Off to a bad start ...

[XimeD]

Awesome and good to know!

Honestly, Im finding this whole process a lot more interesting that I thought it would be.

I've been talking to my husband over the phone about it all and he keeps saying that fish are too much work.

It does take a lot of initial work to educate oneself about fishkeeping, plan and set-up a tank (especially cycling), but once the tank has been established then the amount of work is significantly reduced.

I am glad you find it interesting seems like you are on a great track!

 

[Zenobia]

Alright .. Hi guys!

It's been a while, but I figured I didn't want to bore you all with an update of my test results each day.

It's been almost 4 weeks now since I started my 10 gallon tank and I am really trying my best to hang in here and be patient with everything, but it's getting a bit hard!

Ammonia levels have gone up ever so slowly, but for the past few days they've finally been at a pretty high level (8.0ppm).

So .. Now what?

I keep testing for nitrites and nothing comes up. I feel like the ammonia levels are just sitting there, not going anywhere.

Should I just suck it up and continue to be patient?
Is there anything that I can do to move this a long a bit faster?

My husband comes home for R&R in April, and I'd love to show off the tank with some pretty little fish in there.

 

[fort384]

well... 8ppm ammonia is not good... that is too high. You don't really want to let it get above 4ppm. At 8ppm, it will stymie/kill the bacteria growth you are looking for. I hope that the good bacteria development hasn't been killed off by the high levels of ammonia, or it could mean starting back at square 1.

In the mean time, I would do a PWC to get the ammonia level back down to 4ppm or below.

Do you know anyone that already has an established tank? Getting some used filter media or substrate from them would help speed the cycle substantially (just keep whatever they give you wet while you transport it to your tank).

 

[Zenobia]

well... 8ppm ammonia is not good... that is too high. You don't really want to let it get above 4ppm. At 8ppm, it will stymie/kill the bacteria growth you are looking for.

Crap! I didn't know that ... Thanks for the quick response.
I honestly thought ammonia would just keep going up until I got some nitrite reading. Silly me.

In the mean time, I would do a PWC to get the ammonia level back down to 4ppm or below.

Yeah, I'll get on that right away.

Do you know anyone that already has an established tank?

No, I don't. None of the few friends that I made out here have a fish tank ... It's hard moving to a new area sometimes. :|

 

[fort384]

No, I don't. None of the few friends that I made out here have a fish tank ... It's hard moving to a new area sometimes. :|

I understand that, especially when your significant other is deployed...

The other option is to go to a fish store and ask if you might get a cup or 2 of media from 1 of their cycled tanks... just make sure you take a good look and make sure their tanks aren't diseased. A lot of stores (especially the chain stores) use a centralized filtration process, so if 1 tank has ich or something else that looks unhealthy, chances are they all have it.

 

[Zenobia]

Alright, well it's certainly been a while, hasn't it?

Things are going fantastic though! The tank has cycled and
I got 4 awesome guppies and one little neon tetra. I originally had two neon tetras, but one guy didn't make it.

I know tetras are schooling fish, and that I should probably have more than one of them in there .... But considering it's only a 10 gallon tank and I've already got 5 fish in there, I don't want to crowd it. Besides, the neon tetra seems to be doing ok on his own.

The guppies are absolutely amazing though! I've never had guppies before.

I love how animated and lively they all are! I swear each of them has their own personality.
They're awesome, but they're little pigs too! They always want to be fed and always get excited and follow me as I pass by the tank.
I love them so much, haha.

Now that everything is set up and seems to be going well .. I've had an urge to buy a 20 gallon tank. I also want to try adding in live plants at some point.

Im still taking my time with everything though, so we'll see what happens.

Thanks again to all the great advice! Im sure I'd have thrown out the tank a long time ago if it weren't for this awesome forum.