A Few Cycling Questions

[Billsfan905]

I have three tanks that I have been in-fish cycling ranging from 3-7 weeks.
1. My nitrites have been zero for 3 days in all 3, with no water changes. One tank has been having nitrates slowly rising for the last week, I consider it cycled. The other 2 tanks have 0.25 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and 0 nitrates. I don't understand how there can be 0 nitrates if there are 0 nitrites, wouldn't the ammonia convert to nitrites, and then the nitrites convert to nitrates? My tap water naturally has 0.5 ammonia. So AT LEAST .25 of that had to be converted to nitrites, not including the fish waste... and then where did it go from there?

2. The pH in one of those uncycled tanks is 6.0, which worries me. My tap water is over 7.6. If I were to do water changes more frequently would it balance out the pH? I'm unsure of why it is so low as well. It contains guppies who aren't showing any physical symptoms but I'm worried!

3. Would moving gravel, plastic plants, etc, from my cycled tank speed up the process of the other two? I know the filter media is usually a good idea, but I have a carbon filter!


These are the water stats of my 3 tanks

Tank 1 (35 gallon) cycling for 3 weeks
Ammonia- under 0.25
Nitrites- 0
Nitrates- 0 boo
pH- 6.4

Tank 2 (29 gallon) cycling for 7 weeks
Ammonia- under 0.25
Nitrites- 0
Nitrates- 5.0 ++
pH- 6.6

Tank 3 (10 gallon) cycling for 6 weeks
Ammonia- under 0.25
Nitrites- 0
Nitrates- 0
pH- 6.0 (WHY IS THIS SO LOW UGH)

Tap water, one hour after being treated with Prime water conditioner
Ammonia- 0.5+
Nitrites- 0
Nitrates- 0
pH- 7.6 ++

Thanks so much for your time, everyone on this forum has been so so helpful!

 

[Axyadbad]

In your third tank with the low ph, such a low Ph can practically stop the cycling process, the bacteria go into hibernation sort of. You'll have to raise it using bicarbonate soda or arm and hammer soda in america, I think. But i'm not sure if this will harm the fish so you may need to ask someone with more expertise

Using gravel and other decoration won't help that much at all, the filter media is the best choice.

Hope this helps

 

[Electric Warrior]

The fact that you are doing a fish in cycle, and on several different tanks at one time is going to make things very difficult for you. Fish in cycles really require massive water changes daily, but you probably know that by now. As far as the PH issue in the one tank, you are having a PH crash, so more frequent water changes probably wont do anything. You basically need to do one big one, like 90%, like leaving just enough water for the fish to swim upright. Basically a PH in the low 6's will stop the good bacteria from reproducing when you are cycling a filter, and then they will just die. If you have fish in there, you will get a massive ammonia spike because the filter will basically be useless, and they will pretty much die right away. I had a PH crash in my new tank when I was fishless cycling it, and I had to add baking soda to get the PH up, but I don't know if you can really do that when you have fish. It's kinda weird though, because I thought PH crashes during cycles usually occurred during the nitrate phase, like mine did, when you also get a really high nitrate reading at the same time, but someone else will have to answer that. You might want to think about getting something like crushed coral sand or something and sticking that in your filter to get the PH back up?

It was also be a good idea for you to test the GH/KH of your water, because if you have water with a very low GH, you might have some issues keeping your PH up. My water out of the tap (after 24 hours of being sat out, as one hour wont give an accurate reading) is 7.2, but in my cycled tank, it's 6.6, which is fine because I keep fish that like acidic, soft water.

Your filter you are saying is carbon, there must be something else in it? Some kind of sponge, floss, etc.?

 

[Gvilleguy]

I would not recommend using baking soda to raise pH while fish are in the tank. I don't know if it harms the fish directly, but the baking soda is only a temporary fix, and the pH could drop back down quickly when it "wears off". Rapid pH changes = not good for your fish.

I like the suggestion of using water changes to try and raise it back up. If that does not work, purchase a bag of crushed coral from a LFS, place a small bit (a clump a little larger than a golf ball) in a bit of stocking (panty hose), and suspend the clump in the outflow of your tank filter. This will buffer the water hardness and stabilize pH levels at a higher value.

EDIT: actually, in your 10 gallon tank I'd go with a golf ball size clump - not bigger.

 

[Billsfan905]

Thank you all SO much for your help, I will do a 90% water change as soon as I get home & check my cycled tank for the media.

I was doing 80% water changes twice daily and testing the water around 5 times a day and doing water changes accordingly. I managed to lose only one guppy with fin rot RIP
All the other fish are healthy now, no symptoms of anything

I will change the water and report back later!