Ammonia reading "0"

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Chino1130

Aquarium Advice Activist
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Feb 13, 2011
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I've had water cycling in my new live tank for almost 24 hours now. My pH level is around 8, that's expected with my tap water. My ammonia level is still at 0. Is this possible? I put in a handful of plants last night if that matters. All I have for testing now is one of those things that sticks on the glass and monitors the temperature, the pH level, and the ammonia level. The store did not have any of the legit testing kits in stock yesterday, so at the moment I have no way of know my nitrate or nitrite levels.
 
I've had water cycling in my new live tank for almost 24 hours now. My pH level is around 8, that's expected with my tap water. My pH level is still at 0. Is this possible? I put in a handful of plants last night if that matters. All I have for testing now is one of those things that sticks on the glass and monitors the temperature, the pH level, and the ammonia level. The store did not have any of the legit testing kits in stock yesterday, so at the moment I have no way of know my nitrate or nitrite levels.

im assuming u meant ammonia. im not sure of the accuracy levels that that form of testing gives
 
I'm not sure you really understand how cycling works. The best advice I can give is for you to check out this section of the forum and take some time to do some reading. Check out the links in the first post.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...started-check-out-these-resources-154837.html

If you do a fishless cycle, your tank will take 6-8 weeks to truly cycle.


Thanks, I'll check that out when I get out of school tonight. I don't want to do a fishless cycle. I just wasn't sure if I was going to finish the tank yesterday and didn't want to not have anything to put the fish in. I was planning on buying some fish tomorrow.
 
Thanks, I'll check that out when I get out of school tonight. I don't want to do a fishless cycle. I just wasn't sure if I was going to finish the tank yesterday and didn't want to not have anything to put the fish in. I was planning on buying some fish tomorrow.

its best for the fish to do a fishless cycle and is by far, way less stressful than having to do a million water changes and fear of losing fish
 
Thanks, I'll check that out when I get out of school tonight. I don't want to do a fishless cycle. I just wasn't sure if I was going to finish the tank yesterday and didn't want to not have anything to put the fish in. I was planning on buying some fish tomorrow.

Fishless cycle is the way to go as most have said on here. I am in my third week and it's not so bad. And I am not the most patient person.:popcorn:
My daughter (7 mos) loves watching the bubbler.

I would also recommend getting a good liquid test kit.
 
If you dont have fish in the tank yet I'd seriously consider before you put them in. Letting the water run for a while isn't cycling the tank (regardless of what the pet stores tell you). your ammonia is 0 b/c you dont have an ammonia source; your fish will supply it or if you do a fishless cycle you will put ammonia in there. If you get fish now you'll be testing and changing water daily for the next 4-8 weeks to keep the fish alive. With a fishless cycle, you just add ammonia and let the cycle take its course. In my signature below there are links; read them. One is a guide for fishless cycling (new empty tank) and one is for cycling with fish (new tank with fish); read them both and see which one you'd rather do. There's also a link called what is cycling that explains what cycling is and why you need to do it. GOod luck.
 
I jumped into this hobby knowing nothing(realized that was a very dumb idea)..im currently about 3 weeks into my Fish-IN cycle. believe me there is alot of testing, water changing and worrying involved..I change the water everyday, plus it will take the biofilter even longer to get up to snuff because in fishlees you amp up the ammonia to 4ppm as to where i don't let mine get above .25ppm
 
I'm not sure you really understand how cycling works. The best advice I can give is for you to check out this section of the forum and take some time to do some reading. Check out the links in the first post.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...started-check-out-these-resources-154837.html

If you do a fishless cycle, your tank will take 6-8 weeks to truly cycle.

Alrighty. That was an awesome write up. So as of right now my tank (25g) has been cycling for over 36 hours with a few plants in it. Tomorrow I will purchase ammonia and a full test kit (pet store said they'd be in today).

Just to clarify. When I get the ammonia level to 4 ppm, I should crank my heater up to around 85? The bacteria will then begin to form? And if it does I can tell by a decrease in ammonia and an increase in nitrites? My last question... It said to keep the lights off. Is that absolutely necessary, or is it just for a faster cycle? I'd like to have my plants not die.
 
Alrighty. That was an awesome write up. So as of right now my tank (25g) has been cycling for over 36 hours with a few plants in it. Tomorrow I will purchase ammonia and a full test kit (pet store said they'd be in today).

Just to clarify. When I get the ammonia level to 4 ppm, I should crank my heater up to around 85? The bacteria will then begin to form? And if it does I can tell by a decrease in ammonia and an increase in nitrites? My last question... It said to keep the lights off. Is that absolutely necessary, or is it just for a faster cycle? I'd like to have my plants not die.

Go ahead and crank your heater up first thing. The warm water helps the bacteria form. It does take a few weeks, though.

And yes, that's how you tell bacteria is forming - a decrease in ammonia and an increase in nitrites, and eventually nitrates.

The warm water and light make a perfect combination for algae growth - that's why it's recommended to not have light. It doesn't affect the cycling, AFAIK. I just ran my light a few hours a day for my plants and then turned it off, and I didn't have any algae problems.

Good luck! I just got fish this week after completing a fishless cycle (took a little over a month). It's worth waiting!
 
Seeding....

I was going to do a full clean on my artificial tank tomorrow. Before I do so, should I take a few objects out and put them in the new tank while they are still 'dirty'?


Heat increase....

Cranking my heater up to promote growth.. Will that 10 degree increase hurt my plants?
 
Seeding....

I was going to do a full clean on my artificial tank tomorrow. Before I do so, should I take a few objects out and put them in the new tank while they are still 'dirty'?


Heat increase....

Cranking my heater up to promote growth.. Will that 10 degree increase hurt my plants?

I don't like bumping, but I'd like to know before I clean my other tank this afternoon. Would it be beneficial to take a few pieces out and put them in the new tank before I do the clean?
 
I don't like bumping, but I'd like to know before I clean my other tank this afternoon. Would it be beneficial to take a few pieces out and put them in the new tank before I do the clean?
Yes it would be benefical...bacteria is growing on them so it would help seed your tank.
 
Will I be able to find pure ammonia at home depot. I don't have an ace hardware anywhere near me to get that janitor one that I see keep everyone recommending. What are some other alternatives?
 
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