Is My Tank Cycling?

[maisy12345]

Hi, for the last three days,my ammonia levels have been 0,but my nitrites ,nitrates ,have also been 0.The only difference has been my ph was is normally 7.6,has gone down to 6.6.What does this mean?
The tank has gone through a fish in cycle for three months now.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

My guess would be that the nitrate reading you are getting is false, and that the nitrates have built up and overwhelmed the buffering capacity of your pH is crashing as a result of nitric acid building up in the tank.


Here's what I would recommend... 10% water changes every few hours to bring the nitrate level down and the pH levels up gradually. Your fish have slowly become acclimated to the new parameters of the tank, so to change the parameters too quickly the other way would be a stress for them. A slow change back to your tap parameters are in order. The first water change should be the smallest, since it will have the greatest difference from the current water parameters and your tap. Maybe start with a 10% removal, and fill it back up with a 5% addition and in an hour or so add the other 5%. Wait a few more hours, and do another 10% water change, this time add all 10% back in at once. Then in a few hours more do another 10-15% water change. Continue to do this until your pH comes back up to where it was (7.6). Doing it slowly shouldn't stress the fish too much, but if you did it all at once, you would have a serious problem on your hands. The alternative would be to remove 50% of your water and slowly refill it over the course of a few hours, but the filter and heater would have to be off the entire time.



I'd wait to get confirmation on this procedure, but if this was my tank, that's what I would do. (But remember, I'm a newbie too.)

 

[maisy12345]

Aaaargh!,Slowly please?

 

[Smells a bit fishy]

Sounds like your tank may have cycled.

If you do a large water change then it will bring the ph back up to your tap water.

 

[marieukxx]

Sorry Maisy I'm fairly new to the hobby too so can't really help on this one. Just wanted to say I feel for you, I know you've been trying to cycle this tank for ages now. It must be frustrating.

I'm setting up a small one for a Betta and I dread all this cycling. Hopefully using some bacteria from my other filter will help.

Good luck

 

[Smells a bit fishy]

Ok. Yeh eagle that sounds like a better option. Yeh high and sight doing it slowly is far better.

It doesn't have to be on the same day. Doing 20% a day will be ok, again though wait for conformation as me and eagle are both newbies.

 

[maisy12345]

Thanks all.will try the water changes later ,can`t hurt,`i`m used to doing water changes,most days for past three months,twice daily,so one more won`t hurt.Thanks Marie ,good luck with your cycling i`m waiting for this filter to cycle so i can transfer my media over to my 110 l .I`m also nervous about doing this,us newbies eh?

 

[maisy12345]

When fish are in 110l i`m going to put guppies and cherry shrimp in my 28l.

 

[marieukxx]

Thanks all.will try the water changes later ,can`t hurt,`i`m used to doing water changes,most days for past three months,twice daily,so one more won`t hurt.Thanks Marie ,good luck with your cycling i`m waiting for this filter to cycle so i can transfer my media over to my 110 l .I`m also nervous about doing this,us newbies eh?

Lol we're a pair aren't we. It's worth it in the end though. I was lucky starting out because my whole setup was second hand so it was all done for me. I'm nervous about this new one.

At the mo my tap water is coming out brown so now I don't know if that's safe to use. A lot more goes into the hobby than people think. We're learning though Maisy

 

[maisy12345]

If your tap water`s brown ,phone your water board up to check that it`s safe ,have they done any roadworks near you lately?Also try running your water a long time ,might go,hope it does.

 

[marieukxx]

When fish are in 110l i`m going to put guppies and cherry shrimp in my 28l.

I love guppies and shrimp are so interesting. You can get some stunning guppies these days too. My new one is a 21 litre hexagon. I'm having a male Betta and some small cory. If shrimp are ok with those two I'll get some cherry shrimp too. they've always fascinated me.

If your tap water`s brown ,phone your water board up to check that it`s safe ,have they done any roadworks near you lately?Also try running your water a long time ,might go,hope it does.

Yeah phoned them up. It's been like this all week. We phoned the first day and they said no works had gone on near us. They said run the taps for a few hours but it's still the same today. Today they said it's safe and to run the taps for 24 hours! If that doesn't clear it they'll investigate.

I dunno if I should trust it with fish though. I'm gonna fill a cup and let it sit for a few hours then use my kit to test it just to be sure.

 

[maisy12345]

What corries are you having,if you like shrimp ,have you seen the mountain shrimp ,they grow up to 4 inches,with little fans on,and they change colour ? Have you tried boiling the water first,then testing,don`t know if this advice is correct though ,just thinking of ways to help.Good luck ,hope it clears soon.

 

[marieukxx]

I saw some nice spotted ones. They're the type that stay small. I guess I'll have a look when the time comes and see what I fancy. I want a light coloured type actually thinking on it as i have black gravel. I'm gonna look up the different types.

 

[maisy12345]

Ive got bronze and albino,i`ve never seen dwarf ones.

 

[marieukxx]

I think I'll get the albino ones, they look good against the black gravel I think.