Set Up questions

[Coleallensmom]

Background: I'm a fish aquarium noob who had some Tetra/Zebra fish in a 5 gallon tank. Last week I purchased a 35 gallon tank. Friday I set up the new tank, got the filter system running (AquaClear 50 gal), and added all the plastic plants/ornaments as well as 2 gallons of water from the 5 gallon. Bought four 4" sword plants and added those. Waited 24 hours and added all of the gravel and fish from the 5 gal into the 35 gallon. Also added the 15 gal Aqua-Tech filter system that was on the 5 gallon onto the 35 gallon, so that it could run simultaneously with the Aquaclear.

Testing (API Freshwater kit) so far looks like this:

Day 1 after inital set up and addition of water/ornaments from 5 gal
PH 7.4
Ammonia .25ppm
Nitrites .25ppm
Nitrates 10ppm

On day 2 I tested twice with the same results for Ammonia/NitrItes only 20ppm NitrAtes. Day three I tested twice with same Ammonia/NitrIte results with 40ppm NitrAtes. Did a PWC. Tested once Yesterday on day 4 with same results as day 3. Again the same readings this morning on day 5 with maybe a tad more Ammonia and NitrIte.

My questions:
1) Can I most likely expect a big spike in Ammonia and NitrItes or will the gravel and filter from the 5 gal keep me from having to fully cycle?

2) I'm anxious to add new fish. I've read many people mentioning Biospira/SafeStart. Worth buying? The guy I bought the new tank from gave me a bottle of Microbe-Lift Special Blend, but I couldn't find enough information online to feel it was safe to use and what I info could find said it should be used with Microbe-Lift Nite Out.)

3) A friend (belatedly) mentioned using Flourite for aquarium plants. Should I purchase some and replant the swords? What else do I need to know to keep them healthy? I am using just an 18inch Marineland Natural daylight bulb that came with the aquarium and am unsure of the watts. I've gotten conflicting reports from my LFS, but was told by one of the workers that I need to replace that bulb with a high output bulb if I want to keep them alive. Reccomendations?

4) I had previously tested my tap water for ammonia. Decided to test again for Ammonia, NitrItes, and NitrAtes. Again 0 reading for Ammonia, but tested positive for Nitrites/Nitrates. Worth taking to my LFS for them to test? I've been using Prime to condition the water, what else can/should I do?

 

[BigJim]

1. It look the old filter isn't quite up to filtering the entire tank. I'm suspecting that it'll take a little while to fully cycle the tank. Having cycled media in the tank will speed things up, but it will still take some times. In the meantime, the old filter will keep your water parameters near acceptable levels.

2. I wouldn't add any more fish until you're fully cycled. I've heard mixed things about the biological starters, but it couldn't hurt to try it. Patience is the key here.

3. You don't need to have special substrate for plants, but it can only help. Sword plants are heavy root feeders so you'll need root tabs. A single 18" fluorescent bulb won't be enough to keep most plants alive in a 35g. There are other cheap options though. You can pick up a fluorescent shop light or use spiral CFL bulbs. Aim for 1-2 WPG.

4. Are you sure you're reading the tests correctly? You need to hold the tubes up against the white part of the card and look at them under decent light. If you're following the directions on the API kit closely and it's less than three years old, I'd trust the kit over any LFS test.

 

[XimeD]

Regarding 2)

I've used microbe-lift special blend together with nite-out as they suggest and did not see much of a difference. The nite-out is supposed to be refrigerated to keep the bacteria alive and yet LFS never do, so most bacteria in there are probably dead. I bought mine in a moment of desperation.

In my opinion, if you already bought them use them but if you have not don't bother. I've also tried nutrafin cycle, stress-zyme and biozyme. The one I liked best was the biozyme (its a solid and has no expiration).

