I THINK my tank is almost be ready for fish... but just wanted to check!

[sammymanfa]

Sooooo I've been doing a fishless cycle for about 3 weeks now. I did a water test today and my ammonia levels have dropped to somewhere between 0 and 0.25ppm, my nitrite levels have dropped to 0ppm, my nitrate levels are at 80ppm and my PH is at 8.2. Is 8.2 too high? also, where do i go from now? The nitrate levels are quite high, is it time for a water change yet? also, can i get my lil fishes soon? sorry for all the questions, very excited at the prospect of etting my lil fishes thanks very much!

 

[boadams87]

You should dose it up to 2 ppm and see if its gone in 24 hrs.

 

[jlk]

Dose amm for a few more days- if your amm/nitrite continue to steadily zero, then you are set for fish! A ph of 8.2 is fine (unless you plan on keeping something exotic with specific ph needs)- fish adapt the most phs unless they are extreme (above 9 or below 6).

The night before or the morning you plan on getting fish, skip the amm & you will need to do a BIG water change (possibily more than one) to drop your nitrates as low as possible. They should be at the level your tap reads. Adjust your heater for your planned fish if it was turned up. Make sure you use temperature-matched, properly conditioned water for your water changes. If your not familiar with 'drip acclimation', please check out U-tube for how-to videos. Good luck!!

 

[sammymanfa]

Thanks very much for your reply's. I did the fishless cycle without using ammonia so i think i may leave it for a bit before i add fishes and use ammonia for a lil while, i dont want to risk lil fishes dying when i get them. where do you get it from and how much should i put in? thanks again

 

[librarygirl]

Thanks very much for your reply's. I did the fishless cycle without using ammonia so i think i may leave it for a bit before i add fishes and use ammonia for a lil while, i dont want to risk lil fishes dying when i get them. where do you get it from and how much should i put in? thanks again

What did you use to cycle? And how high did the ammonia get before it fell and how high were the nitrite? You can get ammonia from ACE hardware if there's one near you, some dollar stores sell it too. Just be sure it's pure ammonia without perfumes, dyes or surfectants (it should say on the label). What size tank? Your pH is fine.

 

[sammymanfa]

I just stuck some fish food in a stocking... the ammonia got up to 8ppm, it was the highest reading on my test kit (API) and the nitrite got upto 5ppm, then the nitrat got up to almost as high as it could hen everything started to fall except the nitrate... i'll def do the ammonia thing though, i dont wsnt to risk fishes. my tanks quite small, i think its only about 5 gallons.... thinking now i'v got it i should have got a bigger one but im only planning on having 3 fish so hopefully it wont be too bad, thanks for your reply

 

[librarygirl]

Oh, you might be good to stock it then since it's a small tank and you had the nitrite spike. What fish are you planning, though? A 5 gal really isn't suitable for most fish, just a betta or some nano fish (celestial pearl danio, ember tetra or chili rasbora), or endler's livebearers, and some shrimp.