N3PTUN3
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Hello
I’m new to this site and to fish-keeping. I listen for the collective groan as I say that I did not do a fishless cycle. In my defence I didn’t know it was possible at the time. Anyway, before you all tell me off, I'm sorry. I am here now and willing to learn.
Before posting, I have tried to find an answer to my question, but it seems that you need answers to very specific questions in order to help. I guess every tank is different, so here goes.
I set up my tank, a juwel rio 125 on 1st April. I added stuff to de-chlorinate the water and some anti-stress/liquid bacteria stuff as per the instructions on the bottle. I left it for a week before adding 8 zebra danios. Water temperature is approx 24oC and the pH is roughly 7.
I have been testing the water daily since I added the fish. I use a liquid test kit (not the strips). All readings are zero, although there could be a very slight trace of ammonia. It’s not really showing as dark as the first colour on the chart which is 0.6mg/l. The water in my tank was cloudy for a couple of days in the beginning but is very clear now.
The fish looked healthy enough and were active (but it’s hard to tell with fish, I suppose). Unfortunately I lost two of them out of the blue. I found one trapped inside the filter, but I cannot find the other one. This happened about a week ago and the others seem to be ok.
I’m not sure if the fish swam into the filter during a water/filter change.
I have changed the top filter each week and the black filter yesterday (after one month). I have replaced approx 15l of water on two occasions.
With six fish in the tank (and probably a little corpse somewhere), I would have thought I would have seen a rise in ammonia, but still nothing.
Can anyone tell me why my tank isn’t cycling yet? Is it just a case of waiting until it eventually happens or am I doing something wrong?
p.s. I don’t know anyone with an established tank
I’m new to this site and to fish-keeping. I listen for the collective groan as I say that I did not do a fishless cycle. In my defence I didn’t know it was possible at the time. Anyway, before you all tell me off, I'm sorry. I am here now and willing to learn.
Before posting, I have tried to find an answer to my question, but it seems that you need answers to very specific questions in order to help. I guess every tank is different, so here goes.
I set up my tank, a juwel rio 125 on 1st April. I added stuff to de-chlorinate the water and some anti-stress/liquid bacteria stuff as per the instructions on the bottle. I left it for a week before adding 8 zebra danios. Water temperature is approx 24oC and the pH is roughly 7.
I have been testing the water daily since I added the fish. I use a liquid test kit (not the strips). All readings are zero, although there could be a very slight trace of ammonia. It’s not really showing as dark as the first colour on the chart which is 0.6mg/l. The water in my tank was cloudy for a couple of days in the beginning but is very clear now.
The fish looked healthy enough and were active (but it’s hard to tell with fish, I suppose). Unfortunately I lost two of them out of the blue. I found one trapped inside the filter, but I cannot find the other one. This happened about a week ago and the others seem to be ok.
I’m not sure if the fish swam into the filter during a water/filter change.
I have changed the top filter each week and the black filter yesterday (after one month). I have replaced approx 15l of water on two occasions.
With six fish in the tank (and probably a little corpse somewhere), I would have thought I would have seen a rise in ammonia, but still nothing.
Can anyone tell me why my tank isn’t cycling yet? Is it just a case of waiting until it eventually happens or am I doing something wrong?
p.s. I don’t know anyone with an established tank