Fluval Edge

[Gazanimal]

Looks very nice Newbie.

What other things have you got in the tank? Are they live plants & the wood? Any specific kind?

 

[Newbie_87]

Looks very nice Newbie.

What other things have you got in the tank? Are they live plants & the wood? Any specific kind?

Thanks! Well, it's bogwood for a start. Plant wise we have two java ferns, an anubias and a moss ball - been in there a week now and doing pretty good. The ferns were covered in black patches (from being exposed to too much light) which are slowly disappearing. The pebbles are from the Biorb range. Finally, fish wise we have 5 x Ember tetras and shall be adding some more once the cycle sorts itself.

 

[Newbie_87]

This morning's results;

pH: 7.4
Ammonia: definitely less than 0.25 ppm as there is no hint of green in the coloration
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 0.1ppm

 

[Newbie_87]

Afternoon all,

I need some advice pretty quickly seeing as I have just received some mature filter media, wheres best to place it in an edge filter? I'm thinking underneath and around the biofilter? I shall go with instinct if there is no reply soon. the filter consists of mechanical media at the bottom, carbon then bio filter btw.

 

[Curiosity101]

Good results so far.

As for the media, where you're proposing sounds good, but so long as it's got a good flow of water through it then it can go anywhere and the bacteria will migrate (over time) to the place most suited to them. Which obviously we're assuming is the biofilter part... but who knows.

 

[Newbie_87]

I placed the larger piece in with the bio filter and the two small pieces on top of the sponge...no space for anymore! Filter has a good flow of water throughout so should be ok.

 

[waterdrop]

Fish in cycling is never the 'best idea', as it definitely leads to exposing the fish to ammonia and nitrites, especially as I can't see why you would be 'unkeen' to add ammonia? It's a 9.5% solution and so it's mainly water anyways... However it is your decision, and so long as it was an informed one and you have plenty of water conditioner (and a test kit) to hand then good luck to you

Try to feed sparingly over the coming weeks, if it were me I would probably feed every other day at the most, and be on the look-out for some mature media as that will really speed things up and make it easier on the fish if you can get some.

I quite agree with this. It's quite easy to get non-symptomatic permanent gill damage (from ammonia) or nerve damage (from nitrite) even in tiny amounts, though we do not see shortened length of life when each of these are kept below 0.25ppm during the fish-in cycle month or two. Since each 1ppm of ammonia processed creates about 2.7ppm of nitrite, it is often the nitrite that will one day spike on you unexpectedly, but of course you have to keep a tight eye on both. This is why in most cases fishless cycling is more humane (ie. our own frequent inability to just happen to be there when it spikes.)

In your case though the conditions for an ok fish-in cycle sound like they are there - you know what to test for twice a day and you sound ready to perform whatever water changes it takes plus you are introducing mature media plus it's a small edge tank so water changes won't be too bad. If you share the test result stream it will be interesting to see if the stats just stay in control the entire month or two or if either of the toxins spikes on you and if so by how much.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Newbie_87]

I am finding testing and water changes no effort whatsoever - it's the fishes' welfare I care about since their in this situation, even though both readings for nitrite and ammonia were 0ppm this morning, I still did a small water change. Shall be testing again later this eve. Feeding every other day atm and cleaning up (with a gravel vac) any wasted food.

 

[Newbie_87]

This evening's results (for those who are interested):

pH:7.4
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 2.5ppm (more yellow than orange)

 

[Fishkeeper4567]

Welcome!

 

[Curiosity101]

Looking good, you might want to try daily feedings instead and see if the stats still hold.

 

[Newbie_87]

That's the plan

 

[Newbie_87]

Results as of this morning;

pH: 7.4
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 2.0/2.5ppm

 

[Skins]

Results as of this morning;

pH: 7.4
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 2.0/2.5ppm

Looking good

Keith.

 

[Newbie_87]

And this evenings (we're trying to do them every 12hours, so far so good)

pH: 7.4
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 0ppm