more newbie cycle/plant questions

[SwimmingWithTheFishes]

I'm sure someone has asked a very similar question here a hundred times but I'm confused anyway. I got my 20 Gal and started fishless cycling on 7/29. Ammonia went up and back down, nitrites went up and started to go back down.

After getting a 0 read for ammonia I added a little and got a .5 the next day so i thought I put in too much....next day got a 0 so added some actually got this 2 days in a row) then I got a .5 (must have added to much again) so I didn’t add anymore that day now today I got .5 again? By this point my nitrites went from 5ppm back down to 1ppm and has been at 1ppm for 3 days.....is this all normal?

Also, can I start getting plants if i do a water change?(tomorrow?) or should I wait until everything is perfect- some sites say you can add plants even before you cycle? Oh I got a 5 ppm Nitrate reading the other day.


Thank you all in advance

 

[Purrbox]

If your ammonia can go from 2ppm to 0ppm in a matter of a few hours you should be safe to add plants, if not I would continue waiting or you risk a green water outbreak. If the Nitrite levels aren't quite good yet, it should still be okay to add the plants.

 

[SwimmingWithTheFishes]

Okay, thanks for the advice. Since my ammoinia has stayed t 0.5 for a few days I was thinking i should wait but this afternoon when i did my water test i notice a bunch of white hairy algea? mold? ggrowing on my drift wood-- is this a bad sign? should i try and scrape it off or leave it?

 

[marchmaxima]

can you post a piccie of that white stuff on here?

 

[SwimmingWithTheFishes]

OK so i took a couple pictures here is one-

 

[dskidmore]

If you put in plants before the cycle has gotten far enough along, you need to plant densely with fast growing plants. Some people call this the "instant cycle". What happens is the plants take up the role of the bacteria in absorbing ammonia and nitrite. If you just want a few decorative plants, then it's best to wait longer and leave the lights off.

 

[SwimmingWithTheFishes]

The white stuff in the picture....can anyone tell me what it is or what i should do? I can't find info online other than - "anything growing in your tank is a good sign because it means your tank can support life"

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

Did you boil the driftwood for awhile before putting it in the tank?

Personally it looks odd to me so even if you did boil it, I would take it out and re boil it. Then Soak it in dechlor water for 3 days or so and put back in the tank
​

 

[SwimmingWithTheFishes]

Ok, so I'm boiling hte wood. I did not Boil it before- the guy at the store said to soak it for a week. So it was soaked in declorinated water for 7 days and then put in the tank......should i soak it again after boiling it?

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

Well I just dont boil it in dechlor water since I'm not sure if that would be bad to breathe in the fumes?

So then you should soak it in dechlor water after that b/c your water may have chlorine which would now be in the wood. I think if you put a double dose of dechlor and soak it for 24hrs it should be good after boiling it.

Boiling it is to kill whatever bacteria(or yours may be a fungus?) that could be living on the wood when you got it, as its prob been who knows where and for how long.

 

[SwimmingWithTheFishes]

Thank you!!!

 

[Purrbox]

It's common for stuff to grow on wood when it's first introduced to an aquarium. Often it's just a phase and goes away on it own, but boiling is a great way to get rid of it faster.

 

[dskidmore]

So then you should soak it in dechlor water after that b/c your water may have chlorine which would now be in the wood. I think if you put a double dose of dechlor and soak it for 24hrs it should be good after boiling it.

The extra dechlor soak seems extraneous to me. If there is chlorine in the wood, it will react with the organics in the wood and become neutralized. It's not going to leach a significant amount of chlorine into the water.

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

Better safe then sorry IMO

 

[SwimmingWithTheFishes]

Thanks again..... I boiled it and it been soaking for the afternoon. my test results for today are: Ammonia= .5ppm Nitrite= 1ppm Nitrate= >5 <10 ppm I think I'll get plants (and maybe fish depending on my readings) this monday or tuesday. I'll start a photo log so you all can give me aquascaping advice.

 

[dskidmore]

I'd wait for Ammonia and Nitrite to be 0 for a few days before deciding when to get fish. Plants will do just fine under those conditions though.

 

[SwimmingWithTheFishes]

I'm just frusterated my ammonia has been 0.5 and my nitrite has been 1.0 for 8 days now-- what is wrong? has the cycle stalled for some reason? any thoughts?

 

[dskidmore]

You seem to be doing fine. You started 7/29, so you're not even 3 weeks into this.

Which ammonia source are you using?

Is Nitrate climbing slowly, or was that your starting tap nitrate?

Are you doing water changes? (Don't do water changes until the end unless you're trying to keep fish alive through the cycle.)

 

[SwimmingWithTheFishes]

My Nitrate is up to 10ppm. I did a water change today because i wanted to get my plants- but it seemed only to affect the pH which went from 6.4 to 7.2. all my other levels didn't really change.

 

[dskidmore]

What is your tap nitrate level?