How long for Nitrates?

[jlk]

Great news!!!! Lets hold off on the replenish for now & see if everything wil zero out on its own.

 

[adadkins1]

Awesome! I agree with jlk, DO NOT use the replenish since you've finally got things moving along nicely. Just hang tight and keep an eye on the parameters.

 

[brad15]

Ok will do. Sorry, but when nitrites start getting higher and water changes are needed, is there anyone who adds prime or whatever conditioner you may be using directly to tank instead into bucket after bucket and have had success not destroying bacteria?

 

[adadkins1]

Personally, I add it to my buckets rather than the tank.

 

[jlk]

Ok will do. Sorry, but when nitrites start getting higher and water changes are needed, is there anyone who adds prime or whatever conditioner you may be using directly to tank instead into bucket after bucket and have had success not destroying bacteria?

Alot of people on here use pythons/something similar to change water especially on bigger tanks. You have to dose prime/whatever before refilling the tank. No problems as long as you dose for the size of the tank!

 

[brad15]

Yeah I have an Aqueon water changer but I prefer the bucket method for pwcs

 

[brad15]

Jumping ahead again, when tank is cycled and doing weekly water changes and maintenance, does anyone add a bacteria additive such as cycle for instance? Or just a conditioner?

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Jumping ahead again, when tank is cycled and doing weekly water changes and maintenance, does anyone add a bacteria additive such as cycle for instance? Or just a conditioner?

No just dechlorinator not need for anything else like bacteria boosters, stress zymes or pH chemicals.

 

[librarygirl]

You can add dechlorinator to the tank if you want instead of the buckets, if you do just add a dose for the whole tank and not just the water you are replacing. Water changes and dechlorinator will not disrupt the cycle or do anything bad to the bacteria. Once the tank is cycled there's no need to add an additive or anything to the tank except dechlorinator during water changes.

 

[brad15]

Well ammonia still holding at 0 and nitrites climbing slowly to .25. Did another 60% water change on Friday night and nitrites were good all day Sunday. This morning they began to climb up. My question is I know they are more toxic to the fishies, but at which point does it begin to become a hazard? I mean because I work and as soon as I get home is obviously when a water change can be done.

 

[adadkins1]

It would be nice to try and keep them at .5ppm MAX, if at all possible.

 

[brad15]

Ok gonna try. Does the nitrite phase on average take the longest or shortest time during a cycle?

 

[librarygirl]

Ok gonna try. Does the nitrite phase on average take the longest or shortest time during a cycle?

Nitrite is actually the longest, longer than the ammonia phase usually. But hopefully the AngelsPlus filter will help speed things along. I agree try keeping nitrite as low as possible, .5 max, <.25 best. Good news is once you get past the nitrites you're tank should be cycled.

 

[brad15]

My tapwater is high in nitrates to begin with. According to api chart its anywhere from .20-.40. Now eventually when nitrites convert to trates, is it fair to assume that they will be off the charts? I have a fluval, and fluval makes a nitrate reducer resin . If I use that, think its safe to put in now or to wait until next conversion?

 

[brad15]

The longest? Ughhhh.

 

[adadkins1]

So your tap water is between 20-40 nitrAtes? You will may have high readings of nitrAtes due to this. Luckily I have somewhat clean water (with respect to ammonia/nitrAtes) so I've never had this issue. Maybe librarygirl has had dealings with trAtes in tap water.

 

[jlk]

High nitrates in tap water isnt the end of the world. My city water has them & they vary from day to day. It just means you will have to do more frequent, big water changes once your tank is established to keep nitrate levels as low as possible. The addition of live plants also can help.

 

[adadkins1]

Duh, can't believe I forgot about plants. If you have live plants and a lightly stocked tank you shouldn't have an issue. The problem people have is when they have an overstocked aquarium with extreme nitrAtes and they can't get them down due to the water supply.

 

[brad15]

When my nitrite readings are .25 , and I do pwcs, i have been vacuuming up as much fish poop as I can get( I have natural colored sand so it stands out). Question is if fish poop and pre are kinda the fuel for a cycle, am I removing the necessary fuel?

 

[jlk]

When my nitrite readings are .25 , and I do pwcs, i have been vacuuming up as much fish poop as I can get( I have natural colored sand so it stands out). Question is if fish poop and pre are kinda the fuel for a cycle, am I removing the necessary fuel?

Your fish are fueling your cycle so theres no need to worry about vac up poop/debris. It will only contribute to higher ammonia/nitrite readings which are harmful to your fish.