Chem Readings

[miltiadis_s]

new to this chemistry reading. what are safe limits for when you're cycling and when do u no that the tank has finished cycling?
.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

your results should be something like this

ammonia - 0
nitrite - 0
nitrate - less than 40 (although this is disputed, some people say much higher is safe)

are you dong a fishless cycle or cycling with fish?

 

[miltiadis_s]

umm fishless but is there a way of doing it without adding ammonia? thanks also what ph do guppys require?

 

[Miss Wiggle]

somewhere between 6.5 - 7.5 for guppies i think, i've not kept them myself though so not sure exactly.

yes you can also do it adding fish food or prawns to the tank, basically anything that will decay and produce ammonia, however pure ammonia is the cleanest, safest and easiest way to do it.

you know it's cycled when you add ammonia to 5ppm and within 12 hrs both ammonia and nitrite are reading 0.

 

[miltiadis_s]

i have no clue about the chem things but if i record the measurements.... at the end when nitrites nitrates and ammonia are 0 i can add fish?

 

[Miss Wiggle]

have a read of this topic

it explains about the different readings, what they are, what they need to be and why.

don't worry about the 2nd part, that's cycling with fish, but i think you'll find the first part useful.

 

[miltiadis_s]

ok read it..
helped alot
being a 25litre tank, will it maintain the cycle or will it stuff up?

 

[Miss Wiggle]

good good!

i don't understand what you mean about maintaining the cycle?

perhaps if you explain exactly what you've done so far setting it up and then we can help tell you how to carry on from here

 

[miltiadis_s]

i meant becasue the tank is small, with the chemistry levels fluctuate or anything?

i have the tank airpump heater filter gravel etc... just need to get test kit and fish later on..

 

[Miss Wiggle]

smaller tanks do suffer from fluctuating chemistry more than big tanks.

If possible I'd always steer beginners away from such little tanks.

I have a 10g and that's hard enough to keep running smoothly. yours is 6g.

also your fish selection is massivley limited in that tank, there's only about 3/4 species that I would say you could have in there, microrasbora, endlers, pygmy cories or a single fish such as a simaese fighter fish. even things like neon tetra's are too big for your tank.

Not to say it's impossible, you can quite happily set up a lovely tank that size and do fantastic things with it, try google image searching for 'nano tanks' and you'll see what I mean. However it takes a lot of hard work and expertise.

In all honesty as you have barely started I would advise you to rturn it to the store and get something bigger. A 15/20g tank would be much more manageable.

 

[miltiadis_s]

so is it a waist spending money on an expensive master test kit...
i just want to have guppies...

 

[Miss Wiggle]

so is it a waist spending money on an expensive master test kit...
i just want to have guppies...

no not a waste at all, exactly the opposite, if you want to keep the small tank with just guppies then a test kit is absolutely crucial to keep on top of the water quality.

Guppies are actually pretty delicate, years of inbreeding to get the fancy colour variations have left the species very weak. You'll need to keep teh water quality tip top for them.

If I was you I'd look up endlers, they're like the guppies wild cousin!! Much hardier, slightly smaller so they'd be better in the tank and they also come in some lovely colour variations and patterns.

 

[miltiadis_s]

ok. the test kit is coming soon. so with fishless cycling with just flakes, do i need to do partial water changes?

how often do i have to measure the chem levels?

at the end do i have to take water out and refil the tank?

will cycle help the biological process?

do i need to use conditioning crystals in the water the fish are in?

is water conditioner the same as conditioning crystals?



THANKSSSSSSSSSSS

 

[Miss Wiggle]

nope, no need for water changes while cycling, just do a 90% change when it's done and your ready to add fish.

measure the levels every couple of days while cycling

i'm not sure what conditioning crystals are, sorry