addling less ammonia will keep your nitrItes from climbing too high and fast, and you should finish your cycle faster as well as saving you some bucket carrying

You'll really like the Zebra Danios. I have a mix of 8 Zebra, Glofish and Leopard Danios, and they're the most fun and active fish I have. Plus, most pet stores recommend buying Danios to cycle a tank...so most likely you'll be saving their lives by moving them into your healthy tank

 

[JimmyA]

Thanks for all your help. You are a nice person. I'll let you know what happens.

Sincerely,

Jimmy

 

[eco23]

Hey Jimmy, I was just reading back through this thread and I saw you were using softened water? Do you have a water softening system in your house? Do you have the choice to use water that does not go through a water softener? Unless you plan on keeping really fancy fish like Discus that require sort water conditions, it may be a good idea to actually start using the hard water. Water softeners are good for lots of things, but they tend to remove a lot of the buffers from the water that help to keep the pH stable. The problem you might have with softened water is that the bacteria need and will eat up all the buffers in the water and it can make the pH fluctuate pretty bad sometimes and potentially be bad for your fish if it drops too quickly.

Having hard water is a pain in the butt for all sorts of things in your house, but unless there is something really wrong with the tap water, it is usually a better idea to use your natural tap water that has minerals in it for your aquarium to help keep your tank stable once you have fish. If you don't have a choice other than to use water through a water softener...you'll just need to keep a very close eye on the pH and make sure it doesn't go down too far. You'll just need to do a water change if you see the pH starting to go down. There are some other ways to buffer the water and keep it stable if you have a water softener...but it's always a better idea to use your natural water if you have the choice.

 

[JimmyA]

Ph has been fine so far 7.6. I did the water change with hard water this time. What about the carbon in the filter? I took that out and used a new filter on my HOB. I have an extra filter mass I stuck back in there from the beginning. In addition, I have a 4" active bubble filter in the tank that has been going for 17 days.

 

[eco23]

Ph has been fine so far 7.6. I did the water change with hard water this time. What about the carbon in the filter? I took that out and used a new filter on my HOB. I have an extra filter mass I stuck back in there from the beginning. In addition, I have a 4" active bubble filter in the tank that has been going for 17 days.

I would personally keep using the water that does not go through the water softener just to be on the safe side. Your fish will adapt and it will help keep your tank stable in the future.

You don't ever need to use carbon unless you are trying to take medicine out of the water or remove an odor. You never want to remove an entire filter unless it's really falling apart. If the carbon is inside a filter cartridge, you can takes scissors and cut a slit and shake the carbon into the trash, then put the empty cartridge back into the filter. Most of your beneficial bacteria lives in the filter material, so anytime you remove one...you'll throw away a lot of the bacteria that you have been growing in the tank. I would try to not remove anything now until we get your tank cycled, then you can very slowly start replacing things if you need to...but only a tiny bit at a time so your tank doesn't mini-cycle once you have fish.

The bubble wand is a good idea. The bacteria you're trying to grow love all the oxygen it puts into the water, and lots of fish love playing in the bubbles too

 

[JimmyA]

Here is my water this evening:

 

[eco23]

Here is my water this evening:

Wow you've got powerful bacteria! I'd do one more big water change (doesn't have to be today, just in the next few days) to get the no2 nice and low around .5-1ppm. Once you get them low again, they should stop building up so fast since you're adding less ammonia. You're right on track and doing a good job. It is surprising to me how fast your no2 is climbing. The only thing I can imagine is that you've got some of the strongest ammonia to nitrIte converting bacteria I've ever seen. As soon as the nitrIte to nitrAte bacteria catches up...you'll be done.

 

[JimmyA]

I just did a 90% water change and added 10 drops ammonia. Should be ok.

 

[JimmyA]

I get a lot of gas bubbles with hard water.

 

[eco23]

You mean when you refill the tank during the pwc? Are they a bunch of really tiny bubbles?

 

[JimmyA]

Yes

 

[eco23]

Yes

That's normal when you replace such a large amount of water, nothing to worry about. It's not good for that to happen once you have fish, but the micro-bubbles should only happen when you replace a ton of water at once. Once you have fish swimming around, you'll only have to replace about 25% of the water per week, and the bubbles won't happen replacing that small of an amount of water. They should go away within a few hours.

 

[JimmyA]

Thanks, sounds good! I hope I cycle soon!

 

[librarygirl]

Congrats, looks like you are close! I'd kill for that purple vial of NitrItes LOL

 

[JimmyA]

Thanks, you're sweet. I used Ace Janatorial Strength Ammonia and a 4" active filter to get started. Now up to day 17, still not cycled yet.