Confused by Water Params

[thatlouguy]

Happy Holidays all:

On Saturday I added Bio-Spira to my 34g tank that had began cyccling about 2 weeks ago. I've done water tests each day. The vendor had said that it may take several days for bacteria to build in a tank that already had fish. The bacteria needed to catch up with the ammonia and nitrites that had already accumulated. The water params today are Ammonia 1.0 and Nitrites have spiked at 5.0. I'm hesitant to do a water change for fear of reducing any bacteria. My wife seems to feel that a drop in Ammonia and spike in Nitrites is a good thing. She thinks Nitrates may be building. The water is clear and the community shows no signs of stress. How are we doing? Any suggestions. Any input would be appreciated!

Thanks, Lou

[loganj]

IMO, a water change will not affect the bacteria population much. Most of it is attached to substrate, tank walls, filter media, ect.... Again, IMO, the nitrites are a bit high. If they didn't rapidly come down, I'd probably do a water change to lower them a bit. Continue to monitor levels every day. If the ammonia drops to 0 and the nitrites begin to fall, I'd say you're well on the way to having the tank cycled. When both ammonia and nitrite are at 0, and nitrates are beginning to build, you should be in the clear. If the fish show any signs of stress, do an immediate water change. I would leave the filter media alone until the tank has cycled. JMHO.

[thatlouguy]

Thanks for your input logan: I agree and will do as you suggested. Any idea how I would monitor (measure) Nitrates? I was told there is no need to test for them in a freshwater tank but how do you know when they start to build.

Thanks again, Lou

[mgkaelen]

my experience with bio spira was similar. it took almost a week to lower the nitrites. i didn't do a water change because i was also scared to lose precious bacteria. i guess it wouldn't have hurt, but i didn't. i just waited out the week, checked the water params at the end of the week and all of a sudden the water was normal. i was nervous that the nitrites were burning my fish (cycled with 10 silver tipped tetras) but they all made it and are still happy little fish! logan's right... it should just be a few more days and you should be in the clear =]

[thatlouguy]

Hi mgkaelen:

Yea, I'm a little worried because the Nitrites are really high but the Ammonia is 0. I'm gonna give it till Sunday before I take any action. Everybody looks happy. Thanks!

[mgkaelen]

the exact same thing happened to me!!! my ammonia was at 0 so i thought that the bio spira didn't work because i thought the entire cycle would be complete, you know?? i was freaking out and mad that i spent all the money and it wasn't going to work anymore, but you must just be at the part of the cycle when there's the spike... give it 4-5 more days and i guarantee all will be perfect!! i'm sure all your fish will be fine, too! ! keep us posted!

[BrianNY]

Hi Lou, Red Sea makes the best Nitrate Test Kit IMO. It's something you should test on a weekly basis after your tank has cycled Yer doin a good job!
Brian

[thatlouguy]

Its great having all of you to turn to for help! You guys are the best! Thanks for sharing what you went through mgkaelen and for the vote of confidence Brian!

[loganj]

I've used the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals kit, the Red Sea kit, and the dip strips for FW nitrate. I like the Red Sea best because it gives you two different scales and the color is easier to match. I try to keep nitrates on FW tanks below 20.

[thatlouguy]

Yea, I'll look for that kit the next time and I'll keep that Nitrate level in mind. Thanks

[mgkaelen]

hey lou.... i'm still pretty new with my tank (29gal that i just got on my birthday--october) , but i still don't have any test kits. i know, shame shame. i should probably have them, but the truth is, i'm in my LFS very often. once a week, maybe 2-3 times a month, and i always bring a water sample just to double check that everything is okay. i keep my tank totally normal, no huge bio load,,, i don't do anything that would cause a huge disruption in the tank. in fact one of the clerks at the LFS said that since i come in so often, it's really not necessary to spend the $$$ on the kits since i get the water tested anyhow! although i definitely woudln't say DONT GET TEST KITS, because they're good to have around.. though i do know they can get $$$ if you have more than one kind of kit that you want ! =]

[thatlouguy]

Hey mgkaelen... only had your tank a few months... you could have fooled me. From what you've written, it certainly seems you have a good handle on what your doing! The problem I'm having with my lfs is that I get some conflicting info from them. I do water tests to double check their results and rely on the good people on this site to verify the info I get from them. I actually trust the lfs I use more then any other in town. After I lost a black neon to ich very soon after getting my tank, then discovering the tank at the lfs was infested, I don't take anything I hear as gospel unless I hear it from several sources. In fact I ran out and got a 6g QT just to be safe. (its a pain in the butt being a pain in the butt).
BTW: Love your avartars and frog names!

[mgkaelen]

hahaha thanks lou... i'm trying to get off the side of asking all the questions and trying to get on the side of starting to answer people's questions on here. ha ha. but i still always have questions myself.

i definitely have the problem of conflicting info from the LFS. i try my best to ask people here in the forum because i can get more than one opinion on the matter and then i just cross my fingers that the guy in the LFS gives me the answer i'm looking for. ha ha!

get some pictures up in your gallery! i want to see your platy's and albino rainbow shark. i would <3 platties in my tank but i'm saving room for gourami's and an elephant nose!

[thatlouguy]

I can tell you the input you've given me has been a big help. Just knowing there are people out there that share their experience builds confidence. I've already started to populate the QT with a real colorful Beta, 2 Stawberry Tetras, 2 Red Wag Swordtails and the lfs replced the black neon we lost. I think once we add these to the main community, we're maxed out on space and there are still so many we want (the Elephant Nose are so cool) We got this hex tank because we couldn't find a place for a rectangle but now we're thinking "do we really need that couch?" LOL. I'd also like some Gourami and some Angel but from what I hear, they both can get aggressive. Also, our Rainbow sharks are maybe 2" at the most but we just saw one at a store that was a good 6". I didn't consider them getting that big. If they all grow like that we may be in trouble. so we may "need" another tank sooner than later. I'll see if I can get some pics up soon.

Lou