Double-checking On Ammonia.

[Deus Machina]

Removed my betta from the 10gal, and will be running a fishless cycle.

I have a mature filter in it, and will add bacteria supplement. Not expecting much, but anything that helps.

The ammonia I got lists ammonia and 'soft water'. Does not bubble when shaken.

Is 'soft water' lingo for 'filtered', or like running through those pellet-filled softener devices?

Just want to double check that any water softeners won't harm my fish after the ammonia's cycled through.

Can I filter with the aquarium plants (plastic and silk) and caves (plastic) in, or will those hold ammonia or deteriorate and need to be removed under the cycle's done?

 

[backtotropical]

Hi Deus,

Soft water is a term used for water with a low amount of dissolved mineral salts. The amount of 'soft water' which will be added to your tank with the ammonia will have no effect on the cycle at all, and no effect on the fish after the cycle is complete.

The ammonia you have sounds fine and there is no reason why you shouldn't start your cycle.

The plants and caves will have no effect either and it is perfectly safe to leave them in for the duration of the cycle.

Hope this helps.

BTT

 

[Deus Machina]

It does, very much. Thank you.

It means I get to add and start a proper cycle. Just did so, and did some test. Now to figure out the actual percentage of ammonia to water, instead of testing three times.

 

[rdd1952]

Removed my betta from the 10gal, and will be running a fishless cycle.

I have a mature filter in it, and will add bacteria supplement. Not expecting much, but anything that helps.

The ammonia I got lists ammonia and 'soft water'. Does not bubble when shaken.

Is 'soft water' lingo for 'filtered', or like running through those pellet-filled softener devices?

Just want to double check that any water softeners won't harm my fish after the ammonia's cycled through.

Can I filter with the aquarium plants (plastic and silk) and caves (plastic) in, or will those hold ammonia or deteriorate and need to be removed under the cycle's done?

If you have a mature filter, you would not need to cycle. When people refer to a mature filter, they mean one that is already cycled.

 

[Deus Machina]

It's not the filter that actually goes into my filter assembly. It's the actual filter material from the 3gal tank, and currently wedged behind the proper filter.

Have to get the filter that will stay on the 10gal populated, and hoping to get the gravel started.

 

[rdd1952]

Unless the filter is an under gravel filter, the gravel won't ever contain more than just a minute amount of bacteria and that will be right on the top. The majority of the bacteria will be where the water flow (thus food) is and that is in the filter. If the betta was in the 3 gallon and you have moved the media to the 10 gallon, then you should be able to add the betta without any issues. If you plan to have more fish than the betta though, doing a fishless cycle is the quickest way to get a full bacteria colony.

 

[Deus Machina]

Well, this betta spent a few days in the 10-gal, and was moved to a 1.5 I dug outta the closet with zeolite in the filter so I could do a proper cycle in the 10-gal.

Mostly, I'm just trying to get the bacteria from the old 3-gal filter to colonize the filter in the 10-gal, because the betta won't be alone after the cycle.

 

[OldMan47]

It sounds like you're on the right track Deus. The next thing you need to do is keep a close eye on your betta. It is now living in an uncycled tank and his water will go bad on you pretty quickly.

 

[Deus Machina]

Yeah. He's got zeolite in the filter and gravel to cut ammonia as a temporary measure, and has been getting daily water changes--two of his cups' worth out of the 1.5, replaced with bottled drinking water.

 

[rabbut]

you don't want to be using bottled mineral water, it's bad of the long-term health of the fish. It has too many minerals in it and too few electrolites (used for oxygen uptake and ammonia and carbon dioxide repulsion from the fishes body). Tap water is usually better. Add dechlorinator to the tap water to make it safe, adn then use that instead

There are very rare occasions where tap water cannot be used, and then RO becomes the alternative. This however has the opposit problem to bottled water. You need to mix this with tap water or add mineral re-topic to this water to make it safe for fish use

HTH
Rabbut

 

[Deus Machina]

Not mineral water, just drinking water. To quote the bottle, verbatim...

Source: Deep well, Ocala, Florida

Processed by: reverse osmosis, micron filtration, ozonization, ultraviolet light.

He's got a half-dose of aquarium salt, which from my understanding will take care of most of the electrolytes, and really does do a fantastic job of helping his tail heal overall.

My plan is to make a 3/2 mix of drinking/tap water in a bucket and drop a bag of rinsed zeolite in it. The tap water here shows up on my liquid ammonia test and (according to the strip test, which I take with a grain of salt) is hard off the charts.

 

[rabbut]

I'm sure you know that stips often give false highs? Could you get an LFS to double check the readings with a liquid kit. TBH, IME the strips are as accurate as asking you none-fishkeeping neibour to come up with random numbers for the results...

If the drinking water has been RO treated, I'd be very careful with it. Aquarium salt will help with electrolites, but not by a great deal. It still lacks many important elements that our freshwater fish need, and it is dangerous to the long-term health of many fish, so I wouldn't recommend using it long-term

What are your readings for GH and KH from the tap, and for the drinking water, taken with a liquid kit? I'd be concerned with the strips, that the KH could be low, and you may be risking a pH crash

All the best
Rabbut

 

[Deus Machina]

Well, the PH is naturally a bit high from the tap, so I'm sure it's a little hard. No liquid kit for that--yet. I did mention I don't trust the strips.

I'm not worried about a PH crash yet, what with the daily water changes.

I'll test it. And if they're not wildly off the chart, the tap water will suffice, after some time with the zeolite bag. Otherwise, in the short term, the fish seems happy.

Note to self: Mardel 'Live NH3' in-tank ammonia indicator useless. 5ppm and dropping, strip is colorless.