Plan B

[lukebailey]

Well, what I did to cycle my fish was I went to the lake and caught about 10 small brim. Put them in my tank-were there for two days. Eventually I felt sorry for them and today I put them back into the lake. My question is- can I do a partial water change, then perhaps today go get some zebra danios to continue the process?

 

[JessieVB]

I would definitely be concerned that something from the lake may have contaminated your tank.

A fishless cycle is much more human. Read the stickies for details. But basically you'll need an ammonia source (either pure ammonia or raw shrimp). This assuming the tank is safe for inhabitants from the LFS.

 

[MaiNpHRaMe]

try peeing in the tank, hehe. Just kiddin' i agree with the shrimp idea as well.

 

[lukebailey]

Ive tested the water levels- interesting results, in my opinion. And thank you to all that have helped out.
I tested the results three times-just to be sure.

Ph-7.4
Ammonia-2 mg/l
Nitrite-0 mg/l
Nitrate- 7mg/l

Why would I have Nitrate without nitrite? Wierd.

And I was expecting the Ammonia levels to be higher considering I had 10 large fish in there for a few days, including feeding.

So, is the Ammonia still too high for fish?

 

[JustOneMore20]

You may have nitrates in the tap water.

Any ammonia over about 1ppm is too high for fish.

 

[TomK2]

And you could have tap water that tests positive for ammonia, if you have chloramines in your municipal supply.

Ammonia 2 ppm is too high for fish.
Nitrate can be in tap water.
Wild caught local fish could drop off disease and parasites into your tank

I would conisder an alternative ammonia source than fish, such as bottled ammonia or decaying orgainic matter. It is possible to grow nitrifying bacteria without high levels of ammonia or nitrite, but it takes a real long time and requires lots of patience. Check out my link:

Low Bio-load

Very few fish can be used if you want to use fish humanely.