Cycling / Water testing questions

[Lynn W.]

Okay, so I am a newbie with fish in the tank who is trying to cycle. I have 8 fish (mostly mollies and platies) in a 20 gallon tank. The tank has been running--filter, heater, live plants (but not cycling)--for a week now. I put the first fish in on Thursday, but didn't learn about cycling until Friday. Since then, I have done a 33% water change, bought an API water test kit, added more plants and 2 Bio balls. I have treated the water with Stability and Prime. So far, all the fish are doing well. I realize I am looking at weeks of water changes and treating the tank. I have some questions about water testing:

Do I test all 4 things (pH, Ammonia, Nitrites, and Nitrates) each time?
Do I test before AND after each water change?
The ammonia level was 1.0 this last time, but the Nitites were still high (5.0) and the Nitrates were 160. (The pH was 7.6.) As the ammonia and nitrites go down, do I still use the Prime or should I have something to treat only the elements that are too high? (Something like Ammo-lock or Nitra-zorb.)
Do I add the things like Prime (or Nitra-zorb, if I need to buy that) to the tap water before it goes into the tank during the water change or can it be added to the tank after the tap water is added?
The clerk at Pet Smart told me that I don't need to use a dechlorinator / slime coat treatment if I am using Prime. True?

I'll be doing another partial water replacement this morning and I'll probably test before and after.

Oh, and how do I clean the little test tubes with the test kit? I know not to use soap. Do I use something like vinegar and water and rinse them in hot water?

Thanks (in advance) for all the expert help!

 

[librarygirl]

Hi and welcome! My replies below in blue...

Okay, so I am a newbie with fish in the tank who is trying to cycle. I have 8 fish (mostly mollies and platies) in a 20 gallon tank. The tank has been running--filter, heater, live plants (but not cycling)--for a week now. I put the first fish in on Thursday, but didn't learn about cycling until Friday. Since then, I have done a 33% water change, bought an API water test kit, added more plants and 2 Bio balls. I have treated the water with Stability and Prime. So far, all the fish are doing well. I realize I am looking at weeks of water changes and treating the tank. I have some questions about water testing:

Do I test all 4 things (pH, Ammonia, Nitrites, and Nitrates) each time?
Yes.

Do I test before AND after each water change?
Test before for sure, so you know the levels. If the levels are pretty low and a water change will get them lower you don't have to test after (e.g. if ammonia is .25 and the other levels are fine) but you can if you want to double-check. If something is high, do the water change and then test again after to see if you need to do another water change (e.g. if nitrites are 2, a 50% water change should bring them down to 1, but you can test an hour or so after the water change to check the levels and see if another water change is needed.) In short, there's no harm in testing after the water change too just to be safe.

The ammonia level was 1.0 this last time, but the Nitites were still high (5.0) and the Nitrates were 160. (The pH was 7.6.)
Those numbers are pretty high for just having fish for a few days. Have you tested your tap water for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate? I'd test your tap water to see if any of those things are coming from your tap. With that said, all of those levels are pretty high for fish, so you'd need to do a few back-to-back 50% water changes to get them down, unless your tap has high levels of some of those.

As the ammonia and nitrites go down, do I still use the Prime or should I have something to treat only the elements that are too high? (Something like Ammo-lock or Nitra-zorb.)
No, the less chemicals you use the better. Always use Prime to dechlorinate water. It will help detoxify the toxins in the water so the fish aren't harmed by them. WIth that said, Prime only detoxes to a certain point and it only lasts for 24-48 hours, so it shouldn't be used in place of water changes when toxins start to rise.

Do I add the things like Prime (or Nitra-zorb, if I need to buy that) to the tap water before it goes into the tank during the water change or can it be added to the tank after the tap water is added?
You can do it one of two ways. If you're using buckets, you can treat each bucket with Prime before you add it back to the tank (I think the dosing for PRime is 2 drops per gallon, but adding some extra won't hurt). If you're using a water changer that is attached to your faucet, you can drain the water, add enough Prime for the whole volume of the tank (not just the water you are replacing) and then refill. You can do this when you use buckets too (e.g. add enough Prime for the whole volume of the tank and then refill from the buckets).


The clerk at Pet Smart told me that I don't need to use a dechlorinator / slime coat treatment if I am using Prime. True?
True. Prime is a dechlorinator, you don't need to use anything else.

I'll be doing another partial water replacement this morning and I'll probably test before and after.

Oh, and how do I clean the little test tubes with the test kit? I know not to use soap. Do I use something like vinegar and water and rinse them in hot water?
I just rinse mine in warm water.
You may have seen these already but if not, there's some good info here:
I just learned about cycling but I already have fish. What now?! - Aquarium Advice
Guide to Starting a Freshwater Aquarium - Aquarium Advice
Thanks (in advance) for all the expert help!
Good luck. Keep asking questions if you need to!

 

[kimmcannally]

Prime is a water conditioner, so using just it is fine for water changes. IMO, it's best to add it before you put the new water into the tank. When I use my Python, I add enough Prime to treat the entire tank before adding the new water. When I use a bucket to refill, I add Prime to the bucket (only enough to treat the fresh water).

I test all four parameters each time, but only before I do my PWC. It won't hurt to do one test on your tap water to see what parameters it has. And tap water can change too - I saw someone on here had a big change in their water supply and had to work like mad to save their cichlids.

I just rinse my test tubes in tap water twice (rinse the caps too) and let them air dry.