Water Change?

[BlazedSaint]

So im within my first 36 hours of having fish in a cycled tank, my ammonia ia 0 my nitrite is .25 my nitrate is 10.0, i put a bottle of live bacteria in with the fish yesterday afternoon, should i do a water change to reduce the .25 nitrite or allow the live bacteria's i added yesterday and the ones already developed in my tank to convert it?

 

[Sillyfishies]

So im within my first 36 hours of having fish in a cycled tank, my ammonia ia 0 my nitrite is .25 my nitrate is 10.0, i put a bottle of live bacteria in with the fish yesterday afternoon, should i do a water change to reduce the .25 nitrite or allow the live bacteria's i added yesterday and the ones already developed in my tank to convert it?

How'd you cycle the tank?

 

[BlazedSaint]

How'd you cycle the tank?

with plants and just ended the 7 day stability treatment, also added a bottle of live bacteria before i added the fish

 

[Sillyfishies]

with plants and just ended the 7 day stability treatment, also added a bottle of live bacteria before i added the fish

Did you add ammonia or anything?

 

[BlazedSaint]

Did you add ammonia or anything?

i did not, as my water contains a decent amount of ammonia, and even after priming the water i couldnt get all the ammonia to go away, so i have added it in that regard but no i didnt add any straight ammonia

 

[Sillyfishies]

i did not, as my water contains a decent amount of ammonia, and even after priming the water i couldnt get all the ammonia to go away, so i have added it in that regard but no i didnt add any straight ammonia

So you got a reading of ammonia 0, nitrite 0, and nitrate 10+?

 

[BBradbury]

Cycled Tank

So im within my first 36 hours of having fish in a cycled tank, my ammonia ia 0 my nitrite is .25 my nitrate is 10.0, i put a bottle of live bacteria in with the fish yesterday afternoon, should i do a water change to reduce the .25 nitrite or allow the live bacteria's i added yesterday and the ones already developed in my tank to convert it?

Hello Blazed...

I really question the effectiveness of the bottled bacteria. Not sure it's worth the money. The natural bacteria that lives in the filter media and on all the surfaces in the tank, reproduces very quickly as long as there's a source of ammonia and nitrite in the water.

I would recommend testing the water daily, and if a test shows a trace of ammonia or nitrite in the water, perform a water change of no more than 25 percent of the volume of the tank. This will return the chemistry to a safe level for the fish and still leave food for the bacteria to grow.

The tank won't be settled (cycled) until you have several daily tests showing "0" ammonia and nitrites.

B

 

[BlazedSaint]

Hello Blazed...

I really question the effectiveness of the bottled bacteria. Not sure it's worth the money. The natural bacteria that lives in the filter media and on all the surfaces in the tank, reproduces very quickly as long as there's a source of ammonia and nitrite in the water.

I would recommend testing the water daily, and if a test shows a trace of ammonia or nitrite in the water, perform a water change of no more than 25 percent of the volume of the tank. This will return the chemistry to a safe level for the fish and still leave food for the bacteria to grow.

The tank won't be settled (cycled) until you have several daily tests showing "0" ammonia and nitrites.

B

ooooooooo, kk, my nitrite ammonia and nitrites seem to be hovering between 0 and .25 but it changes kinda through out the day, but ill do a water change as soon as i get home. perhaps my tank just needs a little time to finish doing its cycling thing

 

[BlazedSaint]

Hello Blazed...

I really question the effectiveness of the bottled bacteria. Not sure it's worth the money. The natural bacteria that lives in the filter media and on all the surfaces in the tank, reproduces very quickly as long as there's a source of ammonia and nitrite in the water.

I would recommend testing the water daily, and if a test shows a trace of ammonia or nitrite in the water, perform a water change of no more than 25 percent of the volume of the tank. This will return the chemistry to a safe level for the fish and still leave food for the bacteria to grow.

The tank won't be settled (cycled) until you have several daily tests showing "0" ammonia and nitrites.

B

also i agree the bateria in a bottle thing, i have seen alot of success stories on line with these products, but i dont trust them 100% i just added an 8 oz bottle when i added the fish to try and cover my butt just incase ive made a mistake somewhere, lost one fish out of 5 last night but he might have been a bad one to start with, but ill check water and post readings as soon as i get home this evening

 

[BBradbury]

Hello again Blazed...

Time is needed for the good bacteria to reproduce to a level that it can use all the ammonia and nitrites produced by the dissolved fish waste. A month or a bit more is the normal time needed. All you need to do is test the water every day. If there's a trace of either ammonia or nitrites in the tank water, you'll need to remove a quarter of the water and replace it with pure, treated tap water of roughly the same temperature as the water you removed. That's all and do this until several daily tests show no trace of the above forms of nitrogen.

Common water weed (Anacharis) is available at most pet stores that sell fish. This plant will use the nitrogen from the fish waste for food and will help keep the water safer for the fish.

B

 

[BlazedSaint]

Hello again Blazed...

Time is needed for the good bacteria to reproduce to a level that it can use all the ammonia and nitrites produced by the dissolved fish waste. A month or a bit more is the normal time needed. All you need to do is test the water every day. If there's a trace of either ammonia or nitrites in the tank water, you'll need to remove a quarter of the water and replace it with pure, treated tap water of roughly the same temperature as the water you removed. That's all and do this until several daily tests show no trace of the above forms of nitrogen.

Common water weed (Anacharis) is available at most pet stores that sell fish. This plant will use the nitrogen from the fish waste for food and will help keep the water safer for the fish.

B

Right on man, thank you for the info, also ill look into the anacharis, i have anubius and 1 string of hornwort(plants still recovering from being shipped here) from what ive read anubius will eat ammonia and nirtate, are they equivalent to the anacharis as in keeping the waters safer?

 

[BBradbury]

Blazed...

Floating, stem plants are the best for nutrient use. Anacharis and Pennywort are two very good ones, because they have many small roots that take in the nitrogen from the water. The fish produce the waste and like everything else, it dissolves in the tank water and nourishes the plants. It saves a lot of money on fertilizers. I've always had these plants in my tanks. Anacharis also gives off a natural toxin that slows or halts the growth of many kinds of algae. My planted tanks have little visible algae in them and I think it's because there's so much Anacharis in the tanks.

 

[BlazedSaint]

Blazed...

Floating, stem plants are the best for nutrient use. Anacharis and Pennywort are two very good ones, because they have many small roots that take in the nitrogen from the water. The fish produce the waste and like everything else, it dissolves in the tank water and nourishes the plants. It saves a lot of money on fertilizers. I've always had these plants in my tanks. Anacharis also gives off a natural toxin that slows or halts the growth of many kinds of algae. My planted tanks have little visible algae in them and I think it's because there's so much Anacharis in the tanks.

Right on man, ill pick some up thursday