A dirty aquarium on the side of the road

[armindilo]

3 days since last water change.

Ammonia definitely 0.25ppm now.
Nitrite 0ppm.

How high can I let the ammonia get before I should do a water change?

And how long does it usually take to see nitrites rise following ammonia.

 

[King Fisher]

Honestly Idk when you will see the nitrites. It always seems to be different times. Nothing consistent. If you got fish in I wouldn't let the ammonia go higher than .50 ppm. If you are showing .25 now I'd do a 20% water change by tomorrow. The cycle will be slow and long with fish in but eventually it will cycle. Now you seem to have a base for your water changes.....every 3-4 days.

 

[armindilo]

Ammonia was above 0.25ppm but not 0.50ppm tonight. I did a 25% change.

Ya, seems like 3 days is about right. I'll plan on doing that, and keep monitoring levels.

 

[King Fisher]

You don't want to completely take out all the ammonia but you don't want it to go over .50 ppm.

 

[armindilo]

I now have 7 Lemon Tetras... One jumped out this morning

 

[Angellove78]

Awww! Sometimes they think they can fly. Keep your head up, it happens. Have you tested for nitrate in the last few days? Some people miss the nitrite levels while cycling. Make sure you still test for nitrate just in case. You never know.

 

[Matthew C.]

Wish i didn't have nitrates....two days after feeding they start to creep up...

 

[armindilo]

Nope, haven't tested for nitrates. I haven't seen any nitrite, but I haven't checked every day. I've kept ammonia under 0.50.

 

[Angellove78]

I'd do the nitrate test.

 

[Delapool]

I now have 7 Lemon Tetras... One jumped out this morning

Sad news - suckth when they do that.

 

[armindilo]

Ya, sucks big time. I've covered the hole now.

Tested the water tonight
ph 6.8-7.0
Ammonia 0.25 ppm
Nitrite 0 ppm
Nitrate 0 ppm

Followed by a 50% water change.

 

[armindilo]

I haven't been really aggressive with water changes since getting the test kit. Ammonia hasn't seemed to climb up to 0.5 yet. How fast does it usually climb?

 

[Angellove78]

So now your ammonia level is .15ppm. It's gonna take awhile. But, probably won't climb too fast in your tank with the water changes and lite feedings. But you never know.

 

[King Fisher]

I'd let it climb to .50 ppm then do 50% water change.

 

[Delapool]

As above - depending on stocking, etc. I’ve had it out of control climbing even with large daily water changes - never again if I can help it!

 

[armindilo]

Progress!

Ammonia <0.25 ppm
Nitrite 0.5 ppm
Nitrate 0 ppm

So it looks like the first half of the bacteria are getting well established. Any rough estimate on how far behind the nitrates will be?

 

[Delapool]

Good news! Hopefully not far off for rest.

 

[armindilo]

So a bit of an update. Tank is well cycled now. I've added a few more rocks.

I want to add some plants and a few more fish now. A few questions about that:

Will the gravel I have be ok for some simple plants (Java Fern or Amazon Sword), or do I need something finer?

I'd like to add some Otto or Cory Catfish. Any suggestions one or the other? I also want to add a couple Guppies.

So that would leave me with a total of 7 Lemon Tetras, 2 Catfish, and 2 Guppies in a 20 gallon tank. I think that isn't overstocked, but I want your thoughts; Is it ok?

Thanks again for all the help so far.

 

[Autumnsky]

Which kind of catfish???

A group of Pygmy / Pygmaeus Cories (or other Dwarf Cories - Hastatus or Habrosus) would be a better option so you can get 7-8 than some of the other Cories which get larger and would not be able to get as many due to the bioload.

If you go for Guppies, maybe try males only or Endler males they are smaller so you can have more of them. With a female in the tank you would have non stop breeding and babies to deal with.

Gravel is ok but will trap ore food and poop in it the pebbles are better than what is bought as colored aquarium gravel imo though. The Amazon Sword can live fine in that and will need root tabs/ capsules for ferts as they are heavy root feeders to be happy.

 

[Autumnsky]

Oh and the Java Fern is attached to DW or stone and the Rhizome of the plant should not be buried, the roots will grow off of the stem/brown part (which the leaves also come off of,) and can grow into the substrate. It can even sit on the substrate for awhile if you need to get a stone or DW.