Brookster123
Aquarium Advice Addict
May want to leave the glass for a couple weeks, it could be a nice bio-film forming?
I did everything wrong
- Thread starter Turtle71
- Start date
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whatever you say 
because I just so totally don't know.
will do my wc now.
I don't wanna waste the tests every day. I think I will do the 50% wc now for four days every day and then test again. I just don't think that there will be any positive change (means any nitrates) any time soon.
because I just so totally don't know. will do my wc now.
I don't wanna waste the tests every day. I think I will do the 50% wc now for four days every day and then test again. I just don't think that there will be any positive change (means any nitrates) any time soon.
Brookster123
Aquarium Advice Addict
Ya, in certainly no expert but I would just assume let the tank mature with out messing with the appearance for now. You may want to keep testing, this is a pretty important point in the process, besides if you have a spike in amm or trite than one 50% may not be enough to ease the burden on lil fishies.whatever you say
I have my ammonia down to 0.25 and change daily 25% of the water twice.
Unfortunately I still don't see any Nitrites in this messed up cycle. I wished I would see any so I would have an idea where I am in the process.
I have this tank running for almost four weeks but with all the problems I had (and mistakes I made) I don't know what happens in my tank right now.
Fish is doing great...at least on that side I can say something positive.
Unfortunately I still don't see any Nitrites in this messed up cycle. I wished I would see any so I would have an idea where I am in the process.
I have this tank running for almost four weeks but with all the problems I had (and mistakes I made
) I don't know what happens in my tank right now.Fish is doing great...at least on that side I can say something positive.
Brookster123
Aquarium Advice Addict
Depending on tank size a normal cycle can take anywhere from 2-8 weeks, don't sweat it, patience and diligence is key, keep an eye on levels and don't be afraid to change some water, you'll get there
Brookster123
Aquarium Advice Addict
Haha if only I had when I got going, man there were some frantic test>change water>test>freak out!!!!>change more water nights in the past.Brookster. I will add patience to my vocabulary
Brookster123
Aquarium Advice Addict
Nope, I was the worst noob ever! I was at my Lfs buying more fish for my 1week old tank when the guys figured out I wasn't even close to cycled not did I have a clue what it was. They gave me a huge bag of bugs and some links to read than told me to come back in a week or two, I got lucky on that one..lol that sounds like me
Is your tank new or used? If it's used, it is probably just calcium buildup. This happens in a lot of tanks. It won't hurt your tank, but can be unsightly. You can clean it with vinegar, but I wouldn't try it with the fish in there. If you had 5 gallon bucket you could put the fish and water in so that you could empty the 10 gallon completely and do it that way. Otherwise, I wouldn't risk doing it because vinegar isn't very good for fish. Since your tank is cycling, I would just leave it until you either are done cycling or whenever you upgrade your tank.
I kind of like 10 gallons.. but I have 13 ten gallons sitting around just waiting to be filled up. 
Caliban07
Aquarium Advice Addict
Hi turtle. You are doing ok. And you are doing the right things. When I cycled my tank I didn't test every day, I tested every few days and for this reason I think I missed nitrites. Either that or they were being consumed in proportion to them being created so they just never had time to register. Also I was using 4 small fish in a large body of water so they may have been too diluted to register.
As already stated, platies have a considerable bioload in comparison to other smaller fish and this is the reason ammonia is building up quickly. Just so you know, the liquid test kit measures total ammonia. The toxic part of total ammonia is called free ammonia. The amount of free ammonia in total ammonia increases with temperature and ph. Have a look at this chart.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f12/your-guide-to-ammonia-toxicity-159994.html
If you are in the green you are ok. The problem comes when your nitrites start to rise. If you don't record nitrites then you should be ok but I would keep a close eye on nitrites. Changing water too often will slow the cycle down as you are removing the food for the beneficial bacteria however, finding the balance between keeping your fish healthy and giving the BB food is important. Nitrites enter through the fishes gills and reduces the cells ability to carry oxygen. Ammonia burns the fishes gills because they are expelling ammonia in to a high ammonia environment which effectively means they can't get rid of if and it burns their gills. Both toxins result in fish gasping at the surface for oxygen.
When your cycle completes you will have 0 ammonia 0 nitrites and a reading of nitrates. You will need to keep nitrates below 20ppm and you do this by removing water as maintenance. If your nitrates are building up too quickly for you to be able to remove them comfortably then you either have too many fish, have a bioload too great for the size of the tank or are feeding too much.
Prime water conditioner is your best friend at this stage as it detoxifies all three toxins for 24-48hrs without disrupting the cycle.
Hope some of this info has been useful.
