Mumma.of.two
Aquarium Advice Obsessed
SegadorDAlmas said:Alright, I'm back. About a week or so ago I added fish food to the fish tank to get the cycling going being I couldn't seem to come into ammonia quickly enough for my taste, which was probably immature and stupid of me, but it's too late now.
Anyway, today I got the API Freshwater Master's and it was fantastic. I got my results back (which were kind of... Off from what I've read) which I will now share.
Note they're all rough estimates due to my lack of experience testing.
0.25 ppm Ammonia
0.00 ppm Nitrite
More than 0.00 ppm Nitrates but less than 5 ppm it seems
A pH of slightly under 7.
To me this seemed off, being I was pretty sure there were supposed to be more nitrates and nitrites. However, the pH did drop from a basic status to the ever so slightly acidic, so I figured something had to have been happening.
I added conditioner (dechlorinator) each time I added water due to water loss.
I also think it's worth mentioning the state of my plants.
My banana plant is thriving. It has grown 4 new leaf stalks (giving it 7 from its original 7) and the roots/stems are growing like wildfire, frequently curling making dips in and out of the sand. It's actually quite cool.
However, my java ferns don't seem to be doing so hot. My smaller ferns are pretty brown, and are beginning to look like what I can only describe as a texture and color similar to a browning banana. Each leaf is about half green and half brown. One has even snapped, with a half an inch tip dangling off.
My other java fern is still pretty green and strong looking, but has a few brown blotches on it which weren't originally there.
I leave the tank light on for about 11-12 hours a day, which feels like a lot for low light plants, but due to the conflicting progression of the plants I'm not really sure what to do (plus I don't have many options being I leave at about 7 A.M. and get back at about 6 P.M.
The reason you aren't seeing any nitrite and nitrate and barely any ammonia is because fish food doesn't give off enough ammonia and cycling takes far longer than a week to complete. It can take 2-4 weeks (sometimes longer) just to get nitrites and a further 2-4 weeks (sometimes longer) to get nitrates. They whole process takes 4-8 weeks or more.
What kind of lighting do you have? The plants could just be adjusting to your tank but they could also be lacking nutrients. Do you add ferts?