advice needed

[Matt_Cod]

Hi all first time posting and just looking for advice

I've had a 29g tank (120L) for a while now its always been a bear bottom tank but recently I've put 3mm black granite stones as my substrate I rinsed and added it to the tank over a week and tested my water a few days later I had 0 ammonia nitrites and nitrates were off the chart!! Being a new test kit I took a water sample into my lfs to be tested and confirmed my results and was given lysogoss to help the bacteria grow in my substrate, since then my ammonia is still 0 nitrites are 0.1 and nitrates are still off the chart but coming down I have alot of java moss, a java fern with 4 leaves and a plantlet growing off 1 I also have a handfull of guppy grass in my tank of 30 or so guppies / endlers and about 5 fry and about 10 red cherry shrimp and some drift wood everyone is happy swimming around and eating fine my temp is 25.8 celcius

My question is water changes to lower the nitrates am I better to do gravel vacs or just change water without vacs leaving the substrate alone to build up bacteria against waste any information would be great ��

 

[54seaweed]

50% would bring them down half of what they are ,
as for a gravel vac if you have tones of crud remove it first than do the water change,
I'm sure others will chime in with there thoughts

 

[Matt_Cod]

I did a 50% the day I put the lysofoss in and I've done 10% - 30% every day since with a light gravel vac just to take poop off the service, I just want to know if I'm heading in the right direction like I think I am haha

Is there anyway to test your bacteria in the way of how much their is or how strong it is

 

[Goof]

I don't know of any way to test bacteria other than how healthy tank is and knowing how the cycle works.

Poop & gunk = Ammonia -> Bacteria #1 -> Nitrite -> Bacteria #2 -> Nitrate
From there most people rely on water changes, as nitrate isn't as harmful, but there is also Plants (including Algae) and Bacteria #3 that can help. (even if you neutralize nitrates this way, you still need to do partial water changes)

As long as Ammonia show zero, and nitrites almost zero, you just need to do partial water changes to keep the nitrates low. Be sure you take steps to remove the chlorine other wise it kills off some of the good bacteria.

btw, what do you mean by off the charts? And what do you mean for a while, as it takes about a month for a tank to be fully cycled?

 

[Matt_Cod]

For a while as in I've used this tank for about 3 months with a bare bottom but I've recently moves house and decided to put a substrate to add cherry shrimp that's when all my nitrites and nitrates went up

By off the chart I mean..... Yellow is 0 for nitrates and red is 100 I think, well my results were brown... Thought it could just be my teat kit as it is new but my lfs confirmed it now its coming up a lighter brown and red tint so I can only assume I'm on the right track