Cycled?

[Txen]

Hi

I think my tank is cycled, but im not 100% sure. My ammonia isnt right...i think.

My tank has been cycling for a while now (7weeks or so) and has been (i think) cycled for nearly 2 weeks.

But i seem to have an amonia problem.

When i add ammonia to get ca. 4ppm, in 24h its down to ca. 0.2, nitrites are 0.
I tried to check if its cycled by overdosing (ammonia 6+), in 24h it was down to 0.5 and nitries were 0.25, so no nitrite spike which i would have expected if the tank wouldnt be cycled.

But why isnt it the ammonia going down from 4 to 0 in 24h???
According to what i ve been reading it should.

Oh, and also i read the article re: Do not touch ph.

my ph is 6.4 and as im planning to put otocinlci and a betta splendens in a 11g i really need to get it a little higher.
I was planning to try 2 water changes a week (30%) and if that doesnt work at all over 2 weeks ill add some baking soda.
i know, it ll further buffer the water and increase my kh but if my kh isnt too high the ph should slightly increase.
Do you think its ok or should i just stick to water changes and just wait??? (i really cannot be asked to wait for another month or two though!)

 

[rdd1952]

What type test kit are you using? Have you tested your tap water to make sure the kit will show a 0 reading? There really isn't any reason the ammonia should stop at .2 and not go any lower unless the tank just hasn't had time to process all of it in the time between when you added it and when you tested it. I think you will be fine to add your fish.

As far as the pH is concened, it is fine for the betta and otos. Why do you think it needs to be higher? Optimal pH for bettas is anywhere from 6.0 to 8.0 and for otos it's from the mid 5s to mid 7s so there is no reason to try to adjust it. That will only cause problems. What is the pH of your tap water? Keep in mind that when you do the big water change before you add fish, you will basically take the pH back to where the tap water is. And when you are talking about adding baking soda to buffer the wter, you are raising KH (buffering capacity).

 

[Txen]

thanks for the reply!


Im using API. Didnt check tap water ammonia level, i got a report though with the measurements and it shouldnt cause a problem.
The ammonia doesnt stop at 0.2. in 30h its 0. its also 0 if i only add 2-3ppm whithin 24h.
I was just wondering as reports I have read say that 5ppm should be down to 0 within 24h.

RE: water changes. i have been doing them over the last few weeks in order not to have an extremely high nitrate level. I already have enough algae
the water seems to have enough buffer in it so that the water changes havent effected the pH at all, though I have been doing 30-40% changes.

the pH of the tap water is 7.4.

I was thinking of adjusting the pH as i read that bettas to better at round about 6.8 then 6.4 or 7.4 on various sites.
yes, adding baking soda will increase the KH, but as long as my kH isnt above 4, one tea spoon should increase the pH by ca. 0.2- according to my calculations but then again i might be totally off, hehe. Please let me know if I am.

I guess i might just as well get some otos and see if they re ok.

 

[rdd1952]

A cycling tank is a strange thing. Some go quickly and others seem to take forever. If it is processing 2 to 3 ppm back to .2 in 24 hours, that is most likely fine. It's highly unlikely that your stock will produce anywhere near 2 or 3 ppm of ammonia in a days time and certainly not all at once.

As you already know, water changes keep nitrate low plus also keep the balance of minerals and other things in line. you can't do too many water changes unless it is stressing the fish out.

I understand your concerns about the 6.8 pH and bettas but I don't think you really have anything to worry about. Up until about 4 months ago, I had 3 bettas (all died of old age within about 2 months of each other). One was in a 5 gallon tank with the pH around 7.2, the other two were each in their own 2.5 gallon with the pH at about 6.2 in one and 6.6 in the other (have no clue why the 3 tanks varied so from each other) and I certainly couldn't tell any difference in them as far as their conditions related to the pH. The bettas you buy are all tank breed so they come from a wide variety of pHs and can easily adapt to what you have s can most all fish.