As already stated, platies have a considerable bioload in comparison to other smaller fish and this is the reason ammonia is building up quickly. Just so you know, the liquid test kit measures total ammonia. The toxic part of total ammonia is called free ammonia. The amount of free ammonia in total ammonia increases with temperature and ph. Have a look at this chart.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f12/your-guide-to-ammonia-toxicity-159994.html
If you are in the green you are ok. The problem comes when your nitrites start to rise. If you don't record nitrites then you should be ok but I would keep a close eye on nitrites. Changing water too often will slow the cycle down as you are removing the food for the beneficial bacteria however, finding the balance between keeping your fish healthy and giving the BB food is important. Nitrites enter through the fishes gills and reduces the cells ability to carry oxygen. Ammonia burns the fishes gills because they are expelling ammonia in to a high ammonia environment which effectively means they can't get rid of if and it burns their gills. Both toxins result in fish gasping at the surface for oxygen.
When your cycle completes you will have 0 ammonia 0 nitrites and a reading of nitrates. You will need to keep nitrates below 20ppm and you do this by removing water as maintenance. If your nitrates are building up too quickly for you to be able to remove them comfortably then you either have too many fish, have a bioload too great for the size of the tank or are feeding too much.
Prime water conditioner is your best friend at this stage as it detoxifies all three toxins for 24-48hrs without disrupting the cycle.
Hope some of this info has been useful.
Thank you soooo much for the article
This chart is great and shows me that I am not in danger at all.
ph 7.6
water temp 78
ammonia between 0.25 and 0.5
I will keep testing every day but slow the water changes down now. yeah that's exactly that...with all the wc the tank will take for ever to cycle.
My fish is doing great. A whole lot of mating going on and I found my first Platy Baby. That would be my next question: how can I safe this tiny little guy from his hungry parents? I don't have any other tank or equipment. And because of my already so small tank I don't wanna put any net in there either. uhhh what to do?
This chart is great and shows me that I am not in danger at all.
ph 7.6
water temp 78
ammonia between 0.25 and 0.5
I will keep testing every day but slow the water changes down now. yeah that's exactly that...with all the wc the tank will take for ever to cycle.
My fish is doing great. A whole lot of mating going on and I found my first Platy Baby. That would be my next question: how can I safe this tiny little guy from his hungry parents? I don't have any other tank or equipment. And because of my already so small tank I don't wanna put any net in there either. uhhh what to do?
Brookster123
Aquarium Advice Addict
I made small rock piles for the fry to hide in, small enough the parents cannot get in.
venymae
Aquarium Advice Addict
Ditto on the small hiding places. Also, once your tank cycles I've found that running a clean toothbrush across my glass once a week when I do water changes keeps it looking very nice - no build up! And is much cheaper than buying a scrubber cleaner.
rock pile is a good idea. That was so funny yesterday morning when I saw Tiny the first time. I was wondering what this strange orange fluff stuff is floating around on the bottom. Thought this is a new alarm for this forum: mysterious orange fluff in my tank...HELP. uups the fluff had eyes and fins
hey everybody. A few days later but things haven't changed yet. Thanks to the ammonia information I am way more relaxed now. My fish is doing great and all together there are three platy babies hiding in the tank.
I have one question about ph level reading because I am confused by the results.
I am using the API Freshwater Master Kit and the reading on the regular ph bottle is 7.6.
Just to make sure I am not over it I tried the high range bottle with the result 7.4.
What exactly is now the ph level in my tank? This is so important for the Ammonia Toxicity Guide reading.
Thank you
I have one question about ph level reading because I am confused by the results.
I am using the API Freshwater Master Kit and the reading on the regular ph bottle is 7.6.
Just to make sure I am not over it I tried the high range bottle with the result 7.4.
What exactly is now the ph level in my tank? This is so important for the Ammonia Toxicity Guide reading.
Thank you
Brookster123
Aquarium Advice Addict
Good to hear! As for the ph ..This seems to be a common issue, mine is exactly the same, highest high and lowest low end, I call it 7.5! As long as it remains stable it is fine, if you notice fluctuations in the ph than it can become a problem.
Great. Then my fish is safe today as well.
ph 7.5
Ammonia 1.0
temperature 76
On Tuesday I went with my better half and our two kids to Big Al's for the shark feeding. While they were watching Mama went checking out the tanks
I will definitely go with over 50 gal ...so excited I am
oh by the way, the white stuff/film on my glass disappeared. Water was cloudy for the last three days but is clearing up nicely now.
ph 7.5
Ammonia 1.0
temperature 76
On Tuesday I went with my better half and our two kids to Big Al's for the shark feeding. While they were watching Mama went checking out the tanks
I will definitely go with over 50 gal ...so excited I am
oh by the way, the white stuff/film on my glass disappeared. Water was cloudy for the last three days but is clearing up nicely now.
Brookster123
Aquarium Advice Addict
So you probably want to get that amm down to .25 ppm, 1.0 is really high for the fish.Great. Then my fish is safe today as well. ph 7.5 Ammonia 1.0 temperature 76 On Tuesday I went with my better half and our two kids to Big Al's for the shark feeding. While they were watching Mama went checking out the tanks
