Nitrite test turns clear.

[jlk]

Hi Master503! Im not sure what you are asking here. You are dosing ammonia with fish in your tank??? You should never be dosing ammonia with living fish! If you are getting readings of .25 ammonia then you should do a 50% water change and retest. If there is still detectable ammonia, follow with another 50% water change. Make sure your using water conditioner with every water change. Im trying to figure out what exactly is going on so i can help!

 

[librarygirl]

I have a quick question because I do have a similar problem here .. what if my Ammonia for few time it went back to .25ppm, Nitrite: 0ppm, Nitrate: 10-20ppm. This is 25Gal with about 15 guppies fish in there. Should I still dose the ammonia for few drops daily?

NO you do not want to add ammonia with fish in the tank. The fish are the ammonia source (they pee and poo ammonia). WIth ammonia at .25 you'll want to do a 50% water change. There's a link in my signature called 'new tank with fish;' it's for a fish-in cycle, which is what you have with fish in the tank. This thread is for a fishLESS cycle without fish in the tank.

 

[Chino1130]

So... My ammo and nitrites have set themselves back to zero now in two consecutive 24 hour periods. As of 15 minutes ago my nitrates were just under 40ppm. I did an 80% WC, and turned my thermometer down. I'm getting up early before class (5:30 ugh), and if everything is cool beans, I'm getting some fish after class!

 

[jlk]

YAY!!! Congrats!!!!

 

[Chino1130]

Good morning! It's just past 6:30. I checked my nitrates this morning after doing a water change last night, and they were at 10-20ppm. I just did a 70% water change, and they now read just a smidge above zero, I mean like 2ppm at the very most.

I turned my thermometer down a little too much this morning and the temperature dropped to 74 degrees. All the water I put in was 77-78 degrees. The light on the heater is on (which is good), but I won't be home ton monitor it. I'm going to have to ask my girlf friend to monitor and make adjustments (gulp). Definitely getting a few fish this afternoon. Probably a handful of neons, a few red-eyes, and two peppered cats to start. If they are all still alive and kicking by Friday, I'll buy a few more. I need a good alge eater. Any recommendations other than pleccos?

 

[librarygirl]

Good morning! It's just past 6:30. I checked my nitrates this morning after doing a water change last night, and they were at 10-20ppm. I just did a 70% water change, and they now read just a smidge above zero, I mean like 2ppm at the very most.

I turned my thermometer down a little too much this morning and the temperature dropped to 74 degrees. All the water I put in was 77-78 degrees. The light on the heater is on (which is good), but I won't be home ton monitor it. I'm going to have to ask my girlf friend to monitor and make adjustments (gulp). Definitely getting a few fish this afternoon. Probably a handful of neons, a few red-eyes, and two peppered cats to start. If they are all still alive and kicking by Friday, I'll buy a few more. I need a good alge eater. Any recommendations other than pleccos?

Awesome! What size tank is this again?

Do you have algae now? If so what kind?

Remember that Neons are a schooling fish so a shoal of at least six is recommended (more if you can fit them); also they are very active swimmers so they would ideally go into a large enough tank with enough room for them to swim. I believe the red-eye Tetras are schooling fish also so again a group of six or more is best. Just make sure your tank size can support two schooling fish. The Corys, while not "schooling" fish per se, do better in groups of their own kind, at least 4-5 of them would be best (again, if you can fit them).

The best way to acclimate new fish is the drip acclimation method (YouTube has some how-to videos).

 

[Chino1130]

25 gallon planted.

I'm not positive on the name of the alge. I have a little bit though. It's brown, builds up on the glass and plants. If I wipe it off the leaves of the plants, it comes off as a brown powder.

For the neons I was going to get 8 or 9 total. I was only going to buy 3 today just to see how they do. If they seem alright by Friday I'll purchase more. In my 20 gallon I have 4 neons and 3 red-eyes, they all actually school together, which I find kind of odd. I checked out a local LFS by me for the first time the other day. They had a species that looked identical to neon tetras, but only grow to half the size. I was thinking of maybe getting a dozen or so of those instead of the regular neons.

Ideally I would like one big group of schooling fish, a few cats, and some one off pairs. I prefer smaller fish, mainly because I can have more of them. Are peppered cats also called corys? I have three of them in my 20 gallon, and they don't seem to take on alge when it forms (same alge that's in this new tank).

Any suggestions are much appreciated.

 

[librarygirl]

25 gallon planted.

I'm not positive on the name of the alge. I have a little bit though. It's brown, builds up on the glass and plants. If I wipe it off the leaves of the plants, it comes off as a brown powder.

