Journal: Starting Small, And Somewhat Clueless

[kmore1994]

So this is my first time trying out a freshwater tank on my own. My dad had one when I was younger but I have not had one of my own ever. I had to start small since it is in my apartment so I went with a 5 gallon (don't mock the decor, had to work with what we had

 ). I filled up my tank last night and started the cycle so hopefully everything will go according to plan. As for what fish I am going to put in it, I have not fully decided yet, but I have quite some time to make a decision. Any good suggestions would be helpful.
 
It looks like my ammonia is around 2ppm and nitrite is at .5ppm. My pH is settling around 8.0, hopefully that will lower with some time. Interpreting these results is what I'm struggling with the most, I know the concept of what it all means just not sure what to do.
 

 

[attibones]

Glad to see you've started a fishless cycle! Good on you!

A five gallon tank will limit your fish options, but we can work with it. When you get the chance, test your tap water ph, and find out what your source water hardness is. You can usually find the gh on your water provider's website. Some fish like harder water with higher pH levels, some like just the opposite. It is much easier to choose fish for your water than it is to manipulate the water for your fish.

 

[LyraGuppi]

Following, good luck!

 

[thrujenseyes]

Hello there and it sure looks adorable!
 
I just set up a teeny tank also, a 6 gallon fluval edge.
 
I started a thread called "i finally bit the bullet and added ammonia" under the cycling topic....
there were so many helpful hints and comments (you might find that thread helpful as you go thru your cycle).
 
Best of luck and I can't wait to see it complete!
 
Oh and I went with endlers and they're the cutest most vivacious little guys...so fun to watch!
 
 

 

[kmore1994]

So it is now my 4th day of cycling.  Everything seems to be going fairly well, just wanted to get a heads up if I should add more ammonia now or not yet. Im not very good at distinguishing shades of color so this is where the help of everyone else will really come in hand. I put the tubes next to the chart and on a white background if that helps out at all.

 

[thrujenseyes]

I have to image everyone is staying away from this because it's near impossible to determine colors online. 
Everyone's computers show color differently....and may of us see them differently.
I have a mac at home, an iphone and at work I have a dell.  These look very different on all of them.
 
I'd guess from the opacity and dilution of the tones that your amm is around 1.0 and your nit is around .50
 
but like I said, it's near impossible to tell for sure.
 
Best thing to do is view in the daylight, use a white backdrop and make sure the light is behind you when viewing.
 
Good Luck!

 

[kmore1994]

I have to image everyone is staying away from this because it's near impossible to determine colors online. 
Everyone's computers show color differently....and may of us see them differently.
I have a mac at home, an iphone and at work I have a dell.  These look very different on all of them.
 
I'd guess from the opacity and dilution of the tones that your amm is around 1.0 and your nit is around .50
 
but like I said, it's near impossible to tell for sure.
 
Best thing to do is view in the daylight, use a white backdrop and make sure the light is behind you when viewing.
 
Good Luck!

 
Thanks thrujenseyes, I see the same numbers from my mac also. I went ahead and waited another day to test and surely enough my ammonia was around .5 and my nit was definitely over 2. Since we are both using the same general size tank I wanted to ask, did you change the water throughout doing this or only towards the end? I know my water is evaporating fairly fast so I have to keep maintaining it.

 

[thrujenseyes]

I only did my one BIG (80%) water change after I was cycled (the day before I bought the fish).
Mine gets low on water fast also as it's so tiny (plus we're removing little bits here and there for constant testing).
 
I keep gallon sized jug with treated tap water (prime dechlorinator) ready for these times when I need to add a little water. 
It's difficult to treat such tiny bits of water so I fill something large with tap and treat that...so I always have some ready and I don't have to calculate the itty bits of water each time.

 

[kmore1994]

Its been a couple days since I've updated. My ammonia is clearly at zero and nitrite is at 5, is it at this point that I should add the snack feeding?