3 weeks ago I was duped into a fish in cycle!! What next??

[Su Tac]

Hi all, thank you for adding me. 3 weeks ago I was duped into a fish in cycle by a pet shop chain . I have a 60l tank 6 Black Phantoms and numerous live plants.

After getting some (late) advice I have been doing 10% water changes every other day and have just received a liquid test kit. It is showing low ammonia and almost zero nitrites.

My question is do I just carry on as I have been doing. Could I have missed the ammonia spike during the past 3 weeks, how will I know what stage I'm at in the cycle if I haven't been testing from the start?

Many thanks for any suggestions.

 

[seangee]

A photo of the tank would help. It is possible that the plants are absorbing the ammonia if you have enough of them.

Just FWIW 10% water changes are pointless. You are leaving 90% of the bad stuff in the tank. You should change at least 50% and preferably 75%.

 

[Colin_T]

6 black phantom tetras in a 60 litre planted tank shouldn't be a big issue.

Just increase the amount of water you change like Seangee mentioned, and you should be right.

Normally if you are doing a fish in cycle I would recommend doing a 75% water change and gravel cleaning the substrate 4-8 hours after feeding. And do a 75% water change any day you have an ammonia or nitrite reading above 0, or a nitrate reading above 20ppm.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

-----------------------
What sort of filter do you have?
How often and how do you clean it?

Filters should be cleaned at least once a month and every 2 weeks is better. However, if the filter is less than 6 weeks old, do not clean it because you can upset the cycling process and cause it to start again. It normally takes 4-6 weeks for the filter to cycle.

When you do eventually clean the filter, wash filter materials/ media in a bucket of tank water.

If you have a filter that has pads/ cartridges in and the manufacturer recommends replacing them every couple of weeks, then leave the filter pads in the filter for a couple of months. Go to the pet shop and find some sponges for a different brand of filter and use a pair of scissors to cut the sponges so they fit in your filter.

Leave the sponges and pads running together for 2 months, then throw the pads/ cartridges away and don't bother replacing them. Just add some more sponge and use that. The sponges will last you 10+ years and only need replacing when they start to fall apart.

You can also get round/ cylindrical sponges for some brands of internal power filter. These round sponges have a hole through the centre and they fit over the intake strainer of most external power filters. The sponge can be cleaned every week or two and will prevent small fish or plants being sucked into the filter. And it will provide more filtration for the tank.

 

[Su Tac]

Wow, thank you, lots of information to digest.

I have an Interpet F2 filter, I will have to look into that and see what it contains etc. I'm realising that I should have done a ton of research before I started this

I've tried to upload a photo of my tank but it tells me it's too big? Will try to sort that??

If I'm changing huge amounts of water I'm assuming that will make the cycle take longer but will be better than the fish?

 

[Su Tac]

A photo of the tank would help. It is possible that the plants are absorbing the ammonia if you have enough of them.

Just FWIW 10% water changes are pointless. You are leaving 90% of the bad stuff in the tank. You should change at least 50% and preferably 75%.

A photo of the tank would help. It is possible that the plants are absorbing the ammonia if you have enough of them.

Just FWIW 10% water changes are pointless. You are leaving 90% of the bad stuff in the tank. You should change at least 50% and preferably 75%.

 

[Su Tac]

A photo of the tank would help. It is possible that the plants are absorbing the ammonia if you have enough of them.

Just FWIW 10% water changes are pointless. You are leaving 90% of the bad stuff in the tank. You should change at least 50% and preferably 75%.

 

[Su Tac]

Managed to upload a picture, all apart from the tall plant on the left are real, they've been added slowly over the 3 weeks.

 

[Colin_T]

Big water changes don't make any difference to the filter bacteria or the tank cycling as long as the new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

Big water changes dilute nutrients more effectively and that is better for the fish.

------------------------
If the pictures are too big for the website, set the camera's resolution to its lowest setting and take some more. The lower resolution will make the images smaller and they should fit on this website. Check the pictures on your pc and find a couple that are clear and show the problem, and post them here. Make sure you turn the camera's resolution back up after you have taken the pics otherwise all your pictures will be small.

 

[Su Tac]

Big water changes don't make any difference to the filter bacteria or the tank cycling as long as the new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

Big water changes dilute nutrients more effectively and that is better for the fish.

------------------------
If the pictures are too big for the website, set the camera's resolution to its lowest setting and take some more. The lower resolution will make the images smaller and they should fit on this website. Check the pictures on your pc and find a couple that are clear and show the problem, and post them here. Make sure you turn the camera's resolution back up after you have taken the pics otherwise all your pictures will be small.

Ah that makes sense, I've just tested the water ammonia is at 0.2, so I'm planning on a 50% water change, does that sound right?

 

[Colin_T]

a 75% water change will dilute it more but 50% will help to reduce it by half.

 

[Su Tac]

a 75% water change will dilute it more but 50% will help to reduce it by half.

a 75% water change will dilute it more but 50% will help to reduce it by half.

Tested my tap water after leaving it out overnight and the readings are the same as the tank???

Am I actually doing anything by these water changes??

Multiple test pic is tap water, individual ones are the tank....

 

[Fishmanic]

What is the brand of test kit u are using? Is it easier to use than the api test kit.

 

[Colin_T]

If your tank water doesn't have any ammonia or nitrite in, then just do a water change once a week or if you get an ammonia or nitrite reading.

 

[Su Tac]

What is the brand of test kit u are using? Is it easier to use than the api test kit.

NT Labs, pretty simple just adding drops to test tubes??

 

[Su Tac]

If your tank water doesn't have any ammonia or nitrite in, then just do a water change once a week or if you get an ammonia or nitrite reading.

So if my tank tests the same as my tap water should I wait for it to rise slightly before a water change?