10 Gal Betta - Cycle Question

[matthewjensen3]

Hello everyone,

I have a 10 gallon tank with a heater, filter, and various decor/silk plants (not real). I have had my betta in the tank for ~2 weeks (yes, I made the mistake of doing a fish-in cycle before doing my research!).

Since I introduced the fish ~2 weeks ago, my readings haven't changed much. They are as follows:

Ammonia: 0.25
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0

I conditioned my tank with Prime when I set it up to ensure the safety of my betta and then have monitored the parameters twice/day (before and after work) to make sure my baby is safe. I have never seen anything more than the 0.25 ammonia mentioned above.

I made the mistake of adding the TSS+ in full after setting up the tank and using the Prime (from what I've read, you should wait 24 hours before adding the TSS if you used Prime). So, to be safe, I waited 48 hours and then added a full bottle of the TSS+ again. Nothing has really changed, and my numbers remain the same.

My betta seems very happy and active, and I've had no concerns. I feed him daily using pellets (and I feed him one by one to ensure he's eating them all). I haven't done a water change since I put in the TSS+ because that was the recommendation.

Any suggestions? Could my bioload be 'too low?' I would think at .25 ammonia, the bacteria wouldn't take long to convert that. I also realized my filter (Aqueon Quietflow 10) had an 'ammonia reducing pad' as the last stage of filtration before the water re-entered the tank. I removed that pad and rigged the filter a bit to add a piece of foam at the beginning (for mechanical) and ceramic bio rings following that (for biological) and then my carbon filter it came with last. I realize now that carbon filters aren't the best as they need to be replaced every 4 weeks (and I've read mixed reviews about keeping it in the tank for too long after expiring), but I also don't want to ruin my cycle by removing it now...so I'm planning to 'cut out' the activated carbon once it expires but keeping the pouch/filter floss there to prevent the loss of all of my BB.

Sorry for the long-winded post but I'm at a loss. Again, my betta seems very happy, but I am constantly worried about her!

[Andy Sager]

For starters, I don't have a clue what TSS+ is. Please spell out what you are using as there are many products with similar initials.
1 Betta in a 10 gallon tank is going to take quite some time to show any real biological numbers. That you had an ammonia removing pad in the filter would have kept your tank from doing any kind of cycling so your time frame starts when you removed that pad. If you have no plans on adding more fish, you could replace the pad and just keep the tank as is because water changes alone should keep your water quality high. Get into the habit of a weekly water change.
As for the ammonia test result, are you using a liquid test or a test strip?

[matthewjensen3]

Originally Posted by Andy Sager

For starters, I don't have a clue what TSS+ is. Please spell out what you are using as there are many products with similar initials.
1 Betta in a 10 gallon tank is going to take quite some time to show any real biological numbers. That you had an ammonia removing pad in the filter would have kept your tank from doing any kind of cycling so your time frame starts when you removed that pad. If you have no plans on adding more fish, you could replace the pad and just keep the tank as is because water changes alone should keep your water quality high. Get into the habit of a weekly water change.
As for the ammonia test result, are you using a liquid test or a test strip?

Sorry, Tetra Safe Start +.

I am using liquid API tests.

[Andy Sager]

Originally Posted by matthewjensen3

Sorry, Tetra Safe Start +.

I am using liquid API tests.

Okay. Since you added items to a tank that had items that could remove what the added items need to survive, I go back to the bioload being too small to show any real signs. Just an FYI, if you added nothing, usually you don't see an ammonia reading until at least 7-10 days unless you really overloaded the tank with fish. I get the feeling you are misreading the ammonia test result or you are not reading it in bright enough light. Take the test again when you can read the result in natural sunlight. That will give you the most accurate reading. Ammonia comes in 2 forms, ammonia and ammonium. Ammonia is toxic while ammonium is not unless in very high amounts. The API tests do not differentiate which one it is reading but you can know by doing a Ph test. In water with a Ph below 7.0, it's ammonium. If it's above 7.0, it's ammonia.
If you are seeing an accurate result, .25 ppm ammonia is not really an alarming number to be concerned about as long as it stays stable. If it starts to climb, you need to do water changes to keep it low.

[matthewjensen3]

Thank you!

[Andy Sager]

Originally Posted by matthewjensen3

Thank you!