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It actually already went away so seems like a false alarm. I have Java fern and Anubias and a mystery snail. Wonder if that’s ok to use salt with in the future? I do about half gallon water change every 3rd day. Will definitely look into getting a bigger tank setup!

Hi! I have a 3 gallon tank with one betta and snail. Water parameters are 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, ph 7, KH 1. Water temp 81, heated, filtered, cycled, and with bubbler. I noticed today she had a small cotton looking ball on her bottom fin. Will this go away with a couple days of partial water...

Hi guys. Wanted to give an update with all the time and help you’ve given me so far. Loads of good info. I think I’m very close to fully cycling. I started from scratch but have been doing a 10 percent water change every other day to replenish some KH. I’m past the ammonia cycle stage and it...

I just read that plants can leech carbonates when they don’t have other nutrients. Given my substrate is gravel maybe that’s what’s happening?

So it takes 3-4 drops of KH test to change my tap water color and it takes 1 drop to change my tank water so it seems like it’s degrees. Will baking soda be bad for my plants in the tank? I was reading the plants don’t like the sodium

It say natural sea shells on the description

So I got some decoration shells from petsmart. I know they are decor but they sure seem real haha. Put a few in the tank for KH and to have something to tie my plants to. I did a 80 percent water change and took out some but not all of the gravel at the bottom of the tank so that I’d have max...

Thanks again for all of the detail! Couple questions 1. What is the difference between crushed coral and crushed sea shell in aquariums. I thought they both kind of accomplish the same thing of dissolving and raising KH and ph as the water gets more acidic. 2. Does my high tap GH inhibit their...

Thanks this helps a lot! 1. Got spring water and it’s ph 7, KH 4 and GH 2. So same as my tap water except softer GH. Is this water better to add crushed coral? I’m thinking I need something to help me prevent ph crashing frequently given my tank ph is 5.5. 2. I’m going to do the 80 percent...

Hi again. So I did a 50 percent water change after the time we talked. And I did abother 25 percent water change 2 days ago after I felt like my cycle stalled again with high ammonia low ph and minimal nitrite. I also ordered a KH and GH test kit. It arrived today and my tank KH is 0-1. I am...

Did the new 25 percent water when you said it. Dropped me to 1.5 ammonia and 0.5 nitrite. Got my ph up to 6.5. Put 4 dr tim ammonia drops in and now the last couple days am at 4 ammonia, 1 nitrite and my ph has been dropping from 6.5 to now 5.5. Wondering if I should just start over from scratch...

I did a 25 percent water change yesterday and added some QuickStart bacteria. I also added some Java fern and Anubias nana. I’ll test daily until I see ammonia drop. Do I need more water changes to correct the KH? Any tips for keeping the plants alive?

Update. I think I over added ammonia and I have been at 4 ammonia, 0.25 nitrite the last 4 days. Does that set me back to the beginning of the cycle again?

I have the Topfin freshwater aquarium test kit. Good to know on bottle 2. By fully cycled you mean dosing with my 8 drops and ammonia and nitrite being 0 24 hours later? I have 2 filter cartridges in my filter. When I’m cycled I want to only replace one at a time so I don’t shut the process...

So update. I have been dosing 8 drops of Dr tims every other day for the past week. That gets my ammonia up to 2. 24 hours later I’m down to 0.5. My nitrite has been holding flat at 0.5 for a week. Just checked nitrates for first time in a while and it’s more yellow than orange so somewhere...

Some green algae starting to form on some of the decorations

Starting to see some algae in the tank is that a good sign?

Still holding steady at 4ppm ammonia and 0.5 nitrite. Haven’t had to dose Dr Tim’s yet. Added more tap water for what evaporated off. My conditioner does treat chloramides. Will keep you up to date as I go.

Wow this is all really helpful. I really appreciate the answers. I will pick up Dr Tim’s, some plants, and spring water and will keep you posted how my cycling process goes.

Ok thanks! I tested some tap water that I had sitting out for >24 hours. Ammonia 0.5 Nitrite 0 Nitrate 0 Ph 9 When I test the ph directly from sink when it hasn’t been sitting out it’s 7.5. Can the plants you suggested do well in gravel? Or would I need a different substrate?

I started 3 months ago after my last fish passed but had been doing periodic water changes. There was about 1ppm of ammonia the whole time. A week ago I just started adding fish food in a net to dose ammonia. I put a couple pinches in.

Hi this is my first post. I have a 2.5 gallon tank with heater (80 degrees), bubbler, light, and betta filter. I put 2 cartridges in the filter and the water flows well, hoping in the future I can change one at a time to not lose a lot of beneficial bacteria. I read that’s where a lot of them...