landongolds
Aquarium Advice Newbie
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2020
- Messages
- 6
Hi everyone! I’m new to this forum and hoping that some of you may be able to help me out.
I have a 5 gallon rectangular tank with an internal filter. The tank is moderately planted with Riccia, rotala, Java ferns, and Taiwan moss.
Temp: 76-78°
pH: 6.8
Ammonia: ~1.0ppm
Nitrites: 0ppm
Nitrates: ~5ppm (these just showed up today, it had previously been 0ppm)
gH: about 7 I believe
I initially decided on a fish less cycle and added some fish flakes in there for an ammonia source, trying not to overdo it. I did this for the first two weeks, but the ammonia simply reached 1.0ppm and stayed there for the whole time regardless of how much fish food I put in (within reason, it’s a small tank). I also initially seeded the tank with a scoop of established gravel, but removed it after the first week.
Two and a half weeks in, after seeing no changes, I got impatient and decided to try a fish in cycle. I purchased a 3.38oz bottle of SafeStart Plus and added half of it to the tank along with some fish flakes as if it didn’t already have the ammonia in my tank to feast on. For the past 3 or 4 days I’ve seen no changes in any parameters except for that this morning I had ~5ppm of nitrates that had previously been at 0ppm.
My question is: is it safe to try a fish in cycle while my ammonia is still 1.0? Should I expect it to ever go down? And what am I doing wrong?
Thanks so much!
I have a 5 gallon rectangular tank with an internal filter. The tank is moderately planted with Riccia, rotala, Java ferns, and Taiwan moss.
Temp: 76-78°
pH: 6.8
Ammonia: ~1.0ppm
Nitrites: 0ppm
Nitrates: ~5ppm (these just showed up today, it had previously been 0ppm)
gH: about 7 I believe
I initially decided on a fish less cycle and added some fish flakes in there for an ammonia source, trying not to overdo it. I did this for the first two weeks, but the ammonia simply reached 1.0ppm and stayed there for the whole time regardless of how much fish food I put in (within reason, it’s a small tank). I also initially seeded the tank with a scoop of established gravel, but removed it after the first week.
Two and a half weeks in, after seeing no changes, I got impatient and decided to try a fish in cycle. I purchased a 3.38oz bottle of SafeStart Plus and added half of it to the tank along with some fish flakes as if it didn’t already have the ammonia in my tank to feast on. For the past 3 or 4 days I’ve seen no changes in any parameters except for that this morning I had ~5ppm of nitrates that had previously been at 0ppm.
My question is: is it safe to try a fish in cycle while my ammonia is still 1.0? Should I expect it to ever go down? And what am I doing wrong?
Thanks so much!