Help With Cycling Tank

[johnnyjtaylor]

Hello , Im new to all this fishy stuff and may have got myself into a bit of a muddle . I have got a juwel rio 180 tank which has been cycling for 2 weeks with fish in(I didnt know about the fishless cycling I've been reading about since. wish I had) The fish are 4 zebra danios,5 prestella tetra(x-ray tetra),2 pepered corydoras and 2 pairs of dwarf gourami(cobalt blue and flame). This all being done on advise of man at lfs(danios and prestella tetra 1st week gouramis and corydoras 2nd week).The tank is also planted with real plants.
After reading a bit on the net and becoming concerned with the amount of fish and the whole nitrogen thing I decided to get myself a test kit. Unfortunatly the all in one test strips I got dont test for ammonia but after 2 weeks Im guessing from what I've read that bit should be just about done now anyway.
The test results are pH 7.2 , KH 6 degrees ,General hardness between 10~16 degrees ,nitrtite(NO2) between 1~5 mg/l(colour closer to the 5 than the one) and nitrate at almost 100mg/l !!!
The test is 'tetratest 5 in1' strips. I have used 'bacterlife' at the recommended dose since the aquarium has been set up(3 days before fish went in) and the fish seem happy except the female flame gourami who is breathing a bit heavily.
My tap water has the same pH as tank and has no trace of nitrate.Does the high nitrate suggest the presence of second stage bacteria(that at least would be a good thing)??
I really dont want the fish to suffer and would really appreciate some advise on what to do about these nitrite/nitrate levels, do I let the fish 'tough it out' as would seem to be the idea of the lfs or should I be taking some measures to help them like water changes???

 

[bgormley]

Hi Johnny
I think i'm probably at the same stage as you and my Zebra danios seem to be doing fine. I've been advised to change 20% water every 2/3 days as it stops the fish suffering so much, but it does make the cycle take longer. I don't know if this helps. Maybe you should invest in an Ammonia test kit as you'll need to test for it in the future.

 

[riverman444]

http/www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000255NC...758226?n=284507


best test kit (in my opinion)

 

[johnnyjtaylor]

http/www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000255NC...758226?n=284507


best test kit (in my opinion)

Cheers riverman I've ordered that very one off ebay should be here thursday!
Thing is I really need advise on what to do about the levels of nitrite ,nitrate and what these levels mean(i.e really bad and toxic or slightly unpleasant or soon to be fatal for the fish).
This morning the test readings remain the same as they were yesterday.

 

[onepawn]

amonia and nitrite should be zero and nitrates should be present
at this point you are cycled

 

[johnnyjtaylor]

hmmmm. O.k lets try this again, I understand the basics of the nitrogen cycle and Im not asking when my tank will be cycled! What I need to know is the answers to the questions in my first post. Please could somebody with experience let me know if the levels indicated by my test results are going to kill/seriously harm the fish and if so what I must do to sort it out. From what Ive read on the net I think my lfs has given me bad advice and I dont want the fish to suffer anymore than nesessary. I havent changed any water as yet as I dont want to mess up the cycling meaning the fish suffer longer. The high nitrate readings would seem to indicate second stage bacteria being active and i dont want to mess these bacteria up by changing loads of water when for all I know the nitrite may be about to drop due to their activities. What Im after is a bit of sound advice on the best course of action for me to take.
Sorry if this sounds a little grumpy its not, I just dont want to harm my fish
On a good note my female flame dwarf gourami is looking alot more chilled out than she was yesterday and is happily helping the other dwarf gouramis eat two of my plants!

 

[tha cichlid man]

Well if your nitrite level is high then it's a must that you do a water change if you dont want to lose any fish.

 

[trace1]

hiya
i think the best thing to do now is regular water changes, its in the best interest of your fish to do this. what size tank is it???
think ( icould be wrong ) you would be best doing daily water changes of around 10%.
the test strips are not very good at reading levels right. the test kit you have ordered is a good kit used by lots of people on here including me.
but until you get that kit you are not gona know the accurate reading, just cos i'm nosey how much did it cost you off ebay ??.
anything else i can help with just shout

 

[johnnyjtaylor]

Hello and thanks for the replies!!!!!!!!
Over the last couple of days things have improved in a really big way I havent changed water as yet as I didnt know what to do but the nitrite halved yesterday and today its well below 1mg/l(ppm). The nitrate has also dropped to around 50mg/l(Im assuming this is the work of the plants which are growing like mad now, well except the ones the gourami are munching on!!!!). Im still waiting for my accurate test kit to arrive in the post(good old ebay sellers "dispatched first class in one working day" yeah right!!!!) hopefully the postie will bring it this morning and I can get some accurate readings!
The fish are much happier, you can really see it both in how they look and how they are acting,xray tetra with their dorsal fins held high, the danios have their fins outstreched(and their brakes off!) ,the gourami are all happy looking(the female dwarf flame is breathing normally) and the corydoras continue to be hyperactive in a never ending search for hidden munchies in the gravel . Not to mention my relief at the improvements(I dont like any creature to suffer ).
I will indeed now do a water change to reduce the levels of nastiness in the water and continue to monitor the situation closely.
Trace1, my tank is a juwel rio 180(wish I got the 400 now,still might when I can scrape the dosh together ) and the test kit was £15 with £3 postal(is that a good price?how much are they in shops?).
Thanks again for replies B)
Johnny

 

[trace1]

hiya
know what you mean bout wishing you got bigger tank, i started of with a little 12 gal & was soon needing a bigger tank, i've now got 6 ) i should have just got a bigger 1 mite have saved hubby some money lol.
anyway the test kit is bout average really, i got mine from pets at home for £17.99. cheapest i've found it