Does A Water Softener Affect The Good Bacteria When Cycling A New Tank

[Fishmomof4]

Ok, so ive been having problems. I made a bunch of rookie mistakes and now trying to tix them. I have had to move fish to another new tank to keep from dying. They are doing well and tank levels are near perfect for now. But it needs to cycle and was only a quick fix, i know. So on the 10 gal i am trying to cycle, do i just keep changing water? And adding proper chemicals? When can i put fish back in? How do i know its safe? Is there any way i can introduce good bacteria into the water to help the cycle? Does a water softener remove the good bacteria levels needed to start a new tank with? If so, could that be why i am having such a problem? The test kit i bought at petsmart did not come with nitrite and nitrate test, how do i test those two? I was told to not get the strips to get the drops and do it manually so i did but get the kit home and it only checks ph and ammonia. Is there individual test kits for those? I did not see them at the store. Any help would be greatly appreciatd.
Thanks

 

[Fishmanic]

you can get nitrite and nitrate api test kits on amazon

 

[Mamashack]

I'm sure they are available on eBay too.
For a comprehensive method of how to cycle a tank without fish, follow the link at the end of my signature.
If your fish are in another new tank, they are still at risk from all the problems you've had beforeas that won't have been cycle either. Do you know someone with an established tank who could foster them until yours is ready? Or ask the fish store to take them back temporarily.
 
The only good way to get bacteria into your tank is to add their food source which is ammonia. Then one type of bacteria will start to grow and convert it to nitrite, then another bunch of bacteria eventually convert that to nitrate. You don't need to change the water following this method until your tank is ready to accept fish.
If you know someone with an established tank  you could ask them for some of their filter media (no more than a third or their tank could be compromised - even a donation of some mature gravel would be a good kick-start.)
 
Don't be fooled into buying bottled bacteria other than Dr Tim's One and Only or Tetra Safe Start as the others rarely work. You'll still need to follow the protocol for adding ammonia and testing until both ammonia and nitrite are cleared in 24hrs. Then do a massive water change to reduce the accumulated nitrates so that it is safe to add fish. The process can take a few weeks - my first attempt took 5 weeks. and my second fishless cycle it is progressing much quicker, but I had the benefit of mature gravel from my other tank.
 
Good luck!

 

[Jan Cavalieri]

Google "Nitrogen Cycle" and read up on the chemistry of tank cycling. My explanation is one of a novice.

In a nutshell - Ammonia (either fish waste, food or pure household ammonia - no detergents) are established in the tank. You can use hardy fish to establish ammonia but risk killing the fish. Ammonia is toxic to fish (in the wild they never stay long enough in one place to risk ammonia poisoning) but eventually bacteria will develop and convert the Ammonia to Nitrites (also toxic to fish) once you use a test kit to measure your ammonia and nitrites it's a great sign when you start to see ammonia levels dropping and nitrite levels rising, because that means the tank is beginning to cycle. Eventually you may see 0 Ammonia levels and only Nitrite levels - at that point more bacteria start to develop and eliminate the nitrites in the tank - but what you will likely see is a rise in Nitrates - which basically means "dirty water" - at that point I always do at least a 50% water change (adding Prime or some other brand name water purifier) and re-testing the water. Once all three components (Ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrates) are at "0" then your aquarium is nice and clean and cycled and ready to move your fish into. If Nitrates are very low it's also OK to move fish in because they aren't toxic - but I like to have nice clean water to start with.

Also look at your City Water's website and see what they quote as the average PH of their water. You can test the pH levels in your tank - but if they are over 8 (for fresh water fish) then you have a Ph problem. You can also get test kits to test water hardness - some fish like hard water, other prefer soft water. Ph and water hardness issues can be more complicated to deal with - so if you have a high pH level (ideally you want Ph to be around 7 which is "normal" - below 7 is acidic, above 7 is alkaline) report back and let us help you deal with that problem - lots of disagreement on how to fix those issues.

 

[seangee]

For a tank without fish follow this guide http://www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/421488-cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first
For the new tank that has a lot of fish you do need to do regular water changes. You should also add fast growing floating plants (such as water sprite or frogbit), as these will use up the ammonia.

In the EU water softeners that are legally purchased for human consumption are safe in that they don't add sodium to the water. It will not affect the bacteria in the tank, but you should keep an eye on the pH because it can cause that to reduce. Also if it is a cartridge type softener these deteriorate over time so your water supply may be unstable. I am not sure about regs outside of the EU.