Confusing test results- new aquarium

[matty2085]

Hi all,

OK, so this is a long story which I will try to keep short. I purchased a brand new aquarium 3 weeks ago, 130 litre Aquaone. I decided that I would do a fish-in cycle, having had success with this method before. I filled that tank with gravel and plants (fake) and let it sit for a couple of days. I then introduced 6 guppies to start my cycle. At the same time I purchased several individual water quality test kits; ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. I tested the water for the first time after about 5 days of initially setting up the aquarium and to my suprise I had no ammonia, relatively high nitrites and some nitrates. After several more days of testing and being annoyed at the difficulty in distinguishing colours of test results I bought myself an API matertest kit...much better and clearer. I have been testing the water everyday for the past 2 weeks (3 weeks in total) and I still have not seen any ammonia at all. I guess my main question is could I have missed the occurence of ammonia? As I have fish in the aquarium I am assuming that ammonia is being produced? It does appear that nitrites rose and have now started dropping (possibly due to several small water changes) and that nitrates certainly did increase.

I guess I just want to know whether I have done something wrong or whether the ammonia spike was very fast and quite low that I missed it. I understand the nitrogen cycle and the various methods of cycling a tank, however any thoughts on this would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance and please feel free to ask any questions. I want to get to the bottom of this before I started stocking proper.

 

[LyndaB]

Guppies have such a small bioload, it could be that you missed the ammonia cycle. Glad you got the API kit. Much better than all that other garbage out there.

 

[Samzter]

The ammonia spike might of already happened . By the sound of it you should nearly be cycled . When your levels read ammonia: 0 nitrite:0 nitrate:5-20

 

[matty2085]

Absolutley agree...I forget what the brand of this other test kit was but it was worse than useless. API all the way. Well I am a little more reassured then that I may have just missed the ammonia spike. Higher nitrite levels wont have affected the ammonia "eating" bacteria would they? I am now somewhere between 2ppm and 5ppm on nitrite and performing PWC's every other day.

Another quick question, how long should i leave tap water with dechlorinator in it before adding it to the aquarium, how long dos it need to take affect and neutralise the "bad stuff" in the tap water. I really hope this cycle is going ok as I can't wait to start adding some more "exotic" fish...although guppies are very cute...these ones in particular are very happy and excited when anyone comes near the tank.

Thanks for your replies and anymore feedback or suggestions would be much appreciated

 

[LyndaB]

I pour my Prime (dechlorinator) into the tank when I add the new water to it. There's no need to wait. It works instantly.

 

[Borderlesscott]

I agree with Samzter, you could have had the ammonia spike already if Nitrites are showing, just keep an eye on the fish - it does not always kill them straight away and keep up the testing until you are fully cycled. It's a good feeling when your done especially after all those tests!

 

[matty2085]

Absolutely. I will keep testing daily and will keep an eye on this fish. As I said they seem pretty frisky for now so hopefully the nitrite will get to 0 soon.

 

[librarygirl]

Have you tested your tap water for nitrite, ammonia and nitrate? If not, you should do so. It's possible you missed the ammonia phase due to the light stocking but nitrites are pretty high. Check your tap water. If nitrites are 0 from your tap that's good and the cycle is progressing. You want to try to keep nitrite as low as you can though as it's as toxic to fish as ammonia and 2-5 is pretty high for fish.

 

[tamtam]

totally agree with library girl.

Not only with the high nitrites being toxic to your fish but the tap water test. Aside from wondering if there is nitrite in there I'm wondering if you have any nitrates in there too. Just a good standing point so your not getting your hopes up about seeing nitrates.

 

[matty2085]

I have nitrates in my aquarium...between 10 and 20 ppm. I tested my tap water for nitrites and the reading was 0. I will run a test for nirates today as well on the tap water. Will let you know the results.

 

[matty2085]

OK, so by way of an update. Tested the aquarium today pre PWC. Ammonia 0ppm, Nitrite appeared 1-2ppm, and Nitrate around 20ppm. Did my water change and a bit of decor moving lol, and let the water circulate for a few hours. Tested again and had Ammonia 0ppm, Nitrite .25ppm and Nitrate of around 10ppm. Tested the tap water and was suprised to see that it did indeed have between 10 and 20ppm Nitrate...the colours are very similar. So now I know where the nitrates are coming from!

Will test again tomorrow and see how my nitrites are doing. But I'm guessing that after 3 weeks and no ammonia I am well into the Nitrite => Nitrate phase based on these results.

We shall see

 

[LyndaB]

Please note if you're using Prime as your dechlorinator, if you test less than 24 hours after dosing with Prime, you will not get accurate readings.

 

[matty2085]

No..I'm using the API stress coat (I think it's called). But will test again tomorrow and see what the results are like then anyway.

 

[fishfool58]

Absolutley agree...I forget what the brand of this other test kit was but it was worse than useless. API all the way. Well I am a little more reassured then that I may have just missed the ammonia spike. Higher nitrite levels wont have affected the ammonia "eating" bacteria would they? I am now somewhere between 2ppm and 5ppm on nitrite and performing PWC's every other day.

Another quick question, how long should i leave tap water with dechlorinator in it before adding it to the aquarium, how long dos it need to take affect and neutralise the "bad stuff" in the tap water. I really hope this cycle is going ok as I can't wait to start adding some more "exotic" fish...although guppies are very cute...these ones in particular are very happy and excited when anyone comes near the tank.

Thanks for your replies and anymore feedback or suggestions would be much appreciated

If you were to use prime or anything else, it's easier IMO & cheaper.. To treat the water in the bucket before adding instead of having to treat the whole tank.. Ideally treating three 5 gallon buckets is cheaper than treating a 75 gallon tank..(just using that size as a reference) prime works instantly.. I put my prime in the bucket before adding water, as to let it mix itself..

 

[matty2085]

Yea thats exacty how i treat my water before adding it. I tend to add the dechlorinator to the water as it is mixing in my 14 litre bucket ( the biggest bucket I have!). I assumed the water movement would help with the treating process...just wasn't sure whether other people let the water stand for a while before topping up after a PWC. Thanks for the response

 

[fishfool58]

Yea thats exacty how i treat my water before adding it. I tend to add the dechlorinator to the water as it is mixing in my 14 litre bucket ( the biggest bucket I have!). I assumed the water movement would help with the treating process...just wasn't sure whether other people let the water stand for a while before topping up after a PWC. Thanks for the response

I let my water sit sometimes.. Mainly because I leave a heater in it to get it the same temp as tank water..

 

[Borderlesscott]

Would it not be quicker to add hot water from a kettle and use one of those cheap digital thermometers to make sure the temp is right then add, thats what i do, seems like a lot of extra work sticking a heater in there and waiting.

 

[fishfool58]

Would it not be quicker to add hot water from a kettle and use one of those cheap digital thermometers to make sure the temp is right then add, thats what i do, seems like a lot of extra work sticking a heater in there and waiting.

I have it all setup, doesn't take but maybe 10-15 mins.. & while I wait I normally mess with another tank.. So I'm not just sitting there twiddling my thumbs.. Lol.