A little confused

[pirateshake]

So i just started my 55 gallon cycle, I was going to do the silent cycle but after i put in a snail it died later on that night. So now im a little werry. I tested and i got .25 ppm Ammonia 0ppm Nitrite and 0 NitrAte . Do i have enough ammonia? i have been adding flake food finely crushed and a few corydora's tablets ..

 

[new2betas]

That reading on your ammonia really doesn't sound high enough to kill a snail. I have had them in my cycling tanks before when the ammonia was reading 4-5 ppm and they were still in there having a hay day! Not sure what it could have been though. Was it a regular pond snail or some other kind?
If your cycling your tank using ammonia, you need it to be up in the 4-5 ppm range, .25 isn't enough. I'm not sure how much you would add for a 55g tank though, quite a bit I'm sure. Also, if you are using straight ammonia, it doesn't have ANY other ingredients listed does it? If it does, that might be where your trouble is coming from. It has to be 100% straight ammonia with no other additives.

 

[pirateshake]

Yeah it was wierd. He might not of been dead, there was alot of stringy stuff comming from him when i pulled him off the glass and touched the meaty part of him he didnt move so i think something was wrong, but idk really. Can someone tell me what i want my ammonia to be at? I am getting a bunch of plants tomorrow from someones aquarium in my area that has been cycled for a long time. Hopefully that will help soon and ill add a few fish after i do the plants .

 

[new2betas]

Yeah....it sounds like he was dead. All the snails I have ever seen die in a tank had the stringy stuff coming out and didn't respond when touched...
Your ammonia needs to be around 4-5 ppm (the highest the card reads). Are you testing with paper strips or liquid test tubes with drops?
Also, it is suggested on this forum, pretty much, not to add live plants to a tank that is being cycled with ammonia (or an ammonia source). The plants need light and light plus ammonia plus the plants could equal an algae outbreak.
How long have you been cycling your tank? You said in the original post that you had "just started your cycle". That is going to be way too soon to add fish. If you are doing a fishless cycle it will take anywhere from 4-6 week probably to complete the cycle process. Now, if you are doing a silent cycle (with a large plant population) you shouldn't be adding the ammonia. Do you know which cycle you are using - silent or fishless?

 

[pirateshake]

Im still trying to do the silent cycle. I heard i need alot of fast growing plants to do it. Add plants then a few days later add a small amount of fish

 

[new2betas]

If you are going to do the silent cycle then ammonia is not needed....you are going to use the fish for this purpose. I would stop adding ammonia now. You can't really do a silent cycle until your aquarium is heavily stocked with plants and they are established and you actually see new growth on the plants. It sounds like you might be pushing it by adding plants this weekend and then plan on adding fish immediately after that. You need to let your plants get established for 1-2 weeks at least before adding fish. I know it is easy to push things with this hobby....but, the main thing it is teaching me is patience, patience, patience. I got my 29g tank about 3 weeks ago. It has been set up and I have been steadily adding plants and driftwood over this amount of time. I have also fertilized them with some root tabs. Now that it is fully stocked with plants, I am going to give them at least a week to see if they are getting established well before adding any fish to the tank. It's hard, I know, because we have these tanks and want to see fish in them, but it is better to wait until a safe home is prepared for them first.

 

[pirateshake]

Okay well ill be adding java fern, duck weed, hornswort, java moss, and guppy grass in soon. Ill go get some fert tabs and put them in too.

 

[CaptainAhab]

Did you acclimate the snail first? If not it probably died from water parameter difference shock. Inverts need to be acclimated much longer and slower than fish

 

[Tifta]

did you put some prime in the water?

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

you dont need fert tabs for the plants you listed, they are mainly water column feeders and some dont get planted(per say)

Like I said I'm doing this now in my 55G, added plants and 1 small fish. Then here in a couple weeks or a month when the plants get settled I'll add 1 more fish. Then add 1 more ever 2 weeks or so. I already have some small fish to add so once I build the population up over 1-2 months then I'll get my new fish and remove these back to my 10G.