I recently exchanged the plastic plants in my tank for live ones. I didn’t change the substrate or the filter, thought I did dump most of the water in order to facilitate me moving the tank to a new location in my apartment. In the week since setting it up, I haven’t noticed any ammonia levels. I did have nitrite levels of about 0.4, but they dropped to less than 0.1 less than two days later, and are currently so low that I can barely detect any colour.
Several days ago (after the nitrite levels dropped), I put some more fish into the tank. The pet shop employee I spoke to, suggested I only get a few fish at a time to avoid any ammonia spikes. In the three days since putting those fish in my tank, my ammonia levels have remained at 0 and my nitrite levels have remained at the barely visible level. The nitrates have also not budged, and are well within healthy levels.
I’m wondering, as I didn’t detect any ammonia several days after I first changed my tank over, and haven’t detected any after bringing in the new fish, should it be safe to put in the last of my planned fish? Do I need to wait longer for ammonia to concentrate enough to become noticeable, or does the fact that I already have nitrates in the tank indicate my tank has already finished cycling? I know it seems like a fast cycle, but as I mentioned before, I was using old substrate and an old filter.
Should it be safe to put in the last of my fish?
Several days ago (after the nitrite levels dropped), I put some more fish into the tank. The pet shop employee I spoke to, suggested I only get a few fish at a time to avoid any ammonia spikes. In the three days since putting those fish in my tank, my ammonia levels have remained at 0 and my nitrite levels have remained at the barely visible level. The nitrates have also not budged, and are well within healthy levels.
I’m wondering, as I didn’t detect any ammonia several days after I first changed my tank over, and haven’t detected any after bringing in the new fish, should it be safe to put in the last of my planned fish? Do I need to wait longer for ammonia to concentrate enough to become noticeable, or does the fact that I already have nitrates in the tank indicate my tank has already finished cycling? I know it seems like a fast cycle, but as I mentioned before, I was using old substrate and an old filter.
Should it be safe to put in the last of my fish?