Nitrites

[Revenantwing]

oh... i think im missing one part with shaking the test tube itself for 1 minute. ill be trying it in the morning since i already did my pwc. Thanks. but ill be back if my things haven't changed. Which they probably aren't because I've only seen nitrites once.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

never saw nitrates. 5 gallon that has been running for a month with a betta and apple snail. I have Java moss and Java fern in the tank.

OK, you're cycled IMO. I'm surprised you're even seeing ammo with that light of a bio-load. The plants (great selection by the way ) are soaking up most of the no3 and the bacteria are getting the rest. There's probably a little bit left in the water, but the API test might not be accurate enough to see them. Below is a link to testing for no3, I'd suggest you test it again following the guidelines and see if the no3 shows up.

What kind of filter do you have on it and do you have a heater?


Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Freshwater/Saltwater Nitrate Test Kit, Test kit of 90 tests

 

[Revenantwing]

yep a 50 watt heater that keeps it at a steady 76 F. I have a sponge filter with a bubble wand in the back.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

yep a 50 watt heater that keeps it at a steady 76 F. I have a sponge filter with a bubble wand in the back.

Sounds like a good setup, I don't know sponge filters but it might be clogged (causing ammo to spike) so a light rinse in tank water after a PWC might help. Don't use tap water, as any bacteria on the sponge will die. If you have gravel, a lot of bacteria will colonize there, so rinsing the sponges shouldn't do anything, but someone with more experience with them might have a better answer.

 

[Revenantwing]

Will do thanks and even after i followed the instructions step by step my nitrates still at 0 :/

 

[mudraker]

I have to respectfully disagree that your tank is cycled.

If you are showing ammonia, no nitrites and no nitrates and the fish load is light, the plants could be interfering with the cycling process.

Mr. and I have disagreed on this issue before

Java moss is a fairly aggressive eater of ammonia and nitrite.

It is essential to the health of your betta and the snail there be no toxins from either.

Those plants will definately help keep whatever nitrates later come down to low or nonexistant levels once the cycle is complete.

This will be very good for the betta.

 

[Revenantwing]

my java moss is starting to spread all over my driftwood and it looks nice . So if the plants are interfering with the cycling does that mean i take them out?

 

[Mr. Limpet]

Will do thanks and even after i followed the instructions step by step my nitrates still at 0 :/

Yeah, The shades of brown are so close to the same, even after a few dozen tests of no3, I still have a hard time gauging it. Unless it's super bright yellow, I'm guessing you have some in there. But the plants you have (java moss in particular) soak it up pretty good.

 

[Revenantwing]

guess in a a week or two i can say im cycled :]

 

[Revenantwing]

oh dear... i hate these thin test tubes D:. Fell and broke.

 

[eco23]

Yeah, The shades of brown are so close to the same, even after a few dozen tests of no3, I still have a hard time gauging it. Unless it's super bright yellow, I'm guessing you have some in there. But the plants you have (java moss in particular) soak it up pretty good.

If I had to bet, I'm going with Mr. Limpet on this one. The API kit (while a great kit), is probably responsible for 30% of the confusion on this site. Literally every day I ask someone to go back and test again properly...and they come back with different results. I've gotta put the instructions in my sig to save some typing, lol.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

my java moss is starting to spread all over my driftwood and it looks nice . So if the plants are interfering with the cycling does that mean i take them out?

Nope the java moss is growing that good because it's feeding off the no3 (and ammo some). I'd say you're cycled and it happened so fast it was hardly noticeable. Smaller tanks cycle faster and if your Betta is looking good and making a bubble nest (males only, I think), that means it's happy and the environment (tank) is in good shape. I think the snail is a better gauge, because they're pretty sensitive to harsh conditions. Mine tried to climb out of a tank when I had an unexpected ammo spike lol.

 

[Revenantwing]

i tested properly this time :] same problem though :/. My male betta use to make bubble nests but now he cant since the surface cant hold bubbles. Surface agitation is good for the betta but not for the bubbles.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

oh dear... i hate these thin test tubes D:. Fell and broke.

Been there, done that lol . Thankfully they give you 4.

 

[Revenantwing]

My snail always seemed to stay calm even during my ammonia spike.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

i tested properly this time :] same problem though :/. My male betta use to make bubble nests but now he cant since the surface cant hold bubbles. Surface agitation is good for the betta but not for the bubbles.

Bettas like a calm area at the surface, since they breathe from there so I have mine set up to kinda push diagonally across the tank and it keeps one part calm and he must have 300 bubbles there. When I clean the tank and do a PWC I can see he gets mad, because he has to start all over lol.

 

[Revenantwing]

2 inches from my sponge filter is kinda agitated. from there its just smooth.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

2 inches from my sponge filter is kinda agitated. from there its just smooth.

So just a small area is calm?

 

[Revenantwing]

3/4 is kinda calm.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

3/4 is kinda calm.

Oh lol. I'm surprised he doesn't do a bubble nest anymore.

One thing you might want to do when doing a PWC, is vacuum the gravel to clean up any detritus, as that contributes to ammo in the water too.