For the neons I was going to get 8 or 9 total. I was only going to buy 3 today just to see how they do. If they seem alright by Friday I'll purchase more. In my 20 gallon I have 4 neons and 3 red-eyes, they all actually school together, which I find kind of odd. I checked out a local LFS by me for the first time the other day. They had a species that looked identical to neon tetras, but only grow to half the size. I was thinking of maybe getting a dozen or so of those instead of the regular neons.

Ideally I would like one big group of schooling fish, a few cats, and some one off pairs. I prefer smaller fish, mainly because I can have more of them. Are peppered cats also called corys? I have three of them in my 20 gallon, and they don't seem to take on alge when it forms (same alge that's in this new tank).

Any suggestions are much appreciated.

The brown algae is diatoms, very common in tanks. Not all algae eaters even eat diatoms and Corys aren't necessarily known to eat algae per se. Oto cats eat diatoms but you really have to have a large amount of them b/c they will clean up the diatoms quickly and then they may actually starve b/c they don't all seem to like the algae wafers. You could try a snail or two; they should clean up those diatoms for you. You could also try limiting your lighting.

Yes Peppered Cats are Peppered Corys, not known for eating algae.

Sometimes different types of Tetra can school together, so that isn't too uncommon for your Neons to school with the Red-Eyes. You must really enjoy both species to want the same thing for your second tank!

 

[Master503]

NO you do not want to add ammonia with fish in the tank. The fish are the ammonia source (they pee and poo ammonia). WIth ammonia at .25 you'll want to do a 50% water change. There's a link in my signature called 'new tank with fish;' it's for a fish-in cycle, which is what you have with fish in the tank. This thread is for a fishLESS cycle without fish in the tank.

You're right, a night before yesterday I did 80% WC and last night I tested the water.

Tank: 25Gal Plannted (java ferns, mosses, guppy grasses) with about 20 guppies.

Ph: 7.6
Ammomnia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 5ppm

I will do another test tonight see if this stay stable, if it does which mean it's perfect water? Also, my tank has a bit green algae .. does this good ? or it need to be clean it? Thanks

 

[librarygirl]

You're right, a night before yesterday I did 80% WC and last night I tested the water.

Tank: 25Gal Plannted (java ferns, mosses, guppy grasses) with about 20 guppies.

Ph: 7.6
Ammomnia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 5ppm

I will do another test tonight see if this stay stable, if it does which mean it's perfect water? Also, my tank has a bit green algae .. does this good ? or it need to be clean it? Thanks

Those numbers look good. I'd keep testing for a few days at least to make sure the ammonia and nitrite stay at 0. If so, then congratulations your tank is fully cycled (just keep your filters in-tact; many manufacturers recommend replacing the filter media every x months but it isn't needed and will send you back into cycling). The nitrates will rise, that's normal as it's a byproduct of the conversion (ammonia-->nitrite-->nitrate). Your weekly water change schedule will keep nitrates low (<20) and will replenish the water with the nutrients that the fish use up. You could do one 50% water change per week or two smaller (20-30%) water changes twice per week.

What kind of green algae? In the water or on the decorations, etc?
Is the tank near direct sunlight? How long are you keeping the tank lights on every day? Those two are the main sources for too much algae growth. Move the tank from sunlight if it's in it and cut down your lights to <10 hours per day and it should help. Also make sure you aren't overfeeding your fish. Here's some info on different types of algae (I'd avoid putting any unecessary chemicals in your tank to fight the algae though, best to find natural solutions):

Aquaticscape.com

 

[Master503]

the green algae (not that many) in the water, lay on the side of tank .. I put the light like <10 daily

 

[Chino1130]

Woohoo!

I am having trouble getting pics, seeing as my phone has limited exposure settings...

I feel like a total fish noob, I have already forgot the names of the two schooling species I got...

I'm buying a black back drop this afternoon. I completely forgot about it at the LFS yesterday.

This guy cleaned all the algae off the glass over night. I dig him. He just chilled in the corner for a good hour after putting him in the tank before exploring. He loves the little cave under the piece of driftwood in the left side of the tank. He just hangs there upside down most of the time and comes out here and there. He became very active once I turned the lights off last night. He neglected the algae on the plants though

 

[Chino1130]

Well folks, probably my last post in this thread seeing as I'd call my tank complete (for now). I'd like to thank everyone who contributed in this thread and helped me out. It's greatly appreciated.


I added a backdrop this afternoon. I think it looks pretty good. Most of the brown alge you see on the plants in the previous pics is gone now thanks to that plecco. I love that thing!

A few updated pics.

 

[librarygirl]

Awesome, congratulations! Enjoy your fish! (Don't forget to supplement the Pleco's diet with some algae wafers and fresh veggies).