This is just my experience, you can find good and bad reviews online about all of these additives. So far I have not come across any that said it hurt their fish so I guess the only thing that can hurt if you try them is your pocket =)

 

[Coleallensmom]

1. It look the old filter isn't quite up to filtering the entire tank. I'm suspecting that it'll take a little while to fully cycle the tank. Having cycled media in the tank will speed things up, but it will still take some times. In the meantime, the old filter will keep your water parameters near acceptable levels.

2. I wouldn't add any more fish until you're fully cycled. I've heard mixed things about the biological starters, but it couldn't hurt to try it. Patience is the key here.

3. You don't need to have special substrate for plants, but it can only help. Sword plants are heavy root feeders so you'll need root tabs. A single 18" fluorescent bulb won't be enough to keep most plants alive in a 35g. There are other cheap options though. You can pick up a fluorescent shop light or use spiral CFL bulbs. Aim for 1-2 WPG.

4. Are you sure you're reading the tests correctly? You need to hold the tubes up against the white part of the card and look at them under decent light. If you're following the directions on the API kit closely and it's less than three years old, I'd trust the kit over any LFS test.

AFAIK, the tests are correct. I did look up last year's annual report from my water company online and found quote, "NitrAtes as Nitrogen" were listed per household at an average of 4.8ppm not to exceed 10ppm.

 

[Coleallensmom]

Regarding 2)

I've used microbe-lift special blend together with nite-out as they suggest and did not see much of a difference. The nite-out is supposed to be refrigerated to keep the bacteria alive and yet LFS never do, so most bacteria in there are probably dead. I bought mine in a moment of desperation.

In my opinion, if you already bought them use them but if you have not don't bother. I've also tried nutrafin cycle, stress-zyme and biozyme. The one I liked best was the biozyme (its a solid and has no expiration).

This is just my experience, you can find good and bad reviews online about all of these additives. So far I have not come across any that said it hurt their fish so I guess the only thing that can hurt if you try them is your pocket =)

Thanks...That's interesting. The guy that gave it to me swore up and down he cycled his tank in a week with just the Special Blend. I thought that seemed to good to be true and wasn't willing to take his word on it! I was reading last night and found something that said to use the Special Blend and Nite Out together because the Special Blend has bacteria that turns ammonia into NitrItes and that the Nite Out helps with turning NitrItes into NitrAtes which freaked me out enough to not try the Special Blend on it's own. After reading more, I am willing to give the SafeStart a go, but was looking for someone with first hand experience with using it.

 

[Coleallensmom]

Background: I'm a fish aquarium noob who had some Tetra/Zebra fish in a 5 gallon tank. Last week I purchased a 35 gallon tank. Friday I set up the new tank, got the filter system running (AquaClear 50 gal), and added all the plastic plants/ornaments as well as 2 gallons of water from the 5 gallon. Bought four 4" sword plants and added those. Waited 24 hours and added all of the gravel and fish from the 5 gal into the 35 gallon. Also added the 15 gal Aqua-Tech filter system that was on the 5 gallon onto the 35 gallon, so that it could run simultaneously with the Aquaclear.

Testing (API Freshwater kit) so far looks like this:

Day 1 after inital set up and addition of water/ornaments from 5 gal
PH 7.4
Ammonia .25ppm
Nitrites .25ppm
Nitrates 10ppm

On day 2 I tested twice with the same results for Ammonia/NitrItes only 20ppm NitrAtes. Day three I tested twice with same Ammonia/NitrIte results with 40ppm NitrAtes. Did a PWC. Tested once on day 4 with same results as day 3. Again the same readings on day 5 with maybe a tad more Ammonia and NitrIte.

Woke up on morning 6 with:

PH 7.4
Ammonia .50ppm
Nitrites .50ppm
Nitrates 40ppm

Decided to get some TSS. Did a PWC and dumped the bottle straight into the new Aquaclear filter. Tested 8 hours later with these results:

PH 7.4
Ammonia .25-.50ppm
Nitrites 0ppm
Nitrates 20ppm

Tested this morning on day 7 and got the same results only with exception of slightly more NitrAtes. Will test again this evening to see if there are any changes!