has my cycle stalled

[yaioa]

Todays readings -: ammonia = 0.5ppm, nitrite = 2ppm, nitrate = 80ppm and ph = 7.2
I dosed ammonia back up to 2ppm, not sure if I should let it go down to zero first!!!

Feel I'm starting to get somewhere now,I know it's still early days but I'm begining to think about fish. Any recommendations would be appreciated. I know it's only a small tank,(90 litres ), so I would like to stick to relatively small peacefull community fish. Ideally top middle and bottom swimmers and feeders. I'm considering cherry shrimp and assassin snails, would these be ok together with fish?

 

[librarygirl]

No, you did good by redosing. Ammonia is dropping, nitrites and nitrates are rising, PH seems more stable, so I think you're on your way.

Yep, shrimp and snails would be ok with fish. Most fish will probably eat any baby shrimp they see but they should leave adults alone, depending on what fish it is. Give the shrimp a lot of hiding areas (plants, particularly dense mossy areas).

So your tank is about 23 gals, which is a good size. Are there any fish that interest you? What substrate do you have? Is it "normal" rectangular tank or is it oddly shaped like a hex or column?

There are many options, but for an example you could do something like:
6 corys, such as panda, dwarf, pygmy, (if your substrate is sand (preferred) or rounded gravel, not sharp)
a group of 8 schooling fish such as rummynose tetra, neon tetra, zebra danio. most schooling fish would work
1 dwarf gourami as a centerpiece

 

[yaioa]

Thanks for your advice. I have a bow fronted rectangular tank. I have it well planted. I have used JBL Aquabasis plus, then 2-3mm rounded gravel on top of it. I was thinking of getting the pygmy corys or the Dainty cory ( Harbrosus wild ) don't know if that is the same as the dwarf one that you mention. I also like the panda cory. I like all the tetra's that you mention as well as the cardinal tetra, and the zebra danio's. Never thought of the Dwarf gourami, can it be kept on its own or do I need to give them company? I've been searching online for information, so I'm off tommorow to my LFS with a list, to have a look and see what is available locally as I'm a bit wary of getting live fish through the post.

 

[yaioa]

Todays readings are-: ammonia = 0.25ppm, nitrite = 5ppm or possibly higher, nitrate = 120ppm and ph = 7.2
Dosed ammonia back up to 2ppm.

 

[Hholly]

Dwarf gouramis can live singly.

 

[yaioa]

Readings today are -: ammonia = 0.25ppm, nitrite = 2ppm, nitrate = 120ppm, might be higher, and ph = 7.2
I dosed ammonia back up to 2ppm

 

[Hholly]

With your nitrates so high, you might want to do a large water change to restore buffers so your pH doesn't crash.

 

[yaioa]

My readings today are -: ammonia = less than 0.25ppm but not quite zero, nitrites = 0.25ppm, nitrates are about the same as yesterday, approx. 120ppm and ph = 7
Didn't have time to do a big water change yesterday. As my ammonia and nitrites are falling do I need to do a water change? Thanks again everyone for your help and advice!!

 

[jlk]

Your ph is starting to fall so I would do a water change when you have a chance. Otherwise, your cycle is doing great and I would say your very close to being done!

 

[yaioa]

I measured today before doing water change. Readings were-: ammonia = 0.5ppm, nitrite = 2ppm, nitrate = approx. 100ppm and ph = 7.2
I was a bit dismayed to see ammonia and nitrite readings higher and nitrate reading lower today, is this normal or am I going backwards again?
Did 90% water change double dosing with the conditioner again and measurements after 1 hour were-: ammonia, nitrite and nitrate all = 0ppm and ph = 6.8
I dosed ammonia back up to 2ppm and added 1 level teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate which brought my ph up to 8.
My tap waters ph level is 6.8, will this be ok when I finally get some fish?

 

[Hholly]

It should be fine when you get the nitrates under control. You can also add some crushed coral or aragonite in a mesh bag in your filter to help too.

 

[yaioa]

Couldn't wait until today to test the water after big pwc so tested nitrites and nitrates after 5 hours and the nitrite was 0.25ppm and the nitrate was 5ppm.
Today, 24 hours after pwc and ammonia = 0.25ppm, nitrite = 0, nitrate = 10ppm and ph = 7
PH seems to be dropping very quickly, should I be worried?
I dosed ammonia back up to 2ppm! I hope I'm still on track as ammonia and nitrites seem to be converting reasonably well over 24 hours.
Hopefully my mad scientist days are nearly over and enthusiastic fishkeeper can take over!!!

 

[yaioa]

Readings today are-: ammonia = 0.25ppm, nitrite = 0.25ppm, nitrate = 20ppm and ph = 6.6
I dosed ammonia back up to 2ppp and added half a level teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate to bring ph back up to 7.6.
I went to lfs and got some crushed coral to add to the filter ( using mesh bag ), to see if that helps with the ph fluctuation!

 

[jlk]

Lets see how your ph does with the crushed coral because its dropping quite quickly. It will take a bit of trial and error to figure out how much is needed to keep things stable. Your nitrates are increasing steadily so your tank's cycle is progressing at a nice rate.

 

[yaioa]

I added as much crushed coral as I could squeeze into my filter last night as I'm not sure how much I should use.
Todays readings are-: ammonia = 0.25ppm, nitrite = 0.25ppm, nitrate = 40ppm and ph = 7.2
I dosed ammonia back up to 2ppm.
Out of curiosity I didn't empty out the ph test tube from yesterday, so that I could compare it to todays, and found that it was at 7.2 although yesterday it was at 7.6, so the ph level had went down overnight.
Guy at lfs said just to spread crushed coral on top of my existing gravel and that would keep my ph levels steady,but I thought I should ask here about that!

 

[librarygirl]

I added as much crushed coral as I could squeeze into my filter last night as I'm not sure how much I should use.
Todays readings are-: ammonia = 0.25ppm, nitrite = 0.25ppm, nitrate = 40ppm and ph = 7.2
I dosed ammonia back up to 2ppm.
Out of curiosity I didn't empty out the ph test tube from yesterday, so that I could compare it to todays, and found that it was at 7.2 although yesterday it was at 7.6, so the ph level had went down overnight.
Guy at lfs said just to spread crushed coral on top of my existing gravel and that would keep my ph levels steady,but I thought I should ask here about that!

I wouldn't bother putting it on the substrate; it'll make it harder to remove later.

 

[yaioa]

Todays readings are-: ammonia 0.25ppm, nitrite is lighter than 0.25ppm but not quite zero, nitrate = 80ppm and ph = 7.2
Don't know if it's normal for ammonia to consistanly drop to 0.25ppm but never going to zero!

 

[ktomminello]

Yay!! I had a cycle stall and it had me ripping my hair out for a while, lol, glad you're back on track!!

 

[ktomminello]

Sorry didn't read far enough.... You shouldn't have any ammo or trites anymore...

 

[librarygirl]

Todays readings are-: ammonia 0.25ppm, nitrite is lighter than 0.25ppm but not quite zero, nitrate = 80ppm and ph = 7.2
Don't know if it's normal for ammonia to consistanly drop to 0.25ppm but never going to zero!

Your nitrates are rising so you have some good conversion going. If you can get the PH to stay stable I think the cycle should finish fairly soon. For the ammonia test, it can be hard to tell the difference between 0 and .25 sometimes, depending on the lighting in the room. Try testing some distilled or spring water and compare it to the tank's test and see if they match. You an also try looking at the tube from below, sometimes that helps to tell whether it's yellow or green.