weird water levels

[Blakskall]

ok, my uncle recently gave me his whole aquarium setup, a 30 gal. tank, hes had fish in it 4 about a year. i emptyd the water and changed the gravel, ive read tht when u start a new tank ammonia and nitrite appear, the nitrogen cycle, i added 3 Danios to the tank, and the past 3 days ive tested the water and ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate were all 0.. is it possiable tht the tank is already cycled? any info would b great, thanks

 

[kaiofcanada]

If you kept the smae filter that was active and used then it is possible that you have benefited from having a loaded filter. The beneficial bacteria that detoxify ammonia and nitrites live in the sponge part of the filter. This would of course depend on what type of filter you have.

If you did not allow the filter to dry up it is possible that even with adding new gravel you have maintained some of the good bacteria.

I would wait a while to let your gravel mature as well before adding anymore fish to your current setup. Give it another week or so to be sure your filter survived the move. If you still do not see ammonia or nitrites after a week, you can add a couple fish slowly to your tank safely. Just be sure the tank is really cycled before adding more. That way all the fish will remain healthy and happy.

 

[HN1]

With 0 nitrate, the tank is not cycled.

 

[severum mama]

With 0 nitrate, the tank is not cycled.

+1, assuming the tank is not very heavily planted, of which I see no mention.

Welcome to AA, Blakskall!

 

[spoonman]

Welcome to AA! The tank is indeed not cycled. Even if you kept the media wet when you drained the tank and changed out the substrate, you should see some NitrAtes with the fish in there. Water changes and testing is in order now that you have fish in there.

 

[HN1]

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...ady-have-fish-what-now-116287.html#post983258

 

[kaiofcanada]

Three danios in a 30 gallon might not show much of anything in three days with an active filter. This is why I suggested giving it another week to be sure. Test teh water daily to record the changes. With new gravel you definitely don't have any bacteria there...which means you really should wait and see.

I am curious also what kind fo testing kit you are using. Do you have a liquid test kit? or using litmus. Litmus are less accurate and you may not be getting the real readings of what is going on in your tank.

 

[mgamer20o0]

just keep doing water changes and read what hn linked too

 

[Blakskall]

Three danios in a 30 gallon might not show much of anything in three days with an active filter. This is why I suggested giving it another week to be sure. Test teh water daily to record the changes. With new gravel you definitely don't have any bacteria there...which means you really should wait and see.

I am curious also what kind fo testing kit you are using. Do you have a liquid test kit? or using litmus. Litmus are less accurate and you may not be getting the real readings of what is going on in your tank.

Im using a liquid testing kit, and i hav 2 real plants in the tank, i guess ill hav 2 b more patient