Did I read right or wrong???

[enchanted]

I was browsing and reading and found many people that said you should test at least once a day after adding new fish.

I did a 20% water change earlier and felt I should test anyways.


After doing the tests here is what I have:

Ammonia = 1 ppm
Nitrites = 0
Nitrates = 0
ph = 6.4

Now, from what I have read this is safe, and considering I added 13 fish (yes I know, WAY OVERBOARD) this is probably to be expected.

But that 1 ppm still bothers me. Should I do another water change, or ride it out and just test twice a day?

Thanks,
Larry

 

[fishluver]

I try and keep my PH levels 7.2 to 7.4...I would do a 25% water change daily til I got a 0 ammonia reading.

 

[enchanted]

Well, now I'm really confused. Was reading the back of the "Start Right"
http/www.junglelabs.com/pages/details.asp?item=NL064

And it states "To remove amonia released from chloramine" and goes on.

Does this mean that chloramine in the city tap water releases amonia? Does it release it when broken down? Could this be my problem?

 

[JeremyD]

Well, now I'm really confused. Was reading the back of the "Start Right"
http/www.junglelabs.com/pages/details.asp?item=NL064

And it states "To remove amonia released from chloramine" and goes on.

Does this mean that chloramine in the city tap water releases amonia? Does it release it when broken down? Could this be my problem?

Chloramine is really a free Cl- ion bonded to and NH4+ ion. To remove the chloramine, this bond is broken, and the Cl- ion is removed along with whatever other chloride ions are in the water. You are left with a free NH4+ radical. This will almost immediately loose a H+ to either the water or another surrounding chemical to form NH3 (ammonia). Start right itself cannot remove ammonia. You will need to add amquel, or a similar product, or let the biological filter take care of it.

Truthfully though, unless you have super duper high concentrations of chloramine in your water like I do, you should not see any measurable ammonia levels after treating with start right or any other chlorine/chloramine removal chemical.

 

[cation]

Also, your tank is not cycled until you start seeing nitrate readings. Your reading is 0, which leads me to believe your tank is not fully cycled yet.

 

[enchanted]

I have to agree and got some bad info from Zamzows and Walmart (what should I have expected from Walmart though? ).

I understand from both of them that leaving the tank up for 2 weeks would cycle it, well, I have since learned from both Petsmart and my LFS that isn't quite the fact.

I would like some opinions here on what they said, because I'm probably getting 2 or 3 55 Gallon tanks this weekend and would like to get them cycling early.

What they said was get the tank setup completey and add 1 possibly 2, but they recommended only one fish after about 24-48 hours. Thier comments were that this would get the process started and I should use hardy fish. They recommended a couple, but I can't remember names.

I'm watching it close, did a 5 Gallon change today along w/ the 15% last night since I had to put more gravel in.

Ammonia is floating between .5 to 1 and the rest are at 0 with a ph around 7.2.

Thanks for all the info and help.

 

[clutterydrawer]

keeping ammonia below 1ppm is best for a fish cycle.

for your new tanks, you have two options. you can start cycling them "fishless" now by adding pure ammonia. or, you could set them up while your first tank cycles, then add a bit of filter media from the cycled tank to the new tanks. this transfers the necessary bacteria to the new tank, so it can support fish immediately - but you have to stock gradually, eg a couple of fish a week, to give the bacterial colony time to catch up.

 

[cation]

You could also buy the new tanks filters first, and run them in the tank you are cycling now - then you could cycle them all that the same time. You would have to have enough ammonia present to colonize all of them well, but it'd work to seed all the filters.

 

[enchanted]

Okay, a few questions now.

What is a cheap way to lower ammonia? Water change doesn't seem to do it.

If I have to buy something I will, but I'm going to buy new tanks this weekend and would rather spend that on equipment, but my fish are more important.

Now, I have my 30 which seems to be just starting to cycle....

I want to setup one of the 55's this weekend. If I don't get the ones I'm looking at then I'm going to buy 2 from Petsmart ($99 each w/ lights) instead of one 80G.

Since the 30 isn't cycled yet, I want to start the 55 cycling. I've heard feed the tank can do it and I have also been told that a small school of Danios is a good option (two different LFS recommended that as they are extremely hardy fish).

