10 Gallon Tank And Nitrogen Cycle

[RaquelLabotka]

I set up a new 10 Gallon Aquarium on June 30 (with 1 inch of gravel, filter for a 15 gallon, a heater, plastic decorations, and 1 Anubias Nana plant). I added Tetra AquaSafe to the tap water and left the tank running for 24 hours before adding an entire small bottle of Tetra SafeStart Plus and getting 1 Mickey Mouse Platy and 1 ghost shrimp. I've been testing my water and today is reading at 0.5ppm ammonia, 0 nitrites, and 10ppm nitrates. I was told when adding SafeStart Plus I should not do any partial water changes before the aquarium has been running for 2 weeks. Is that right? My fish and shrimp seem to be fine, but I'm worried about that amount of ammonia starting to get them sick. I'm waiting for the Nitrogen cycle to be complete before adding any more fish (1 or 2 every other week). I want to eventually have 6 Neon Tetra in addition to what I already have. I would appreciate any advice you can give me. Thank you!
 
 
 

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Well, around here we recommend that you not cycle with fish, with or without bacterial additives.  
 
 
 
What's your nitrate reading out of the tap?  Is it 10 ppm as well, or is it lower and you are starting to get nitrate readings from the cycle progressing?
 
 
 
As for the amount of ammonia in the tank...  The dangerous chemical is actually ammonia (NH3), while ammonium (NH4+) is far less of a problem.  The two are interrelated to the pH and temp (as well as salinity, but yours should be zero).
 
Use this calculator and change the water when the 'free ammonia' (NH3) approaches 0.05 ppm.  Your test kit will only read the total ammonia (NH3 + NH4+) combined.  This link will help you determine the 'danger zone'.  
 
https/www.hamzasreef.com/Contents/Calculators/FreeAmmonia.php

 

[RaquelLabotka]

Tap water reads 0 nitrates and 0.25 ammonia on my API master test kit. I hate that my tap water already has ammonia in it. Thanks for the link. I will check it out.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

That's not bad for ammonia, honestly. That's actually kind of normal. Adding that tap water to your tank once the cycle is completed won't cause any trouble... at all.


The nitrate being zero out of the tap and ~10 ppm in the tank means that the cycle is progressing pretty nicely. And the nitrite being zero means that you have enough bacteria of those nitrite oxidizing bacteria to handle the load from the ammonia oxidizing bacteria currently. Th downside is that you don't currently have enough of them. But, now that they are established, they will be able to multiply fairly quickly. They can double in number roughly every 24 hours.

Keep a close eye on things, but the cycle should be finished fairly quickly, without the need for a water change in the meantime (probably).

 

[RaquelLabotka]

Thank you so much. That is good news! I will keep checking the water to make sure it doesn't reach dangerous levels. I have a question about stocking the tank. I used another website for stocking tips and it should be fine to have an additional 6 Neon Tetra, which makes my tank be 74% stocked and still plenty of filtration (152%). I know they are schooling fish so is it okay to put 2 at a time, wait a week or so to add another 2 until I get to 6 or should I just dump all 6 at once? I read you need to add fish slowly to give the bacteria time to multiply and take the extra bio-load. 
 
Thanks again for the help. I tried years ago to have a 29 gallon tank but I didn't know anything about it and my fish kept dying. I don't want that to happen again.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

That site isn't worth the electrons, quite honestly (which is why you'll note that it was blocked from being included in your post).
 
 
You currently have only ONE fish, if I am correct.  So, adding 6 neons would be a massive bump in the bioload of the tank.  Not quite 6 times as the neons would be juvies and quite small, but it is still a push.  If it were me, I'd suggest getting 3 to start and see how the bacteria deal with the added bioload.  Once you are back to double zeros (ammonia and nitrite), then I'd add the next 3.
 
 
 
Regarding your tank sizes... the 29 would actually be easier for you now as the larger water volume keeps the water parameters more consistent.  The 10 limits your stocking options greatly.  Once the 6 neons are in the tank, you would be pretty close to max stocking.  A few more ghost shrimp would be ok, but I wouldn't suggest many more fish.  You could boost the neons numbers up a bit more, but just a little.

 

[RaquelLabotka]

I don't currently have the room for the 29 gallon tank, that is why I bought the 10 gallon. Yes, I only have 1 platy and 1 ghost shrimp at the moment. I have only been feeding them once a day and just a tiny portion. I will do what you suggested starting with only 3 and keep an eye on the water parameters for a while until the bacteria takes the extra bio-load. I don't plan to add any more fish to the tank after the 6 neon tetras. If I end up setting up my 29 gallon at some point, would stealing one of the three filter pads from my 10 gallon tank jump start the cycle? I would still use Tetra Safe Start Plus, but I wonder if that would also make things easier.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Yes, seeding a cycle with established media will most definitely jump start the cycle.  I'd say it would jump start it to the point that buying Tetra SafeStart would be unnecessary.  

 

[RaquelLabotka]

That's good to know. Thank you!

