librarygirl
Look It Up
Hi,
I'm new, 12 gal tank, 4 Glofish (which I learned afterward isn't the best size for these fish. The fish have been there for a month now. Tank not cycled yet.
Ammonia is usually 0-0.25, although the last two tests 12 hours after a pwc showed a full 0.25 ammonia (it's usually less) even 12 hours after a 5 gal change, so maybe the ammonia is trying to come up.
nitrates/nitrites - 0
ph is often around 6.8-7.2 but I've lately had fluctuations so not sure what's going on there.
Also started to notice some green algea (?) on one of my decorations.
I've been doing pwc 1-2x daily as habit. Until last week I was testing the water (API kit) only after pwc. This week I started testing the water before changes as well.
So my question:
First, is the tank taking so long to cycle b/c I have fish and am doing pwc?
Second: if the ammonia is trying to come up (finally) and if I let it get to .5 before doing a water change, how long would this take before I start seeing nitrites? Days? Weeks?
I'm already very attached to my fish and it would make me sad to bring them back to PetSmart (if they would even take them). However, the thought of them swimming in .5+ of ammonia kills me, especially if it could be days or weeks. And if any of them die because of that I'd be upset (and probably quit this hobby before I even started).
So, should I just take the fish back now and do a fishless cycle? Since I may be a bit further along than a brand new empty tank, how long do you think it would take to cycle without fish from where I am now? (of course this would open up a new can of worms for me and my asking more questions, lol).
What should I do?
I'm new, 12 gal tank, 4 Glofish (which I learned afterward isn't the best size for these fish. The fish have been there for a month now. Tank not cycled yet.
Ammonia is usually 0-0.25, although the last two tests 12 hours after a pwc showed a full 0.25 ammonia (it's usually less) even 12 hours after a 5 gal change, so maybe the ammonia is trying to come up.
nitrates/nitrites - 0
ph is often around 6.8-7.2 but I've lately had fluctuations so not sure what's going on there.
Also started to notice some green algea (?) on one of my decorations.
I've been doing pwc 1-2x daily as habit. Until last week I was testing the water (API kit) only after pwc. This week I started testing the water before changes as well.
So my question:
First, is the tank taking so long to cycle b/c I have fish and am doing pwc?
Second: if the ammonia is trying to come up (finally) and if I let it get to .5 before doing a water change, how long would this take before I start seeing nitrites? Days? Weeks?
I'm already very attached to my fish and it would make me sad to bring them back to PetSmart (if they would even take them). However, the thought of them swimming in .5+ of ammonia kills me, especially if it could be days or weeks. And if any of them die because of that I'd be upset (and probably quit this hobby before I even started).
So, should I just take the fish back now and do a fishless cycle? Since I may be a bit further along than a brand new empty tank, how long do you think it would take to cycle without fish from where I am now? (of course this would open up a new can of worms for me and my asking more questions, lol).
What should I do?