I took all crush coral out two weeks ago, I had a small bad in one of my tidal 110’’’s and 1 big bag laying in tank .. so not what would you start doing now to cycle this tank. !?
I don’t think my 55 gallon tank has ever cycled in 1 year?
- Thread starter kevin lee
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If you think I need to raise my ph I can add just a little bit of baking soda to not raise it to fast and see what it it tomorrow and the next day.
Or I have Thé crushed coral that’s already been in my tank !?
Yes, I only dosed backing soda 1 time before I contacted you guys nothing sence.
This is why we always say its better to keep fish that suit the water, rather than trying to make the water suit the fish. Mucking about with water chemistry almost always makes things worse.
If it where me, and your fish where happy and healthy i would have just left things be. You didnt need to cycle the aquarium. A better option would be to keep fish that suit soft, acidic water, but given the rainbow fish where doing fine, i would have just left be.
If you plan on cycling the tank even though it doesn't really need to be cycled, you need to get your KH and pH up.
Crushed coral and cuttlefish bone are both calcium carbonate and will do this and also increase general hardness (GH). Its not going to make an overnight difference. Its going to disolve slowly and might take weeks before you see any difference. Youve tried crushed coral and wasnt happy with the outcome.
An alkaline buffer like Seachem Alkaline Buffer will increase KH and pH without effecting GH. You say you tried a buffer and it didnt work, but you didnt say which one you tried.
Baking soda will increase pH and KH without effecting GH, but it will also add sodium. Sodium isnt good for a lot of fish species, but rainbow fish are probably going to be fine, and they showed no bad reaction from it when you used it before. Baking soda is the only thing you tried that you was happy with.
Given that, add a little baking soda, gradually bring your pH to where you want it.
If it where me, and your fish where happy and healthy i would have just left things be. You didnt need to cycle the aquarium. A better option would be to keep fish that suit soft, acidic water, but given the rainbow fish where doing fine, i would have just left be.
If you plan on cycling the tank even though it doesn't really need to be cycled, you need to get your KH and pH up.
Crushed coral and cuttlefish bone are both calcium carbonate and will do this and also increase general hardness (GH). Its not going to make an overnight difference. Its going to disolve slowly and might take weeks before you see any difference. Youve tried crushed coral and wasnt happy with the outcome.
An alkaline buffer like Seachem Alkaline Buffer will increase KH and pH without effecting GH. You say you tried a buffer and it didnt work, but you didnt say which one you tried.
Baking soda will increase pH and KH without effecting GH, but it will also add sodium. Sodium isnt good for a lot of fish species, but rainbow fish are probably going to be fine, and they showed no bad reaction from it when you used it before. Baking soda is the only thing you tried that you was happy with.
Given that, add a little baking soda, gradually bring your pH to where you want it.
Ok, I’m going to only dose 1/3 of what I doesd before, and we will see what happens tomorrow, thanks again for your patience and knowledge with me, much appreciated!
No need to do anything today. Id say your nitrate is at 5ppm.
I agree, that picture was taken about 15 min later.
Its up to you if you do a water change or just top up. If you are topping up with tap water you still need to use water conditioner.
Yes, I understand that if I top off, but what would you do top off with prime or do a small water change and how much !?
Prime is a water conditioner. If you are topping up using tap water use a water conditioner.
Its really up to you if you top up or do a water change. You don't need to do water change, but if you want to do one thats fine. Whatever is your preference.
Its really up to you if you top up or do a water change. You don't need to do water change, but if you want to do one thats fine. Whatever is your preference.
I’m just going to top off at this point and add my prime into bucket and let it seat for 30 minutes before topping off.
Forgot to tell you th
i forgot to tell you my tank is 100% clear now.
These are my parameter today, after just topping off !?
Attachments
I also received my Fritz 700 turbo today. What should I do moving forward to cycle this tank please.
Keep doing water changes to prevent ammonia and nitrite exceeding 0.5ppm. Dont let your pH into the low 6s. Thats all there is to it. It takes time.
You first posted 2 or 3 weeks ago. It could easily take another 8 or 10 weeks. The fritz product might speed things up, it might not. There is no guaranteed short cut. You have already tried one of their products and it did nothing.
This is all about patience. Your tank will cycle given enough time, and in the meantime do your water changes to keep the water quality good enough to not kill your fish.
You first posted 2 or 3 weeks ago. It could easily take another 8 or 10 weeks. The fritz product might speed things up, it might not. There is no guaranteed short cut. You have already tried one of their products and it did nothing.
This is all about patience. Your tank will cycle given enough time, and in the meantime do your water changes to keep the water quality good enough to not kill your fish.
How much water change you suggest today please !?
Its difficult to read tests from a photo. The colours will look different when viewed on different devices. If your ammonia or nitrite is 1ppm, a 50% water change will bring it down to 0.5ppm. Its something you really need to work out for yourself.
Remember that your pH will drop when you do a water change because your tap water is soft acidic water, and you want harder, basic water. So you need to monitor your pH after your water change to see if you need to add more baking soda to get the pH and carbonate back up.
Your test appears to be ammonia at 1ppm, and nitrite at 0.25ppm. So if thats the case a 50% water change.
Remember that your pH will drop when you do a water change because your tap water is soft acidic water, and you want harder, basic water. So you need to monitor your pH after your water change to see if you need to add more baking soda to get the pH and carbonate back up.
Your test appears to be ammonia at 1ppm, and nitrite at 0.25ppm. So if thats the case a 50% water change.
Just done 50 % water change.
