Future 10g red cherry shrimp tank

[SpeedEuphoria]

Well I dont think its supposed to be like that, smelly anyway. I know hers is a used piece. I'm not sure if there is a method of storing driftwood. Like you have in in a tank for a year or 2, then take it out. It will be wet/waterlogged, I would think that mold and crap would grow on it easy. The only thing I could think would be to heat/bake it in a oven or something to dry it out. I really have no idea other than boiling the heck out of it, for at least an hour.

The one I got only had slight coloring in the water when I soaked it. I did not boil it b/c it would not fit easily in any pots I have(didnt want to do the 1/2+1/2 thing). I only soaked it for like 2 days. So far so good, but I saw a slight blip in the PH(lower), but have not retested yet. Also had some slight cloudy film at the top of the water and I was paying close attention to the fish as they were kinda slow. But 2 days later everything was looking normal and I added more plants. I was thinking that my filter was slowing down, as it pretty much sucks as it is, who knows.

Tifta post a pic of your wood when you get it, did you order from petco?

[new2betas]

Well -- I just checked my parameters again....I put in more ammonia this morning before leaving to take my daughter to the airport. My ammonia is around a 1-2(more on 2) and my nitrites are around .50. What happened with my cycling? Both of those numbers were VERY high yesterday before removing said nasty wood. Am I going through another cycling process? Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

[SpeedEuphoria]

If you have NitrAtes then that explains it, you may just have more of the nitrIte>nitrAte bacteria then you do of the ammonia>nitrIte bacteria.

Did you test nitrAtes yet

Other wise rinse and repeat the tests since we are not in good labratory type situations so it can be easy to get some incorrect data sometimes, but if it still shows the same then I would assume its correct and the cycle may have been affected or stalled.

Also have you tested the PH with the before the wood and with the wood and after removing? I'm not sure exactly how this could effect a cycle, but I think it could.

My Ph has gone down slightly b/c I tested again today and its still 7.6, it has been 8.0 for the last couple months. BTW I'm going to test my tap PH right now to confirm it is the wood changing it.

[new2betas]

Originally Posted by SpeedEuphoria

Did you test nitrAtes yet

Also have you tested the PH with the before the wood and with the wood and after removing? I'm not sure exactly how this could effect a cycle, but I think it could.

I had not tested the nitrates yet....but I just did....they are testing between 5-10 ppm. My pH is around 7-7.2. I had not tested pH when wood was in there.

What exactly does this mean for my cycle? If it stalled...how did that stall it? That wood was only in there for two-three days max before I noticed the nasty stuff on it and removed it. When I changed the water last night I kept EVERYTHING in the tank wet so I wouldn't hurt the bacteria.....I thought there weren't many beneficial bacteria in the water....so how could just taking the wood out stall my cycling? I had really good cycling readings before placing the wood in too.....

[SpeedEuphoria]

To me I think your right on track, unless your tap water has nitrates(or nitrites), but people say nitrate level is not accurate below 10-20, so who knows?

Have you tested you tap water before?

If tap has 0's then you should be on track.

BTW how high did your nitrates get when you cycled your other tank?

OH, I kinda feel dumb, but since you did a large PWC your nitrite and nitrate level are obliviously going to be largely reduced. So again I think your just fine and the PWC is what reduced the levels. The bacteria are not living in the water much, but the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate are, these are just the food source not the actual bacteria. So you just diluted the levels while the bacteria are still hanging out in the filters.

Give it a day or 2 and retest nitrate, I bet it goes up

[new2betas]

nitrates from tap are a 0.....
So...I didn't harm my cycle? I was thinking there was no way I could have since I kept everything in the tank except the wood.
Oh...btw...this may be too much information...but when we were traveling to Charlotte today we passed what smelled to be a sewage treatment facility (either that or someone had septic tank problems) and that is EXACTLY what my tank smelled like last night with that wood in it .... GROSS!

[SpeedEuphoria]

Where I used to work, they had there own water treatment plant and it smelled bad, but I think it smelled like chlorine or similar mostly.

Dottie I think your fine, just you diluted your levels from the PWC, as thats why you do PWC's

[new2betas]

Originally Posted by SpeedEuphoria

Dottie I think your fine, just you diluted your levels from the PWC, as thats why you do PWC's

yeah....I just thought it could screw you up if you did a large water change in the middle of cycling that is why I was hesitant and wanting feedback last night before I took that wood out....until I smelled it and then I needed NO feedback....that sucker came outa there!

[new2betas]

Also...if I am on track with my cycling when should I be ready for my cute little shrimpies??

[Purrbox]

Originally Posted by new2betas

Also...if I am on track with my cycling when should I be ready for my cute little shrimpies??

Generally you don't want to add live plants to an aquarium when doing a fishless cycle. Ammonia + Light = Green Water more times than not.

I'd move the plants to another aquarium until you're done cycling and turn the light off. Once the cycle is complete, add the plants back in and let them get settled for 2-4 weeks. Once the plants are established and growing well add your shrimp.