amateur fishman HELP!

[thefishman]

Hi everyone, ive just recently bought a 45L tank thats got a heater, sponge filter and a UV light. I also have 2 zebra danios and a male betta cycling the tank. It's been 3 weeks and im a little worried that the nitrite levels have not increased yet the amonia is still rising. Please not that I am using the liquid testers for the nitrite, ammonia and nitrate.

Does anyone have an idea of how long it should take. I've been doing partial water changes once every 4 days...the aquirium is well planted also, and im treating the water to kill the chlorine before water changes..

Any advice is much appreciated.

PS: I think my danios were spawing....

 

[thefishman]

Im from Sydney, Australia guys..

thanks again

 

[roka64]

Welcome to the site! Take a look at my sig and read up on the fishless cycle and other articles.

 

[thefishman]

thanks roka.

 

[roka64]

Anytime!

 

[cmor1701d]

and ...

 

[thefishman]

ive got a sponge from another persons tank and squezed it into my tank... was this a good idea???

 

[Zagz]

Welcome to AA! That will help your cycle along. It's called seeded media. If possible take a portion of your friend's media and either put it in your filter or sit it on the substrate of your tank.

 

[jim.m257]

Hey thefishman.. I'm currently doing a pretty similar thing up in Newcastle and my tanks been on the go for about the same period as yours and I'm not seeing any nitrites either.. Is it possible that the nitrosomas don't like our east coast water too much? Or are we just impatient? I've heard it said that a cycle can take upto 6 weeks, so I'm just biding my time at the moment, doing PWC's when the ammonia gets too high (up near .5ppm) and trying to keep it at around or under .25ppm. Any comments as to whether .25ppm is a safe level?

Cheers all,
Jim.

 

[thefishman]

the nitrates have in fact increased to 5ppm but my ammonia is still at 2, I think we're beeing impatient... Im going to try and get some gravel from an already established tank hopefully it'll speed up the process..

In regards to high ammonia as I understand is'nt it related to the hardiness of your fish.. Ive got some zebra danios in there cycling the fish and theyve been fine with ammonia around 2ppm.. then again im just an amateur maybe some of the more experienced people can give you some helfull hints..

Is it possible for nitrites to spike and then drop before I had a chance to test them.. like spike and then drop in 24 hours??

thanks guys

 

[jim.m257]

From what I've read the process for getting your NitrItes into NitrAtes is alot quicker than Ammonia to NitrItes, I have heard around the 1 to 2 week mark for the nitrobacter to appear and make a big impact on your N02 levels.

If you did notice a spike and then drop in your NitrItes, I'd expect you'd see a rise in your NitrAtes.. has this been so?

I'm far from an expert, but maybe it's PWC time? Comments Aquaria Gods?

Jim.

 

[jim.m257]

Update.. the day I posted my last response i was at work.. When I arrived home I did my usual test and discovered sky rocketing nitrItes.. well 0.5ppm anyway.. I've since got my nitrAtes up to about 5ppm and I've been doing PWC's to keep everything in check. Fish are looking and acting much more healthy. Definitely a fishless cycle for me next time. Good luck with your tank!

 

[peaceablegarden]

Hi All,

I've learned a great deal here and am in the midst of first cycle too (in two tanks, I got MTS - Multiple Tank Syndrome early). I completely mucked up my first tank by over feeding so 5 weeks in I've finally got things straightened out. It took pwc's every day and constant monitoring.

Tank 1 has zeroed out on all but ammonia which is finally falling and now between .25 and .50. Tank 2 seemed to have a nitrite spike(?) at .25 yesterday at about 3 weeks in (one lone Neon Tetra has survived - another mistake). Today it's back down to 0. Nitrate is at 5. I finally figured out that there was ammonia in my tap water and have begun using my filtered water. A huge help. My Ph in both tanks is at 6.4.

A good question Jim about acceptable levels of ammonia. Should it be at 0 like nitrites and nitrates or anywhere .25 and below? Thought I'd read about that somewhere.

 

[jim.m257]

I know that after the cycle has 'finished' ammonia should be 0, nitrItes should be 0 and nitrAtes should be under 40ppm, then to keep your nitrAtes under control you just keep on keepin' on with the PWC's. My two kribensis have seemed pretty happy with ammonia running at around .25 - .50 (the colours on the API ammonia card are too close to tell the difference). Hey peaceablegarden, in your signature you apparently have 2 male platties and 12 fry? You could be a millionaire with those two fish! hahaha

 

[peaceablegarden]

That is pretty funny. I hadn't noticed how that might look. Helen died last week (my sunset platy). I lost both females I had. The babies were born the day after I brought home the adults from my LFS and so started the horrible slippery slope to overfeeding. The mom to the fry was a Mickey Mouse so most of the babies are also Mickeys. Looks like two or three won't be. It'll be interested to see what they turn into.

 

[melosu58]

Welcome aboard

 

[thefishman]

i just done a reading now and it was reading 0.25 nitrites so i think im on my way too...

I think we're all a little eager to start putting more fish in our tanks..

thanks for all ur help guys.

 

[Ziggy953]

Welcome to AA!!! Like Scott said the article section is a great place to start. We will be glad to help you along the way!