Water parameters (2 weeks)

[Eternia]

New tank 2 weeks since setup - no plants
Here are test results: mg/l
Ph: 7
Nh3: 0.6
No3: 5
No2: 0.3

Does this seem normal?

 

[torres]

there is nothing normal or abnormal, it takes time to get tank cycled.
after 1 month you can notice the difference.

Are you adding ammonia or flake food to get the bacteria to grow?

 

[Eternia]

Well.... I followed Hagen instructions that came with my 12gal tank. So I have used aqua plus and cycle to start as outlined in their book. I chose to use a mix of spring and ro water to start since our tap water is extremely hard. The tank sat running with no fish for a week and then I proceeded to test the water and it was good to go. Went out and bought 6 tetras and they are well so got 6 more about 4 days later. Fish are behaving well and are not showing any negative signs.
What really got me worried was all the posts here about fish less cycling and ammonia and the doom and gloom and how these products don't work and blah blah blah. I just want to make sure the fish are looked after since I may have not started out as some may feel I should have using CYCLE.

 

[torres]

I started my tank with fish-in cycle, and used aqua plus as well. btw i added 9 fishes after 2 days lol, none died, just 1 neon tetra for no reason latter on, he got some diseases.
Im using Prime Scheme, and IMO thats the best water conditioner out there, for who is doing fish-in cycle even better because it will make any ammonia produced in 24 hours in ammonium, which dont do any harm to the fish.

So, if you keep daily water changes, about 20%, its all fine.
What water conditioner are you using?

 

[Eternia]

Used nutrafin aqua plus

 

[Eternia]

And nutrafina a cycle
Also added nutrafina waste control once after first fish got in.

 

[torres]

Well, I think you are fine, after reading information about those conditioners, they seen to do the work good!
Just keep water changes, and 1 more think, I like to feed my fish every other day, to reduce waste, and like that, they wont let any food fall in the ground and dont worry, they wont starve like that.

 

[Eternia]

So how long does this process take? This week I did 2 pwc of 20% only because I noticed slight cloudiness and I was told to do 10% per week but I think that may refer to a cycled tank?

 

[torres]

10% is for who is already cycled yes.
You can keep yours at 15% or so every day until you see your ammonia going down to 0.25 i would say, then you can start doing water change every other day if you want, but when you see high nitrites, keep it everyday until its on 0.
Thats the way im doing here, my ammonia is at 0.25 for about 1 or 2 weeks and my nitrites at 0.
To get everything cycled, takes around 4 to 6 weeks, maybe more.

 

[Eternia]

Thank you for the help. Like I said all this cycling stuff posted here made me feel like a fool and I really want to keep the fishes happy and alive.
Again thanks. You've been a great help!

 

[jlk]

Hi! You are only on wk 2 of a fish-in cycle, correct? Cycling with fish can take anywhere from 6-8 weeks (or longer). You will need to test your levels daily and do water changes anytime your ammonia or nitrite hit .25ppm (or higher) to lower these levels. I would recommend doing a 50% water change with temperature-matched, conditioned water to cut these levels in half. It may take more than one 50% pwc to lower your levels if they are very high. Once your tank is fully cycled (0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, some nitrates), you should do atleast one 50% pwc a week to keep your nitrates at 20ppm or less. Please do not hesitate to ask questions!

 

[torres]

No bother and I would hear jlk too, i learnt alot from her too!! =)

 

[Eternia]

So the parameters I posted are acceptable? I did a 20% pwc yesterday should do one today too?
I try to do my water testing around the same time everyday because I was told I may get very different results if I were to test at random times.

 

[jlk]

So the parameters I posted are acceptable? I did a 20% pwc yesterday should do one today too?
I try to do my water testing around the same time everyday because I was told I may get very different results if I were to test at random times.

I would do a 50%pwc to get your levels lower. Dont be afraid to check your levels more than once a day & do water changes as needed. This will keep your fish healthy. Heres a link with some more information:

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/artic...g-but-I-already-have-fish-What-now/Page2.html

edit- sorry, missed spelled the link, it should work now!

 

[torres]

I test my water once a week because i know i wont get it dropped in 1 day, and as it staying around 0.25 and ammonium not hurting my fish, im doing every other day water change.
Keep them on everyday and test water once a week. Testing every day in my opinion is waste of time and product.

 

[jlk]

I test my water once a week because i know i wont get it dropped in 1 day, and as it staying around 0.25 and ammonium not hurting my fish, im doing every other day water change.
Keep them on everyday and test water once a week. Testing every day in my opinion is waste of time and product.

With fish-in cycling, you really should be checking your levels of ammonia & nitrite daily (even twice daily). They can spike overnight and result in fish demise from high toxin levels. Ammonium, while not as toxic to fish as ammonia, is still not healthy for fish. Products, such as Prime, only work for 24-48hrs for converting ammonia and/or nitrite and do not replace the need for water changes to reduce toxin levels.

 

[librarygirl]

Good advice from Jlk. If you haven't seen it, this is a link to the fish-in cycle guide: I just learned about cycling but I already have fish. What now?!

 

[Eternia]

Thanks everyone for the help!!!
Blessings