Cycle Update

[mike126]

Well here's where I am..... this is a fish-in cycle

I upgraded my powerfilter that came with the tank to an Eheim 2213. Yes, it is over kill for my 10g tank. I did that since we will be moving up to a larger tank in a couple of months. The new filter is working fine once I got the flow rate adjusted and the spray bar in a good position.

Now here's where I am with my cycle. Since I replaced the old filter I almost started from square one. I did leave it in the tank for a few days to try and keep the cycle going.

I have the following values as of tonight's water change. I took the readings about an hour after the 20% water change.

Ammonia = .25ppm
Nitrite = 40 (That's high)
Nitrate = 10 (Very high)
Hardness = 75 (normal)
Chlorine = 0
Alkalinity = 80
PH = 7.2
Temp = 78.6 F

The ammonia has droped from the past few tests. It had spiked to around 5.0 earlier in the week. But, now the nitrates and nitrites are on the rise. Does this mean the bacteria is growing given the nitrites are on teh rise?

My plan is to do a 15% water change tomorrow and for each day until things drop. I was also thinking of vacuuming the gravel. The fish have been only getting a very small amount of food about once/day.

Thanks, Mike

 

[lana]

Well here's where I am..... this is a fish-in cycle

I upgraded my powerfilter that came with the tank to an Eheim 2213. Yes, it is over kill for my 10g tank. I did that since we will be moving up to a larger tank in a couple of months. The new filter is working fine once I got the flow rate adjusted and the spray bar in a good position.

Now here's where I am with my cycle. Since I replaced the old filter I almost started from square one. I did leave it in the tank for a few days to try and keep the cycle going.

I have the following values as of tonight's water change. I took the readings about an hour after the 20% water change.

Ammonia = .25ppm
Nitrite = 40 (That's high)
Nitrate = 10 (Very high)
Hardness = 75 (normal)
Chlorine = 0
Alkalinity = 80
PH = 7.2
Temp = 78.6 F

The ammonia has droped from the past few tests. It had spiked to around 5.0 earlier in the week. But, now the nitrates and nitrites are on the rise. Does this mean the bacteria is growing given the nitrites are on teh rise?

My plan is to do a 15% water change tomorrow and for each day until things drop. I was also thinking of vacuuming the gravel. The fish have been only getting a very small amount of food about once/day.

Thanks, Mike

are you using a test strip or liquid test kit? if a strip but a api liquid test kit, what are your tap water reading ? how many fish

with nitrites of 40 i would do a large water change 50 to 80 % and test in 1 hour and repeat if needed

 

[mike126]

Lana - I'm using a liquid test for the ammonia and paper test strip for the nitrates/nitrites etc. I was going to pick up the API kit tomorrow. I'll do a larger water change of around 40%. I have 6 fish, guppies, mollies and a black skirt.

Thanks, Mike

 

[waterdrop]

Ignore the nitrite readings, those are just flat-out wrong. That's why we tell people they will need good liquid tests as a baseline in the hobby. The little water changes you are doing are probably ineffective at this point. You should be doing 50% daily changes (with dechlor and rough temp matching) until you can confirm what's going on with your new kit.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[backtotropical]

Ignore the nitrite readings, those are just flat-out wrong. That's why we tell people they will need good liquid tests as a baseline in the hobby. The little water changes you are doing are probably ineffective at this point. You should be doing 50% daily changes (with dechlor and rough temp matching) until you can confirm what's going on with your new kit.

~~waterdrop~~

I couldn't have put it better myself!

Mike, don't be scared of large water changes, your fish will need them to stay alive. So long as you match the temp roughly and dechlorinate, up to 100% is fine.

BTT

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yes totally agree with the above, get yourself a decent liquid test kit (i recommend the API FreshWater Master Test Kit) and until then do 50% changes every day.

 

[waterdrop]

MW, feels good when BTT pops in for reinforcement, eh? .. BTT, how are those angelfish getting along?

wd

 

[kcharley]

Hi Mike,

As a newb myself and having recently fought the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate battles, don't give up and do keep after it.

I think your plan for the liquid test kit is a good one. In my case, results became a lot more consistent making it easier to figure out what to do next.

Do check your tap water. (Mine has some ammonia in it.)

One thing I found that made water changes easier was I switched from one gallon containers to a five gallon container. Siphoning into that container was quicker and it involved only one or two trips to empty it. I discovered filling it was easier by putting it in the shower and using the flexible hose spray head to fill it. A bathtub would probably work well also. Of course lifting 5 gallons of water isn't easy so it may not work for you. I didn't have to buy a container. I found an old cooler in the basement that worked.

I'm not sure how much you are feeding your fish. We were overfeeding ours at first and scaling back hasn't hurt them at all.

Hope this helps. Good luck and keep us posted.

Greg

 

[backtotropical]

MW, feels good when BTT pops in for reinforcement, eh? .. BTT, how are those angelfish getting along?

wd

PM sent!

 

[Miss Wiggle]

MW, feels good when BTT pops in for reinforcement, eh?

aye, he's been neglecting us all a bit recently!! where you been BTT?!

 

[mike126]

Hey guys thanks for the responses.

I'm in no way giving up. Late last night I did a second water change so for the day it totaled 50%. I'm using Prime based on MW's recommendation.

I do have some ammonia in the tap water. The tank levels for ammonia are dropping so I guess my bacteria is starting to grow. I'll do a 50% wc later today when I get home. I'll be picking up the API test kit at lunch.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

good stuff

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, good, even the "Old Dominion" state of VA should have some API Master kits for lunch pickup: "Yes, salami on rye and I'd like a liquid-based kit to go with my iced tea"

~~waterdrop~~

 

[mike126]

Yum salami on rye!

Does anyone have or know of a chart that illustrates the relationship of the nitrates, nitrites and ammonia in a nitrogen cycle? I'm curious to see if there is a mapping of the values as an indicator to where you are in the cycle.

 

[backtotropical]

MW, feels good when BTT pops in for reinforcement, eh?

aye, he's been neglecting us all a bit recently!! where you been BTT?!

Thanks for noticing, MW. It makes me feel appreciated!

I've been in Egypt for a week (which was absolutely ace), and have started doing professional accountancy exams, so i've had a lot less spare time than before, and the spare time i do have, i really need to study.

On top of that, we have found out that our 2nd child is on the way.

Busy boy!

Don't worry, i'll always make some time to hop on the forums and say hello. Time is just a bit more scarce than before!