Irish.OG87
Aquarium Advice Freak
Would adding and removing stuff from my tank during the cycle mess up anything, cos im going to be removing some plants and adding some rocks to my tank.
Pigeonfood said:Would adding and removing stuff from my tank during the cycle mess up anything, cos im going to be removing some plants and adding some rocks to my tank.
Pigeonfood said:maybe im impatient but after 3 days my ammo lvls still hasnt come down at all, still 4ppm!! thats normal right?? cos i read an earlier post today that after 3-4days the guy already producing nitrAtes.
Pigeonfood said:maybe im impatient but after 3 days my ammo lvls still hasnt come down at all, still 4ppm!! thats normal right?? cos i read an earlier post today that after 3-4days the guy already producing nitrAtes.
Mog said:Hi again
Okay, so I have a question for you guys. And this is basically due to the fact that I did not have a baseline for my nitrates.
I tested the tank again last night, ammonia was down to .25. I dosed it with 2 tbsp of ammonia to bring it back up; didnt' get a chance to test after, but wanted to make sure there was enough to keep the bacteria alive. I'm guessing it's around 2.0. I'll dose it up to 4 tonight.
I checked the nitrItes and they were still at 5.0+
My first question is... I checked the NitrAtes after 5 minutes and registered at 5ppm . But I left the tube on the counter overnight and this morning it appeared to be close to 80. Would the shade get darker overnight? Is there a chance that the 5 was accurate? Or would the 80 after sitting overnight be accurate?
My second question is... Eco, statedto do a 50% pwc once the nitrites and nitrates spike. Since the nitrates are off the chart and I'm not sure where the nitrates sit at... since I didn't do a baseline reading when setting up the tank. Should I do one now? Or should I wait and confirm that the nitrates are indeed at the 80ppm mark? Since the tank seems to be cycling so well, I don't want to screw something up And it does state with high readings, it could stall my cycle...
Is it just me, or is the 20-40 and 40-80 real close in shades as far as the Nitrates go? I have a real hard time differentiating between the two...
Thanks again, you guys/gals are great
Mog
Another word of advice for those newbies reading... when you first set up your tank. Take reading for PH, Ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrates. I was following the guide that said to wait until your ammonia drops to take Nitrite readings, but by then, they were already spiking, which had me wondering if there were maybe nitrites in the tap water, or in some of the old substrate I used, etc... I wish I would have taken all 4 readings initally and then there would be no wondering.
Mog said:Thanks for the reply Eco.
I shook for 30 seconds and one minute. I even used a stop watch to make sure I did it exact So I would say the 5 is the actual reading then.
My concern is that my nitrAtes were at 20 the day before... and now reading at 5ppm. So is it possible that they spiked along with the nitrItes and since I wasn't testing that early into the cycle and missed it?
I'll check again tonight and see where they stand.
I have been keeping a journal since... LOL But the first thread said to go read a book and test in a week and your ammonia might be going down at that point. And if it is, to test for nitrItes. I was just bored... or should I say impatient and decided to test early and see if there were any nitrite readings... image my surprise when it was 5+
I'll keep testing and see what the results are. Hopefully the nitrites will be gone overnight, soon
Mog
Mog said:Eco, I have a question for you.
I lost the thread, so couldn't post there... but since this is partially related to cycling a tank, thought it would be okay to ask here.
I saw in a thread where you mention that the process to do a pwc with a Python is different... in that you add the conditioner to the tank first and for the full amount of the tank, not for the amount of water that you are replacing.
Why is this? I would think that if you're doing the mid and end of cycle water changes (and subsequent), you would only add enough to treat the water that you are replacing. Especially if you're doing a 50% on a 75g tank. I'm using Amquel plus and Novaqua plus and want to make sure I won't interrupt or stall my cycle
On a related note, do you recommend Prime over the Kordon products?
Also, when using a python for large pwc's, how do you regulate the temp of the water? I'm a little concerned about adding too cold or too warm water to the existing water in the tank, which I would think would be a problem when it's stocked.
Thanks again
Mog
Mr. Limpet said:Question for you Eco that I didn't see referenced in your guide.
I have 2 pieces of African root wood that are clean, plus I washed them and will soak them overnight before putting them in (with java fern attached) when I fill my tank and start my fishless cycle.
My question is, will the tannins leaching from them affect my cycle in anyway?