Need help cycling

[Tiwaz]

No change this morning

Ammonia 0ppm
NitrItes 0ppm
NitrAtes 10ppm
pH 6.8

Temp 75

 

[Tiwaz]

Day 23 overall / day 10 with fish


Day 7 of stable conditions
Ammonia 0ppm
NitrItes 0ppm
NitrAtes 10ppm
pH 6.8

Temp 75

 

[eco23]

Day 23 overall / day 10 with fish

Day 7 of stable conditions
Ammonia 0ppm
NitrItes 0ppm
NitrAtes 10ppm
pH 6.8

Temp 75

Good deal . I'm glad everything stabilized for you. I'd still test a couple times a week just to make sure nothing crazy happens. My buddy had a crash after about a month...but I'm not sure what brand of bottled bacteria he used. Let us know how it goes

 

[Tiwaz]

Daily testing seems to be part of my morning routine now, so i'll keep it up for a while longer.

 

[Deckape]

Good deal . I'm glad everything stabilized for you. I'd still test a couple times a week just to make sure nothing crazy happens. My buddy had a crash after about a month...but I'm not sure what brand of bottled bacteria he used. Let us know how it goes

I used all of them. Stress Zyme, the safe start stuff, some powdered kind that had bran in it. I was in a hurry and made mistakes. That's why I do not mind telling anyone. To prevent the same things from happening to y'all.

 

[Tiwaz]

No Change.

Since it has now been just over a week since any WC how much % do you guys think is necessary for weekly maintenance? 10-20%?

Also my ignorant question of the day.
Why are weekly WC needed? If propper water conditions are maintained, water added for evaporation and the there is an airstone to both aerateand aggitate the surface why change water out?

 

[Deckape]

No Change.

Since it has now been just over a week since any WC how much % do you guys think is necessary for weekly maintenance? 10-20%?

Also my ignorant question of the day.
Why are weekly WC needed? If propper water conditions are maintained, water added for evaporation and the there is an airstone to both aerateand aggitate the surface why change water out?

It replaces the stuff ( minerals and things) that get used up as part of the nitrogen cycle. It also is the only way to remove nitrates unless you have a bunch of plants to eat them.

 

[eco23]

No Change.

Since it has now been just over a week since any WC how much % do you guys think is necessary for weekly maintenance? 10-20%?

Also my ignorant question of the day.
Why are weekly WC needed? If propper water conditions are maintained, water added for evaporation and the there is an airstone to both aerateand aggitate the surface why change water out?

The amount of water you change weekly is really dependent on different things. You've got to base it on the cleanliness of your aquarium and most importantly your nitrAte level. I do ~25% pwc's weekly.

The reasons we need to do weekly pwc's is first and foremost because of nitrAte levels. They will steadily climb based off how many fish you have producing ammonia and being converted into nitrAte which constantly builds up.

If you have a very heavily planted tank, the plants will help consume some of the no3 as well as anaerobic bacteria removing a tiny bit, but it's almost never enough to remove it faster than it's produced. The only way we can really keep the levels below 20 is with weekly pwc's.

Obviously they're also needed to keep the tank clean. You'll be surprised how quickly the gravel gets nasty from all your little fishy friends and excess food which finds it's way into the substrate.

Other than that, you need to restore nutrients and buffers to the water to keep everything balanced and your beneficial bacteria happy. Without pwc's, these things can be completely used up and cause what is called "Old Tank Syndrome". You can google it...it's kind of a long explanation.

There's also the TDS level, where if you're only topping off the water and not replacing any...all the dissolved solids in the water will continue to build to unreal levels because they are not being removed.

I keep thinking of things, lol. Anyway, you get the idea...they're needed to keep a happy, healthy and stable tank.

 

[eco23]

It replaces the stuff ( minerals and things) that get used up as part of the nitrogen cycle. It also is the only way to remove nitrates unless you have a bunch of plants to eat them.

Good answer Deckape. You summed up in two sentences what I just spent 5 minutes typing, haha. A man of few words...but the ones spoken are the truth .

 

[Tiwaz]

Thanks guys, I knew they were needed I just didn't know the why. Now I just need to determine the amount to change. Are suggestions from Aqua advisor close ( that suggests 14% weekly change)?

 

[eco23]

Thanks guys, I knew they were needed I just didn't know the why. Now I just need to determine the amount to change. Are suggestions from Aqua advisor close ( that suggests 14% weekly change)?

As long as you perform them correctly (same temp, dechlorinated water), there's really no such thing as too many pwc's. I average about 25% per simply because that's the amount my gravel vac removes in the time it takes to get the tank clean to the degree I like it.

NitrAtes will be the important measurement. You'll need to see how high they climb in a week. I try to keep my no3 level around 10 and do pwc's accordingly. A 25% weekly always keeps me right where I need to be. Remember that a 50% pwc will cut levels by half, a 25% will reduce them by a quarter, etc... In most cases a 15-25% weekly pwc is all most people need.

 

[Tiwaz]

Ok my NitrAtes have been steady at 10ppm since the cycle completed (I added some more plants then).

I guess I am trying to change as little water as possible, only because I don't like wasting it. With a sand base everything sits on top and gets vac'd out quite nicely.

I think I'll get some 55 gal rain barrels to put the water into, might as well use it for the flowers and such outside.