Fish In Cycle

[HM Dragon Devil]

Hi folks! I joined today so go easy on me

I started a Fish-In-Cycle at the start of the week using Tetra Safetart, gasp! Well anyway as the week has gone by I have
become rather skeptical and preparing myself for huge water changes in order to protect my 3 months old baby betta splendens.

Tank specs:
Biorb Flow 30l
Fluval E 50w Heater

Day 1 (23/04/12) Setup, added water & Tetra Aquasafe
Day 2 24 hours later added Tetra SafeStart with fish
Day 3 I noticed the water becoming hazy (possible bacterial bloom?)
Day 4 Water still a little hazy. I panicked and did a 20l water change
Day 5 Water not so hazy today and waiting for my API Freshwater Master Test Kit to be delivered.
Day 6 Today my test kit arrived.

Water Parameters:

PH 7.6
High Range PH 8.0
Ammonia 0.25ppm
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0.15 ppm

From the looks of the test results the cycle is still at the begining stage. I expected to see traces of Nitrite. Any comments or advice welcome.

Thanks for reading.
Dean.

 

[TheJ0kerrr]

You are still early in your cycle, so it might take another week or 2 before you see nitrites show up. Just make sure you keep an eye on that ammonia for now as you want to keep it under 0.25ppm to ensure your betta doesn't get intoxicated.

If you know somebody who has an established aquarium and who could share some of their filter media with you, that would get you on your way a lot quicker. Had I known how long it can take with an all new setup, I would have looked for one earlier!

 

[Cazgar]

You need to be doing daily water changes as any ammonia is toxic to fish
Tbh Biorbs aren't the best tanks, but if you keep on top of the water changes, you'll get there

 

[Teacher Martyn]

You need to be doing daily water changes as any ammonia is toxic to fish
Tbh Biorbs aren't the best tanks, but if you keep on top of the water changes, you'll get there

There are plenty more people on here who can offer way more knowledgable advice than me.

However, having just completed a (fish-less) cycle in ten days I can offer some morsels of experience.

Firstly, don't worry about the bloom. Mine took a while to go but did. I never believed I'd have crystal clear water but it happened.

Secondly, the advice about seeded media is invaluable. I took a pile of charcoal granules that had been inside a filter in a tank in my classroom.

Finally, in my case, I think the fact that the tank was fully planted helped. Just a hunch.

Good luck.

 

[Aqua Tom]

Hi HM, welcome to the forum. Where are you based? If in England & near Essex I could give you some mature media.


Tom

 

[HM Dragon Devil]

Hi HM, welcome to the forum. Where are you based? If in England & near Essex I could give you some mature media.


Tom

Hey guys thanks for your replys. They're all most helpfull at this most crucial stage. I changed 6l of water yesterday and today my Ammonia is still reading 0.25ppm.

Hi, Tom thank you. I am based in Nottingham City Centre. Nice tank in your sig btw (if that is your aquarium).

Dean.

 

[TheJ0kerrr]

6L is only 20% of your 30L total, so you probably only removed about 0.05ppm of ammonia which has likely been reproduced overnight by the fish.

If you go for a 50%-60% water change, it should make a bigger difference. Also make sure you dechlorinate your water everytime you make a waterchange.

 

[The Taffy Apple]

Hi HM, welcome to the forum. Where are you based? If in England & near Essex I could give you some mature media.


Tom

Hey guys thanks for your replys. They're all most helpfull at this most crucial stage. I changed 6l of water yesterday and today my Ammonia is still reading 0.25ppm.

Hi, Tom thank you. I am based in Nottingham City Centre. Nice tank in your sig btw (if that is your aquarium).

Dean.

Have a little look in the relative forum section, maybe there is someone in the East Midlands willing to donate some mature media to you.

Terry.

 

[Aqua Tom]

Hi HM, welcome to the forum. Where are you based? If in England & near Essex I could give you some mature media.


Tom

Hey guys thanks for your replys. They're all most helpfull at this most crucial stage. I changed 6l of water yesterday and today my Ammonia is still reading 0.25ppm.

Hi, Tom thank you. I am based in Nottingham City Centre. Nice tank in your sig btw (if that is your aquarium).

Dean.

Thanks & yes its mine.


Tom

 

[This Old Spouse]

Hi HM, welcome to the forum. Where are you based? If in England & near Essex I could give you some mature media.


Tom

Hey guys thanks for your replys. They're all most helpfull at this most crucial stage. I changed 6l of water yesterday and today my Ammonia is still reading 0.25ppm.

