Newbie: Questions Fishless Nitrogen Cycle

[AquaMan92]

Hello Everyone,

I am new to owning an aquarium, and I need some direction hopefully you guys can give me some pointers

So i have a 10 gallon tank, with just gravel in at 79 degrees.
I used water tetra tap water safe conditioner and tetra safe start plus for the bacteria.

I am on Day 9 of the cycle the API kit reads:
Ammonia between 4.0-8.0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0-5.0 dark yellow almost orange color, there is not that much Nitrate maybe like .50-1
Ph-7.6
High ph between 7.4-8.0 more on the 8.0 range

My question is am I on the right track?
How much longer should I wait?
What should I look for? or Track?

I am aiming to get my nitrites to 0 ammonia to 0 and Nitrates between 20-40ppm. At that point what level should my PH level be? I am going to put in tropical fish that don't grow larger than 4 inches
Thank You

 

[nirbhao]

You're doing great! Don't worry about your pH. Nitrates will get very high, but you'll do water changes to get them down before you add stock.

Your future fish thank you!

 

[AquaMan92]

Nirbhao

Thank You very much! I wasn't sure where I was at in the process. I will keep the community posted.

 

[Coco pebbles]

Your ammonia levels seem to be spiking so those should drop off soon. After that the nitrites will spike but that is just how to the cycle goes. Your ph is all good. Be aware however if your KH is low, you're ph could drop quickly. It drops slowly naturally. If that becomes the case and you're fish need a higher ph, add a buffer such as crushed coral which will raise the KH. Also I read to wait 24 hours before adding start up bacteria after you add water conditioner. I'm not sure if it's true, but if you set up a tank again I would wait so the water conditioner doesn't kill the bacteria.

 

[Coco pebbles]

Also you can add fish once your ammonia and nitrite hit 0. Those levels changing won't affect your ph.

 

[Coco pebbles]

Finally when stocking, stick to the one inch of fully grown fish to one gallon of water rule. If you overstock it will cause a lot more problems. There's also a surface area rule that can be found at howmanyfish.com which is very specific about how much fish you can have.

 

[nirbhao]

Finally when stocking, stick to the one inch of fully grown fish to one gallon of water rule. If you overstock it will cause a lot more problems. There's also a surface area rule that can be found at howmanyfish.com which is very specific about how much fish you can have.

Nope. The inch per gallon rule is not a good way to measure. You cannot put a 10" fish in a 10 gallon aquarium, for example.

Try aqadvisor.com. Not perfect, but a decent starting point.

 

[Coco pebbles]

You're right with the fact you can't put a 10" long fish in a 10 gallon, but wouldn't the 1 inch thing work for the tetras she's talking about?

 

[nirbhao]

I don't see anything about stocking other than tropical less than four inches. There are so many different types of tetras with hugely varying sizes that I wouldn't make a blanket statement about them.

There are some amazing fish you can put in a 10 gallon, but very few fit the inch per gallon rule.

 

[AquaMan92]

What is KH? Also how often should I dose ammonia? Should I does if the ammonia drops and there are not nitrites or nitrates? So far I have been dosing about one and and another half full of an ear dropper every two days.

 

[Fresh2o]

KH is carbonate hardness and it is a measurement of the carbonate and bicarbonate anions. The presence of these create a buffer system in your aquarium water. This can influence the stability of the pH. A low KH value can lead to fluctuations in pH. Distilled water would have a low KH. Certain materials such as crushed coral will increase the KH.
Regarding your question about the addition of ammonia, until you get a response, you should peruse the articles in the Stickies under Freshwater>Freshwater & Brackish - Getting Started. Lots of helpful information there.

 

[toolman]

Nope. The inch per gallon rule is not a good way to measure. You cannot put a 10" fish in a 10 gallon aquarium, for example.

Try aqadvisor.com. Not perfect, but a decent starting point.

2nd this opinion, inch per gallon rule doesn't take into account bioloads (waste) of individual fish or there space requirements if an active species.
Use Aqadvisor.com as suggested and do your research online, you have plenty of time to research while tank is cycling.

 

[nirbhao]

2nd this opinion, inch per gallon rule doesn't take into account bioloads (waste) of individual fish or there space requirements if an active species.

Also aggression. You want to add three male bettas or 20 pea puffers to a 10 gallon?

 

[toolman]

Very true, I forget some people keep aggressive fish, my livebearers are more interested in reproducing. Lol

 

[OnTheFly]

Very true, I forget some people keep aggressive fish, my livebearers are more interested in reproducing. Lol

Make love not war, most live-bearers are hippie fish.

 

[AquaMan92]

No I have not decided what fish I want to put exactly. Looking toward more smaller fish.

 

[AquaMan92]

I have another question. I have this huge sea shell laying around for decoration. I i use that in my tank? or will it effect the habitat?

 

[toolman]

If you want more smaller fish research endlers and pygmy corys, pygmys need to wait until tank stabilizes after your cycle, but they make a nice combo in a 10 gallon tank.

 

[nirbhao]

I have another question. I have this huge sea shell laying around for decoration. I i use that in my tank? or will it effect the habitat?

It might raise your pH a little, but nothing outside of a healthy range.

 

[AquaMan92]

I just got Anacharis plant no fish yet lol, hopefully this helps with the cycle. Its day 12 still no changes. I also ordered a zilla Malaysian driftwood. Found out you have to boil it for 2 hours before you can put it in the tank because it can stain the water. Well see how this goes