My Test Readings :0)

[sjolliff]

Easy so hopefully it would of given you a good kick start

 

[aly_starh]

Easy so hopefully it would of given you a good kick start

Are my readings ok? How long before i can get fish. The previous owner was at 3 1/2 weeks when i was given it.

 

[sjolliff]

the filter might not have been cycled properly then depending on how he went about it.
you have 1 fish in at the min
if your doin a fish in cycle you want more than that i would of thought

have you read the thread about fish in cycle?

 

[aly_starh]

Yes, over and over again ...lol..

I think i might get another fish to add onto it then... are guppies ok? Or should i stick with another Zebra?

 

[OldMan47]

In the old days, when we all did fish-in cycles, the advised stocking for fish was less than 25% of the final stocking level. At that time we also used the inch per gallon estimate fairly regularly. I have yet to see anywhere in your post how big the tank is so I can't begin to guess whether you have enough fish to perform a cycle. The nitrite readings look like you do not have much help coming from the previous cycling that may have been done. Ammonia being well controlled at the moment is a plus but if you never see any and don't see other chemistry moving, you may be a bit lightly stocked to conduct a fish-in cycle. Do not buy fish that you don't want to have in your tank. If you like the zebras, go ahead and use them to cycle the tank. If you don't care for them, I don't, then get something hardy that you do like. The first step is recognizing that every fish you add to the tank will mean more and bigger water changes than if they are not added. The next step is deciding if what you already have is enough fish considering the ultimate stocking levels and how close you already are. If you have a big tank and only have a 2% stocking level right now, more fish will be needed to do a fish in cycle. If you have a smaller tank and are at 15 or 20% stocking levels, there is no way you want to add more fish.

 

[aly_starh]

I have a 65 litre Jewel aqaurium.

 

[OldMan47]

A tank that size you could use 1 or 2 more small fish to cycle a tank fish-in. I do not usually advocate a fish-in cycle but you need some bioload to get one going.

 

[aly_starh]

Ok, ive done a poll:

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=302588&hl=

So i know what fish i should get. I am not intending to stock Zebra danios in my tank in the future, so i might give him back to the LFS

 

[OldMan47]

If you can take the zebra back to the LFS, do a fishless cycle. It turns out to be a whole lot less work and much less stressful.

 

[aly_starh]

DAY: 3
TIME: 11.00am
AMMONIA: 0.0
NITRITE: 0.1
WATER CHANGE: /

NB: Im choosing to carry on with the fish in cycle as my tank is planted. i have re-researched this and read a fish-in cycle cannot be done with plants.

Should i get my batch of first fish?

 

[OldMan47]

You can certainly do a fish-in cycle with plants. It will make the needed water changes a bit less frequent but it will not prevent the cycle from moving forward.
You do not get your first addition of fish until the tank is done cycling, it is too early for that when you are still getting nitrites and having to change water daily.

 

[aly_starh]

You can certainly do a fish-in cycle with plants. It will make the needed water changes a bit less frequent but it will not prevent the cycle from moving forward.
You do not get your first addition of fish until the tank is done cycling, it is too early for that when you are still getting nitrites and having to change water daily.

Is my tank not cycled with these readings?
It would have been 4 weeks now that it was cycling, i thought it would be mature enough by now.

 

[OldMan47]

When your filter is allowing any nitrites to get through, it is not cycled yet. You have been changing water almost daily this week and have had much more nitrites than you have at the moment. The filter may become cycled in the next week or two but is not there yet. The real test is to have the tank run a whole week with no build of ammonia or nitrites at all and no water changes during that time. When you arrive at that point, the tank will only be cycled for the number of fish in the tank at the time. The time it takes to get to that point can be as short as 4 weeks if you got very lucky but it is often longer. Time really does not matter at all, what matters is the bacterial colony that you are trying to develop.
If you add as much biological load as you already have, basically double it, it will take a few days before the water returns to reasonable chemistry on its own and you will likely need to do water changes during that time to control spikes in ammonia and nitrite. The most difficult thing to do after fish-in cycling is trying to gradually increase stocking level without ruining the tank's chemistry in the process. The key to it is to make all changes in biological load slowly.

 

[aly_starh]

thanks for info...another 2 weeks or so!

 

[aly_starh]

DAY: 4
TIME: 2.00pm
AMMONIA: 0
NITRITE: 0
WATER CHANGE: /

Also added another 2 Zebra Danios.... So i now have 3! The lonely one has suddenly perked up!!!