Cyling Tank With Betta Fish

[emerging]

Hi there...

I'm very new to the fishkeeping hobby. I've had a Betta fish in a 2-gallon unfiltered, heated tank for 3 months, and he's done very well other than a case of fin rot which was treated and cleared up nicely. I've decided, now that he's accustomed to his new home, to start using the filter that comes with the tank kit. It's an Explorer Eclipse tank that uses an activated carbon filter and bio-wheel.

I did a 100% water change yesterday (I use bottled water treated with Water Rite and aquarium salt at 1/4 teaspoon per gallon) and put in a piece of filter from an established tank to get the process going. I just cut out the filter part, but was I supposed to use some of the carbon, as well?

My stats yesterday, 09/14/07
pH: 7.0
ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 0

Stats today, 09/15/07
pH: 7.4
ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 0

Any clue why the pH went up? And when should I start to see ammonia spikes?

Thanks!

 

[rdd1952]

If you are using bottled water and had a rise in the pH, it means there is something in your tank (decoration, rocks, etc.) that is raising it. Bottled water has no buffering capacity so the pH should actually drop on the tank. Try testing your decorations by placing a couple drops of vinegar on them. If they fizz, then they will raise the pH.

I've never heard of Water Rite but I assume it's a dechlorinator and should be fine. I wouldn't mess with any of the "bacteria in a bottle products as they are mostly a waste of money. I'm not really certain that the salt is necessary either. I've never used salt with any freshwater fish and have had 3 bettas that all died of old age. With just a single betta, you probably won't see a large spike in ammonia or nitrite unless you over feed. Just keep testing and do water changes (15 to 25 percent) if you start to see a rise. Try to keep ammonia and nitrite as close to zero as possible.

As for the filter, don't worry with the carbon. I would say that more members here don't use it than do. I certainly don't. it has to be changed too often and every time you change it and replace with new carbon, you are throwing away a large portion of your bacteria.

 

[Musho3210]

depends on what bottled water you are using....

 

[rdd1952]

I guess that's true. I guess some may just be spring water that has minerals, etc. in it. Usually though we think of bottled water as being free of all buffering agents.

 

[Musho3210]

i have a tds meter and would gladly test some bottled waters.

 

[emerging]

The only decorations I have in the tank is a silk plant and glass marbles at the bottom, but I will check them out.

Water Rite is a dechlorinator/pH adjustor. I'd never heard of it, either until I went to my lfs and they told me that's all they use in their tanks. They use it to treat the tap water which sucks here; I would like to start introducing treated tap water instead of bottled because I keep reading about tap water being better, since it has minerals in it. The bottled water I've been using is Zephyrhills.

Truthfully, I've been paranoid to make any big changes in the aquarium (i.e. different water, live plants, using the filter) because the poor little guy had a bad case of fin rot for a while and I didn't want to stress him out. But he's long since on the mend, and now I just want to create the best environment possible for him.

Question: Is it possible the tank could have cycled in just one day, due to the fact that it's so small and because I used mature filter media?

 

[rdd1952]

Water Rite is a dechlorinator/pH adjustor. I'd never heard of it, either until I went to my lfs and they told me that's all they use in their tanks.

I would strongly suggest you stop using it immediately. You just need a plain dechlorinator like Prime, Stress Coat (the one I use) just to name a couple, and not the pH adjuster. That is one of the worst things you can put in your tank. Most fish can easily adjust to any stable pH but the adusters keep them in constant swing. that is the reason your pH has gone up from the tap water (or bottled water in your case). Apparently it has some type of heavy buffers in it that is buffering the pH up. The problem is, every time you do a water change, it will drop back down and then start up again. That is really rough on the fish. Bettas are pretty much comfortable with any pH between 6.0 and 8.0 so you don't need the buffers.

And in answer to you question, no it can't cycle in a day. It's just that a betta doesn't produce a lot of waste so the ammonia hasn't reached a readable level yet. For only one fish, i will usually take 3 to 5 days for the reading to show on the chart. At that time, you start doing water changes as needed to keep ammonia and nitrite at or below .25 ppm.

 

[emerging]

I would strongly suggest you stop using it immediately. You just need a plain dechlorinator like Prime, Stress Coat (the one I use) just to name a couple, and not the pH adjuster. That is one of the worst things you can put in your tank. Most fish can easily adjust to any stable pH but the adusters keep them in constant swing. that is the reason your pH has gone up from the tap water (or bottled water in your case). Apparently it has some type of heavy buffers in it that is buffering the pH up. The problem is, every time you do a water change, it will drop back down and then start up again. That is really rough on the fish. Bettas are pretty much comfortable with any pH between 6.0 and 8.0 so you don't need the buffers.

