Started cycle

[Rivercats]

So, I did about a 90 percent water change because it seemed like everything was actually high. I have high PH again but very little ammonia. I'm about to dose it back up now. Everything else is at zero. I have fish flakes now. Do I need to add some?

Redose your ammonia back up to 4 again. Doing that large of a WC wasn't necessary but it didn't hurt anything with the BB in your filter. Don't worry about your PH as it is not uncommon for it to fluctuate during cycling. The only reason for the WC was to lower the nitrates a little so they don't get so high you have to do several WC's after the tank is fully cycled because they got so high during the cycle. Your cycle is moving along so don't worry so much about it.

 

[KPhilly]

Redose your ammonia back up to 4 again. Doing that large of a WC wasn't necessary but it didn't hurt anything with the BB in your filter. Don't worry about your PH as it is not uncommon for it to fluctuate during cycling. The only reason for the WC was to lower the nitrates a little so they don't get so high you have to do several WC's after the tank is fully cycled because they got so high during the cycle. Your cycle is moving along so don't worry so much about it.

I had some tannis going on so i just went ahead and did a large change. As far as live plants, they come in today. Will they actually help the BB?

 

[Rivercats]

Plants use ammonia and nitrates and aid in cycling but they have nothing to do with your BB.

 

[KPhilly]

Hey Rivercats, what were the dry ferts you were talking about?

 

[Rivercats]

Here's the ones I use but you also need to order a 3rd 500ml dosing bottle..... PPS-Pro | Aquarium Fertilizer | Green Leaf Aquariums. I can help you with them once you have them and are ready to mix.

 

[PAwrangler08]

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but since I will be starting my cycle in the next day or two, is anyone adding any amount of salt to their FW tanks? I did before in my 40gal and heard about people doing it. But I'm not sure if I should with my 150gal. And if you are adding salt, when should you during the cycle?

 

[KPhilly]

I'm not adding anything just for the fact that I don't want to make it more complicated than it has to be. My cycle is getting close to being done and all I used was pure ammonia. No seeding material or anything. It's been cycling for about two and a half weeks. My tank is around 90 gallons too.

 

[KPhilly]

Here's the ones I use but you also need to order a 3rd 500ml dosing bottle..... PPS-Pro | Aquarium Fertilizer | Green Leaf Aquariums. I can help you with them once you have them and are ready to mix.

We may have a problem. I'm converting almost all of my Ammonia in 24 hours. My Nitrites are coming down too. I tested my PH though, it's around 6.4 .....

 

[Rivercats]

That is normal. Just add a teaspoon of baking soda wait an hour then retest Ph. Do this until your Ph is up to where you want it.

 

[KPhilly]

I'm just curious. How does the baking soda affect the PH?

 

[Rivercats]

Baking soda is a buffer and will increase your Kh, which will in turn increase your Ph.

 

[KPhilly]

Will it stay stable?

 

[Rivercats]

Yes it will.

 

[KPhilly]

Well, I have pond snails.

 

[Rivercats]

If you would give new plants a hydrogen peroxide rinse or bath prior to planting that usually kills most pond snails. Pond snails are generally considered nuisance snails.

 

[KPhilly]

Looks like I'll be investing in loaches or assassin snails.

 

[Rivercats]

I personally don't like assassin snails because then you can add snails like Nerites or Malaysian Trumpet Snails which I consider good snails. I have 6 Angelicus or Botia Kubotai loaches in my 220g and love them. Another favorite is Dwarf Chain Loaches, Botia sidthimunki. I just added 6 Burmese Rosey Loaches to my 55g nano fish tank and they go after the tiny little snails.

 

[KPhilly]

I really wanted to get Blue Nerite snail but won't the loaches eat them?

 

[Rivercats]

Larger loaches can. When I had yo-yo loaches they loved pond snails but left the MTS and larger olive and tiger/zebra alone. They would eat the small horned or spiny nerites.

 

[KPhilly]

I don't want to get all my plants uprooted.