How much is too much?

[Queen of Thorns]

I added 3 Boesemani rainbowfish to my 29 gallon aquarium Friday. Since my aquarium has only been running for two months and I've just been keeping two fish in it (a bronze cory and a rubbernose pleco), I've been worried about a mini-cycle killing all of my new pets. For the past five days, I've been doing daily 20% PWCs. Is this helpful or harmful?

My parameters for the past five days have been:
pH: 6.8
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrites: 0 ppm
Nitrates: 10 ppm
KH: 35.8 ppm

 

[Jchillin]

You would only run the risk of a mini-cycle if you overload the filters bio-load. It is always a good idea to wait until more beneficial bacteria colonize your gravel and decor before adding additional fish. Since you added the rainbows, you should test your parameters again tomorrow and see what happens.

 

[jersysman]

If I am not mistake, the KH 35.8 ppm reading is kinda low. You may have to watch for some ph swings. Or get something to raise the KH rating and buffer the water.

 

[Jchillin]

True...the 35.8 ppm equals 2dkh...very low indeed.