And in answer to you question, no it can't cycle in a day. It's just that a betta doesn't produce a lot of waste so the ammonia hasn't reached a readable level yet. For only one fish, i will usually take 3 to 5 days for the reading to show on the chart. At that time, you start doing water changes as needed to keep ammonia and nitrite at or below .25 ppm.

Thanks for the information! My stats today are identical to yesterdays. I'll continue checking them on a daily basis.

Now I have new questions...

Aside from the fact that my tap water has toxic levels of ammonia and nitrite (I don't even let my cat drink it!), the pH is a whopping 8.8. Isn't that too high for a Betta? Can he deal with such a radical change in the pH level?
Also, if I can manage to make the tap water safe for him, should I introduce it gradually - say, with partial water changes?
Will using different water or a different dechlorinator interfere with the cycling process?

Thanks for your patience, I'm obviously still trying to figure all of this out!

 

[emerging]

Just wanted to bump this up... still hoping an experienced fishkeeper can answer some of the above questions.

 

[Thirdfloor]

I would strongly suggest you stop using it immediately. You just need a plain dechlorinator like Prime, Stress Coat (the one I use) just to name a couple, and not the pH adjuster. That is one of the worst things you can put in your tank. Most fish can easily adjust to any stable pH but the adusters keep them in constant swing. that is the reason your pH has gone up from the tap water (or bottled water in your case). Apparently it has some type of heavy buffers in it that is buffering the pH up. The problem is, every time you do a water change, it will drop back down and then start up again. That is really rough on the fish. Bettas are pretty much comfortable with any pH between 6.0 and 8.0 so you don't need the buffers.

And in answer to you question, no it can't cycle in a day. It's just that a betta doesn't produce a lot of waste so the ammonia hasn't reached a readable level yet. For only one fish, i will usually take 3 to 5 days for the reading to show on the chart. At that time, you start doing water changes as needed to keep ammonia and nitrite at or below .25 ppm.

Thanks for the information! My stats today are identical to yesterdays. I'll continue checking them on a daily basis.

Now I have new questions...

Aside from the fact that my tap water has toxic levels of ammonia and nitrite (I don't even let my cat drink it!), the pH is a whopping 8.8. Isn't that too high for a Betta? Can he deal with such a radical change in the pH level?
Also, if I can manage to make the tap water safe for him, should I introduce it gradually - say, with partial water changes?
Will using different water or a different dechlorinator interfere with the cycling process?

Thanks for your patience, I'm obviously still trying to figure all of this out!

What part of Florida are you in? Orlando tap water isn't that bad.

 

[emerging]

What part of Florida are you in? Orlando tap water isn't that bad.

Miami

 

[rdd1952]

Are you certain that the test results on your tap water are correct? A pH of 8.8 from the tap seems extremely high for a municipal water supply. If it's that high, you may be stuck using bottled water. The betta could probably adjust to the pH but he KH may be too high. A change in water or dechlor should not have any negative effect on your cycle.

 

[emerging]

Are you certain that the test results on your tap water are correct? A pH of 8.8 from the tap seems extremely high for a municipal water supply. If it's that high, you may be stuck using bottled water. The betta could probably adjust to the pH but he KH may be too high. A change in water or dechlor should not have any negative effect on your cycle.

I use the API Master Test Kit. When I test with the pH indicator solution, it turns the deepest blue - 7.6. When I test with the high pH indicator solution, it turns the deepest purple - 8.8.

I recently moved here from Fort Lauderdale - the pH there wasn't much better: 8.4



Thanks for the info on the water changes/dechlor. If I continue with the bottled water, I guess the Water Rite isn't really necessary since the bottled water tests at a pH of 7.0. I'll check out the product you mentioned.

P.S. No ammonia spikes yet!

 

[rdd1952]

Just keep in mind that your ammonia test kit measures total ammonia. That's ammonia (toxic) + ammonium (non-toxic). Ammonia becomes more toxic as the pH rises as more of the total ammonia is ammonia. So at your pH level, even a trae amount of ammonia can be toxic. This site has a good chart that shows the relationship between ammonia, pH and temperature.