 

[RaquelLabotka]

Today's test: Ammonia .25, Nitrite 0, Nitrate a tiny bit darker than 10, but not enough for the next level. I forgot to add PH, which is currently at 7.4. I wish there was a better color chart for the ammonia. Trying to see between .25 and .50 is hard, but I am sure it is at .25 now because I had a vial with a test from my tap, which I know for sure it is .25 and they look the same. Tomorrow is 14 days since I put my first fish and Tetra SafeStart. I don't plan to add any fish until my tank is at least 4 weeks old and I am sure the ammonia is down to 0, which I have never seen. I wonder if the API test is a bit screwed up. Is there any other test that is recommended? I know the test strips are not recommended.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

The API test does give a 0.25ppm reading at times when its not really there.  But, its really the best test for the money in the hobby.  JBL isn't much better.  The test strips are pretty worthless.  
 
Your reading at 0.25ppm is a good sign, even if it stays at that level.  It seems that your cycle is nearly completed, if not already completed.  Waiting is still a good idea, as it gives the colony a chance to mature before adding bioload.  
 
 
0.25ppm at pH 7.4 means that your free ammonia is very very low.  Assuming a temp of 76 degrees F, your 'dangerous' ammonia is only ~0.0034 ppm.   That's only 10% of where it starts to be a problem.   And if your ammonia level has dropped recently, then your bacteria colony are capable of handling what your fish is producing.  
 
 
The ghost shrimp being in the tank is actually a very good indicator for you.  Shrimp are very sensitive to ammonia.  If the shrimp is fine, then things are going well.

 

[RaquelLabotka]

Thanks. The temperature is 79F, actually. And yes, my ghost shrimp is pretty happy. I love seeing her go up when I am feeding the fish. Shrimp and fish are both behaving fine with no issues. I'm glad my cycle is nearly completed or complete. I've never gotten this far before, but I made so many mistakes with my 29 gallon before. I added like 10 fish from the get-go, didn't use any bacteria supplement and kept doing massive water changes... no wonder my fish kept dying I know better now and this cycle was faster than I thought it would be. Everything I read said 4-8 weeks. But I am being very cautious and I will definitely take the slow route adding new fish. Thanks for all the help!

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Ok.  At 79 degrees, that makes the ammonia 0.0039 ppm.
 
 
 
Doing water changes during a classic fish-in cycle is the only way to protect the fish.  BUT... if you aren't well versed in the nitrogen cycle, you won't know when or how much water needs to be changed.  The goal there is to limit the time of the cycle is to leave the levels as high as possible, without them being dangerous.  The more ammonia or nitrite that is present, the faster the cycle will go (within reason), BUT the higher it goes the more dangerous it becomes for the fish.  Its a delicate balance and far beyond the capability of most newbies, and to be honest, most experienced fishkeepers as well.  I'd never be so bold as to complete a total fish in cycle at this point.  Of course, I'd never have to.  Once you have an established tank, you don't need to worry about it.  You can seed any cycle.
 
 
I have completed 'partial' fish in cycles with seeded filter material.  These have never taken more than a few days.
 
I've also completed fishless cycles with seeded filter material.  These go even faster.

 

[RaquelLabotka]

I presume when you are seeding a new tank you still have to start with a couple of fish at a time, right? The only real difference is that the cycle will be quicker and you don't have to worry too much about affecting the fish. I want to keep all the information in mind if I find a way to get my 29 gallon going at some point. I guess once you are in this hobby and you are successful, you end up wanting to expand
 
Right now I only have 1 live plant (Anubias Nana). I would like to have a full planted tank, but don't feel like messing with complicated CO2 equipment or any special lighting. I'm afraid to mess with fertilizer, but I know I will probably need it at some point for my plant, right? My aquarium has an LED that is pretty bright and the Anubias Nana seem to be fine. What other low light or low maintenance  plants would you suggest?

 

[Ch4rlie]

I presume when you are seeding a new tank you still have to start with a couple of fish at a time, right? The only real difference is that the cycle will be quicker and you don't have to worry too much about affecting the fish. I want to keep all the information in mind if I find a way to get my 29 gallon going at some point. I guess once you are in this hobby and you are successful, you end up wanting to expand

 
If you seed a tank with media from the other tank, this will be a fast cycle anyway.
 
So, no do not add any fish until the cycle is complete, depending on how you seed the tank, whether its with a squeeze of media filter to get some 'gunk' into the new tank, this should take less than 2 weeks max.
 
If you seed with a quarter to a third of actual media (whether it be sponge or ceramics etc) from the other tank to your 29g filter, this will be even quicker, less than a week really if not a few days since both types of bacteria live side by side really and these will grow quickly every day until the optinum colony is grown to handle whatever bioload you have int he tank.
 
By the way, using these methods means you will need a source of ammonia to feed the bacterias and testing the tanks to check progress after each dosage of ammonia.
 
There are other methods but by far, the media from another tank is the best and fastest method imho.