Coleallensmom
Planted Tank Enthusiast
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?
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?