First test results...how am I doing?

[BrianJR]

My test kit arrived in the mail today so I was able to do my first tests.

I have a 15 gal tank that has been cycling for 6 days at 27C. I'm cycling by adding pure ammonia. I've added a total of 1mL (0.2mL/day). Here are my results:

pH: 7.8 (same as tap water)
Ammonia: >=8ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 0ppm

It looks like I'm still in the early part of the cycle...do you agree? Would adding a shrimp at this point help speed things up?

I'm also a little concerned about my pH. Is this likely to go down as the cycle progresses? If not, is there anything I can do to lower it without adding chemicals? From what I've read, a pH around 7.0 would be better for the fish I'm interested in (tetras).

 

[Jchillin]

You can reduce the ammonia to 5ppm...that should be enough to keep you going. 8 is a little too high and will stunt the bacteria from "waking" up. Your ph will not be affected by the cycle once the parameters settle down if at all.

 

[Todd2]

My pH is about 7.6-7.8. I keep cories, black skirt tetras, and gouramis. And they're all happy and healthy. Most importantly its better to have a stable pH rather than a fluctuating pH as a result of chemicals (like you said) such as pH up or pH down being added to get that "perfect" pH. You're right, tetras do perfer slightly acidic water but if you're not breeding them so they should be fine with the pH you have.

You can add peat to the filter which will lower the pH but this will also give your water a "brown tint" similar to black water found in the amazon. HTH.

 

[TomK2]

You are doing great. Like JC says, 5 ppm is the unofficial max ammonia level for fishless cycling here on AA. Do a partial water change to bring it down, and then add no more till you see it decreasing on its own. If you happened to notice how much you had to add to get to 1ppm, then you can use that amount to judge how much to add in the future. I am guessing that 0.2ml is around 1ppm +/- 0.2 ppm for your tank. When the ammonia level starts to decrease, keep it in the 2 to 5 ppm range by adding more. When your ammonia goes to zero in a 24 hour period, then I would consider adding about half that amount (0.5ppm worth?) each day (0.1ml?) to feed the ammonia bacteria, and the ammonia converted to nitrite will take care of you nitrite bacteria.

Don't worry about your pH, much of North America is on the alkaline and hard side.

 

[BrianJR]

Alrighty then...I'll do a partial water change to get the ammonia levels down to 5ppm, and then monitor it from there. Thanks for the advice!

It's also nice to hear that pH shouldn't be a problem. I would like to keep this simple and use as little chems as necessary. The KISS method strikes again!

 

[FawnN]

This is what I normally do to help in the bacterial growth.

1. Lower your water level to create a bigger splash at the surface if you have a HOB filter. If not, just add an airstone for additional O2.

2. Increase your water temp to 82 degrees F.

3. And I personally would lower your ammonia level down to 4ppm. And I wouldn't let it fall any lower then 2ppm through out the cycle.