funny because another post about cycle and i mention fish in cycle and 500 people rush in to flame it. inconsistency is high here, aside from that talk about some negative comments look at what you just said. i took that as a negitive comment and per forum rules isnt accepted here. Please play nice~
Its not just these couple posts here that you have, but other as well that I have seen you write some things that are out right rude!
The reason people, in general, are so against fish-in cycling is because it puts the fish in unnecessary risks, that could be easily avoided by just doing a fishless cycle.
Now, I am personally not against fish-in cycling as I have fish-in cycled in the past, its just that fishless cycling is SO much easier and safer on the fish, and that is why I would recommend it over fish-in cycling any day.
I am not here in any way shape or form to TELL you what to do, or other people for that matter. I am simply here to give good advice! Sure, if someone asks how to start out a tank I will tell them about fishless cycling first, BECAUSE, it is easier on you, and safer on the fish.
I, along with others, would GREATLY appreciate it if you would keep the negative stuff out, like "these people are
freaks about that." or "first off you
FAIL!" Yes, you said that! You said something earlier to me as well, and it was negative, fortunately a mod deleted that post!
You need to be careful about what you say on this forum, it is not your run of the mill forum! People here actually care, and what you are doing will not fly for long, you'll see!
Sorry to rant about this on this thread!
The key with fish-in cycling is to not let your ammonia and/or nitrite level go above .25 ppm. Ammonia at or above .25 ppm will cause permanent gill damage to the fish. Also, nitrite at or above .25 ppm will cause permanent nerve damage to the fish. Nitrate is tolerable up to 20 ppm above you tap water nitrate level.
You need to purchase a good liquid test kit to read your ammoina, nitrite and nitrate levels, accurately. Strip test kits are no good and inaccurate!
Once you know your ammonia and nitrite levels, you can do water changes accordingly to keep them at or below .25 ppm.
-FHM
Fatheadminnow - okay, thanks. I'm using the API ammonia kits (never have used test strips) and it's so hard for me to tell the difference between .25 and .50. After the five minutes is up, I've been pouring the contents into my sink because it provides a white background. The ammonia appears to be about .50, but never is anything like 1 ppm + or anything extreme like that.
Re: the nitrite. Here's the deal, I've
NEVER ever had nitrite in *any* of my tanks. Even in my 3-gallon when I had three guppies (yes, you read that right - three of the little guys) there was no nitrite. At one point, I had nothing at all. . .no ammonia, nitrite or nitrate. The pet shop girl couldn't interpret the results. Later I had to treat them with Levamisole and syphoned the gravel and now the ammonia is back. . .still no nitrite.
Back to the ammonia. . .if I do a water change in the morning and then test the water in the afternoon, and it still has ammonia, I do a second w/c that day, right?
Yes, that is right. You want to try to get your ammonia down near 0 ppm as close as possible. So, do a water change and wait for about an hour. This will ensure that your new water has mixed with your tank water, so you will get an accurate reading of ammonia. *IF* nitrite shows, and it should, then just do the same here as with ammonia, keep it as close to 0 ppm as possible.
Do you have an API nitrite test kit as well? I guess if you never had a nitrite spike, you are lucky!
How long have you had your tank up, that you never had a nitrite spike? Because it could take up to 4 weeks, if not longer, for nitrite to show up in extreme cases.
-FHM
Yes, I have the Nitrite API kit too.
The guppy tank was set up on July 12 and I tossed two guppies in the next day (lol). . .yet, no nitrite after three months. The pet store gal said that possibly due to the tank being so small, the nitrite stage was skipped - but that makes no sense since nitrate didn't show up either (or am I missing something?). That tank is the 3-gallon Eclipse with the Biowheel.
The betta tank was set up on around Sept 5-7th (would have to check my calendar) and still has ammonia due to the rasboras, yet no nitrite. That is the 10-gallon with the Tetra Whisper.
I would question the test kits accuracy had not the pet gal also said no nitrite.
Are you adding any water conditioner? If you are still seeing an ammonia spike and no nitrites or nitrates yet, then the tank may have not even started to cycle yet? Do you have any live plants? The nitrite stage could not be skipped at all, or else the nitrogen cycle would not exist. Either you have live plants that are using the ammonia and nitrate, or you are not cycled yet?
-FHM