But, I don't fully trust the LFS and I have recieved good advice here. So I would like more please.

 

[enchanted]

Knowing what I know now, I would not have done what I did.

But I did, and now I want to make sure all the fish make it.

Would "Cycle" be a good option?

 

[Inchworm]

Hi ddreams

My best advice to you would be to slow down a little. This is a wonderful hobby, but some things just take a little more time than others to get right.

Cycle isn't much help, but if you have a good lfs, you might want to see if they have Bio-Spira. This is real beneficial bacteria that can be added to a tank to achieve a very quick cycle. It's a little expensive, I understand, and has to be kept in a refrigerator, but I have heard very good things about it.

Here's a link:

http/marineland.com/products/mllabs/ML_biospira.asp

If you use this product, I would appreciate it if you let us know how things work out for you. Good luck.

 

[enchanted]

Well, I am. But I have nothing I can do with the fish. The LSF I was going to give the extra male guppies away to decided he didn't want them right now (luckily before seeing them so I didn't have to pull them.)

Ammonia is hovering at or just below 1 and nitrites is 0 and nitrates is 0.

So, I'm worried.

With the 55's I'm getting I plan to set one up at a time and then, since these male guppies seem so hardy, use them to start the cycling, now that I full understand it.

I appreciate all advice and I take everything everyone says to heart. D*#@ fish just leach on and won't let go, I couldn't give any of them up now if I wanted.......

 

[willywonka099]

Well your tank may not be cycled but with your stocking it shouldn't take long !!! and i don't like this unnatural cycling I blv that fish are the best way to cycle a fish tank PERIOD

 

[KittenAndHerFish]

I have also read that you can cycle your new tanks "fishless" buy going to the grocery store and buying one raw shrimp. Unshell it and throw it into your tank after you set it up and monitor the level for several weeks. It can take WEEKS to cycle a tank. This is why a lot of people do not cycle their tanks with fish in them. It can end up being weeks of stress on the fish. No one can say it will be three weeks or two weeks, you have to know what you are looking for in your parameters to know your tank has been cycled.

Ammonia at 1ppm isn't that bad, though it isn't that great. It could be worse, but honestly the more water changes you do the longer it will take your tank to cycle. You can buy products to neutralize the toxins so they won't kill the fish in your already stocked tank. The down side to this is that you will most likely get false ammonia readings after that point so you have to keep a look out for the nirtates. Once you see the nitrates. The false readings will go away with water changes and such. I would do weekly water changes of 20%, but remember the more you take out the longer it is going to take to cycle, so don't freak out and pull 70% out trying to fix your ammonia levels. But I would let it go as long as you can (without over stressing your fish).

I would NOT put any fish in your new tanks until they are fully cycled. (meaning you start getting your nitrate readings, and your ammonia is down to zero.) Like I said you can cycle your tank fishless, since your other tank is not cycled yet you can't borrow the filter media as suggested above. That would be perfect if your stocked tank was actually cycled, unfortunately this appears to not be the case as mentioned before since you are not getting any nitrate readings.

I would set up your new tanks and give them at least a month. I have had success with the "Cycle" product. The only problem with buying products like these is that they are LIVE bacterias, and sometimes shipping kills them. Check the date on the bottle is you want to buy it, and if you want to try it, get it from PetSmart and if your nitrite and nitrate level don't change AT ALL within 24-36 hours, take it back and tell them it didn't work and get your money back.

I hope i helped some,
Kitten

 

[enchanted]

I agree that a natural cycle is the best method as willywonka99 stated, but there are times when it calls for other measures, such as making "newbie" mistakes and learning.

KittenAndHerFish, I will be going to Petsmart today and buying a bottle. I was thinking the same thing about Petsmart so I could return it before I ever finished reading your post.

I just need to get this tank to where everything is within "livable" and not borderline "killer" levels.

I'm planning to migrate all the fish to one of the 55's along with the plants. Not because of tank size, but setup. I made the mistak of adding purple gravel.

Along with that, I want a full planted tank and gravel just isn't the best option.......