Hi, Tom thank you. I am based in Nottingham City Centre. Nice tank in your sig btw (if that is your aquarium).

Dean.

Sorry to get off-topic (for just a quick question!) but Tom, what are the plants in the back behind your driftwood? My husband is looking for something similar. Thanks!
Thanks & yes its mine.


Tom

 

[Aqua Tom]

Sorry to get off-topic (for just a quick question!) but Tom, what are the plants in the back behind your driftwood? My husband is looking for something similar. Thanks!
Thanks & yes its mine.


Tom

Actualy I have no idea, I just liked the look of them in my lfs, so bought them. One thing I do know is that they are a very fast growing stem plant.


Tom

 

[HM Dragon Devil]

Hi HM, welcome to the forum. Where are you based? If in England & near Essex I could give you some mature media.


Tom

Hey guys thanks for your replys. They're all most helpfull at this most crucial stage. I changed 6l of water yesterday and today my Ammonia is still reading 0.25ppm.

Hi, Tom thank you. I am based in Nottingham City Centre. Nice tank in your sig btw (if that is your aquarium).

Dean.

Have a little look in the relative forum section, maybe there is someone in the East Midlands willing to donate some mature media to you.

Terry.

Hi, Terry. Thanks for the heads up. That would help out a lot. I have messaged a couple of people in my area.
Dean.

 

[HM Dragon Devil]

6L is only 20% of your 30L total, so you probably only removed about 0.05ppm of ammonia which has likely been reproduced overnight by the fish.

If you go for a 50%-60% water change, it should make a bigger difference. Also make sure you dechlorinate your water everytime you make a waterchange.

Hi, TheJ0kerrr.

Thanks for the info. I've been using Tetra AquaSafe and did a 50% water change lastnight. I'm going to check it later tonight when I get home from work.

Cheers,
Dean.

Edit:
Results, see pic.

What do you think the Ammonia is zero or 0.5 maybe ?

 

[TheJ0kerrr]

Looks like 0ppm to me... or at least below 0.25ppm. Apparently, you dealt a strong blow to that ammonia! Now keep testing every day and when you see some green, go ahead and do another water change. For now, it seems everything is under control!

I've heard that even if the ammonia test reads about 0ppm, the nitrifying bacteria is building up anyway, so don't worry about removing too much of it, your fish will keep producing some and feed them bacterias!

 

[TwoTankAmin]

The API test kit measures Total Ammonia. Ammonia in a tank exists in two forms unionized (NH[sub]3[/sub]) which is extremely toxic to aquatic life and as ammonium (NH[sub]4[/sub][sup]+[/sup]) which is not harmful. Combined they equal Total Ammonia as read by the API test kit. How much of the total ammonia is in each form is dependent on the pH and tenperature of the tank (pH is much more imoportant). As these two parameters rise, the amount of the bad ammonia rises.

What this means is that for any given level of Total Ammonia, whether or not it may be harmful can not be determined without considering one's specific tank pH and temperature. This has been a known scientific fact for a very long time. It is very easy to put ones hands on the tables that exist for determining how much of any given total ammonia level may be the toxic form.

If you check the tables for a the readings given in the initial post by HM of the numbers (a bit confusing) say the pH is either 7.6 or 8.0 (the confusing part) and the Total Ammonia level is .25 ppm and there is no temperature info given. What the chart indicates is there is not enough toxic form ammonia at any temp up to 86F/29.4C for any pH level of 8.0 or below for .25ppm Total Ammonia.

One can find the toxicity charts for Total Ammonia levels between .25ppm up to 8ppm (a level one should never want in a tank) here Ammonia Toxicity

NH[sub]3[/sub] is considered harmful at 0.03ppm or above in these charts. Here is what the Merck Veterinary Manual says:

Test kits used for aquaculture do not measure NH[sub]3[/sub] directly but instead measure the combination of NH[sub]3[/sub] and NH[sub]4[/sub], referred to as total ammonia nitrogen (TAN). A TAN of 1 mg/L is usually not cause for concern unless the pH is >8.5. However, if the amount of NH[sub]3[/sub] is increased, an explanation should be sought. The amount of toxic NH[sub]3[/sub] present can be calculated using the TAN, pH, and water temperature. When NH[sub]3[/sub] levels exceed 0.05 mg/L, damage to gills becomes apparent; levels of 2.0 mg/L are lethal for many fish.

The charts I have linked are more conservative than the Merck Manual.

So HM, you really needed to do nothing based on your initial post.