My 10 Gallon Cycle Log

[jason8888]

this is my fish in log for my 10 gallon aquarium. I figured id post it for advice or if i do something wrong lol. I just got my freshwater api test kit. Was using strips until now and i couldnt ever tell what color they were lol maybe im half color blind but I find it tons easier with the liquid kit.
 
day 22 of the cycle
PH 7.6
AMM 0
NITRITE .25
NITRATE 0
did a 40 percent water change will retest in 24 hours

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Just out of curiosity, you say it's fish in, what fish are you using?
 
Only things I'm concerned about is the nitrite and the nitrate. whenever you see any nitrite or ammonia, you need to do a waterchange which you said you did, if you could please retest and if any nitrite is showing then do another waterchange. Some nitrate should be showing, however, you may not have shaken bottle #2 enough, the nitrate tests are known to be inaccurate and you really have to give the bottle #2 a REALLY good shake or your results might not be accurate.
But other than that, it's looking pretty good.

 

[jason8888]

Just out of curiosity, you say it's fish in, what fish are you using?
 
Only things I'm concerned about is the nitrite and the nitrate. whenever you see any nitrite or ammonia, you need to do a waterchange which you said you did, if you could please retest and if any nitrite is showing then do another waterchange. Some nitrate should be showing, however, you may not have shaken bottle #2 enough, the nitrate tests are known to be inaccurate and you really have to give the bottle #2 a REALLY good shake or your results might not be accurate.
But other than that, it's looking pretty good.

my 2 little tortured fish are 2 tetras they have red outlines on their fins and tail. I got talked into this aquarium by my son then loads of bad advice from the petshop lol. I shook the bottle #2 for 30 sec to a minute could have misused it it was my first time lol. How much nitrite is to much im still trying to figure this out lol. before today I was doing 2 30 percent water changes a day because I didnt trust the test strips i had previously.

 

[Blondielovesfish]

You don't want any nitrite, if you see any....do a waterchange.
You could try testing for nitrate again, give the bottle a REALLY good shake, even bang it on the table a few times.

 

[jason8888]

You don't want any nitrite, if you see any....do a waterchange.
You could try testing for nitrate again, give the bottle a REALLY good shake, even bang it on the table a few times.

Ok will do ill give it another test in the morning im at work now 8(

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Okay, keep us updated

 

[jason8888]

Just out of curiosity, you say it's fish in, what fish are you using?
 
Only things I'm concerned about is the nitrite and the nitrate. whenever you see any nitrite or ammonia, you need to do a waterchange which you said you did, if you could please retest and if any nitrite is showing then do another waterchange. Some nitrate should be showing, however, you may not have shaken bottle #2 enough, the nitrate tests are known to be inaccurate and you really have to give the bottle #2 a REALLY good shake or your results might not be accurate.
But other than that, it's looking pretty good.

I found out its a bloodfin tetra

day 23 of the cycle
PH 7.6
AMM 1.0 I think i did this wrong on the first day i might have missed the 2nd bottle 8(
NITRITE .25
NITRATE 0 I shook both bottles and banged em against the table my wife thought i was nuts lol i did this for about a minute each. Should I be seeing any Nitrates at all yet did I do something wrong at some point ?
I did a 50 percent water change to bring amm and nit down will recheck in the morning.

also with this fish in cycle I have a couple of questions about the API master test. when you compare the test tube to the chart do you hold it against the white part or hold it a little bit away from it. It seems to make a big difference in the readings.
 
Also I use a ozarka 5 gallon bottle of tap water for my water changes. I add the drops of prime to it for 5 gallons of water. Should I be adding enough drops for 10 gallons of water for my whole aquarium size ?

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Most people do enough to treat the whole tank. I do anyway.
 
After you do a waterchange, you should really be testing again. If you have 1.0 ammonia then you should really be doing two or three 50% waterchanges to get the ammonia under 0.25ppm. Ammonia and Nitrite should be under 0.25ppm at all times.
 
I hold the test tube away from the card, I'm not really sure of what the correct way to do it is though.
 
You may not be seeing any nitrates because of all the waterchanges, the Ammonia consuming bacteria look like they still need to grow some more, when they do, you'll see a big spike in Nitrite (have you seen this yet?). Once that has happened you should be seeing Nitrate.

 

[jason8888]

Most people do enough to treat the whole tank. I do anyway.
 
After you do a waterchange, you should really be testing again. If you have 1.0 ammonia then you should really be doing two or three 50% waterchanges to get the ammonia under 0.25ppm. Ammonia and Nitrite should be under 0.25ppm at all times.
 
I hold the test tube away from the card, I'm not really sure of what the correct way to do it is though.
 
You may not be seeing any nitrates because of all the waterchanges, the Ammonia consuming bacteria look like they still need to grow some more, when they do, you'll see a big spike in Nitrite (have you seen this yet?). Once that has happened you should be seeing Nitrate.

 

Most people do enough to treat the whole tank. I do anyway.
 
After you do a waterchange, you should really be testing again. If you have 1.0 ammonia then you should really be doing two or three 50% waterchanges to get the ammonia under 0.25ppm. Ammonia and Nitrite should be under 0.25ppm at all times.
 
I hold the test tube away from the card, I'm not really sure of what the correct way to do it is though.
 
You may not be seeing any nitrates because of all the waterchanges, the Ammonia consuming bacteria look like they still need to grow some more, when they do, you'll see a big spike in Nitrite (have you seen this yet?). Once that has happened you should be seeing Nitrate.

cant really be for sure lol I just recieved my master api test kit and the strips i had were horrible. ill change the water tommorow and let it circulate for 30 min then recheck it

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Okay, again, keep us updated.

 

[jason8888]

Okay, again, keep us updated.

will do I feel like your my personal advisor 8)

 

[jason8888]

day 24
PH 7.2
AM .5
NITRITE 1.0
NITRATE 0 TO .5 DEFINITELY MORE THAN YELLOW
I changed 70 percent of the water to bring the ammonia and NIT into range. My tank is at my house and my moms in hospice care on her final days so its really hard to change 2 times a day right now due to me not being home. I hope I dont kill these little guys 8(

 

[Blondielovesfish]

That's good that some Nitrate is showing, you'll likely be having your Nitrite spike soon, so keep an eye on the stats.
 
So long as there's not too much Ammonia/Nitrite then you shouldn't kill them, they may just have a bit of a shorter lifespan compared to fish that haven't been through the cycling process. You're doing the right thing with all the waterchanges though.
 
P.S Sorry to hear about your mum. I hope she gets better soon.

 

[jason8888]

That's good that some Nitrate is showing, you'll likely be having your Nitrite spike soon, so keep an eye on the stats.
 
So long as there's not too much Ammonia/Nitrite then you shouldn't kill them, they may just have a bit of a shorter lifespan compared to fish that haven't been through the cycling process. You're doing the right thing with all the waterchanges though.
 
P.S Sorry to hear about your mum. I hope she gets better soon.

Thanks Blondie unfortunately my mom passed away yesterday at 755 PM. She has been bed confined for the last year and she passed away while I was standing by her bed holding her hand. Shes in a better place now and no more suffering.

 

[Blondielovesfish]

I'm so sorry to hear that. at least she's in a better place and doesn't have to suffer anymore.