this is my first tank setup now for a week and a half

added plants in on monday

readings are


Ammonia - 0

Nitrite - 0.4

Nitrat - 20

Ph 7.5


is this ok for fish going for 4 tetra neons to start.

hiya

you have been cycling a week have you??

any chance you can wait until NO2 is 0??? - be better for the fish really

how big is your tank?

rob

I'd say it's close to finished.

I wouldn't just yet. You havent mentioned if you have been doing the fishless cycle or just left the tank for a week and a half. Have you been adding ammonia etc? If not then you are likely to see a surge in ammonia and nitrite when you add fish.

If you have already done the fishless cycle... please ignore me

Aaron

nitrate looks ok. nitrite though,you might wanna wait until it's 0

cheers all

yes been doing a fish less cycle adding the biological supplement everyweek

so how long do yo think this will take to bring down to 0

would like to get some tetra neons at the weekend.

but if i have to wait i will wanna do it right (no dead fish)

Hmmm - you mention the biological supplement.... what are you using? I take it you're not actually adding ammonia? Have you checked water stats daily since you started? The cycling may not have actually begun or completed yet - it's not been very long.

Read the fishless cycling article on here. You will read that you need to see an ammonia spike followed by a nitrite spike, followed by zero for both of these and a nitrate spike. Then you need to do a large water change before adding fish.

this is the stuff i have been adding


sorry about pic size

This post has been edited by davidwhite136: Jan 20 2007, 10:47 AM

I wouldn't get Tetra Neons at the mo.

They aren't very hardy and are better in an established tank.

If I were you I'd get something hardier to start with and let them get the tank up to speed for a few weeks, then add a few more fish, then after 3-6 months get the tetras.

If you get the tetras first you may find that they die off quite quickly as they are very sensitive fish.

Platys or Danios are a good starter fish (although I used mollies, who are all alive bar one, which was inherited and I think died of old age).

tested water


Nitrite - 0.4 still the same


Nitrat - 20 is also still the same


have been adding food ect ect




any ideas

Many people say that the Nutrafin Cycle treatment is useless - bacteria would have used up all available sources of food in that bottle ages ago...also imagine the several hour long journey that bottle endured on a lorry in really cold temperatures - not good for the bacteria supposedly kept inside - it does not contain ammonia.

This post has been edited by tlagden: Jan 20 2007, 01:29 PM

You really need to wait till they all hit 0.

Even then, it is going to be very hit and miss as you have no idea how much ammonia you are adding to the tank when you use food as the source. You may built up a colony that can break down 1ppm of ammonia in 24 hours lets say, but then when you add your fish they could produce much more than this, in which case you wouldn't be alot better off than if you hadn't cycled at all. You will still get deadly ammonia and nitrite spikes.

I agree with tlagden, most of these cycle products are a waste of time. The best thing to do is get your hands of some 'seed' media from a friends filter, or LFS. This will give your colony a kick start

Hope this help
Aaron

if you want to be cycled asap!!!

and you are buying your fish mainly from one place and there does not appear to be disease in the tank or system then - asking to buy a fist full of gravel or as a favour and hang the gravel in a pair of tight (not the whole lot just the foot part off 1 leg) infront of the filter return

other wise add a piece of filter media as aaron and tlagden have said........best not to rush........after all it's fish we deal with and they are living creatures but when we do rush THE TIME MONEY it costs to put it right sometimes is a bit OTT

hth?
rob

Though Nutrafin cycle is pretty much a con to be completely honest, Nutrafin Aqua Plus is brilliant at dechlorination and reducing fish loss. It does not make exxaduratecd claims such as 'Will speed cycling so it's safe to add fish within the 48 hours' like BNutrafin Cycle which is safe yes but not good for any poor fish stuck in their to swim around in theoir own crap for a week or several...

Hope this helps - you're best just getting some ammonia and adding a little everyday then adding some fish after about a week.

Really, what you should be doing is adding ammonia, not food. And as you have been told already, you should add enough ammonia to the tank that gets the concentration up to 5ppm. When the tank is able to process that 5ppm down to 0ppm in 24hrs, it is cycled and you can fully stock your tank immediately.

It's really really simple, and all described in the Fishless Cycling article on this forum.

The fast alternaitve is to get some matured filter media from a friend. I dunno about the gravel thing - no experience of that, and I've red that the bacteria live in the filter media mainly.

Irf.

yeah filter media is better, the bacteria do also live in the gravel but to a much lesser extent. so while it would boost your cycle a bit to add gravel you'd still need to cycle and it wouldn't support a big bioload of fish like media would.