Nitrate?

[delkimgreen1]

Hi
I am 22 days into the hobby and have a 36 gallon tank with 2 swords, 4 male guppys and 8 neon tetras in it. some small amount of planting and a couple of ornaments. gravel substrate. Tank was set up and left 8 days before it was tested when results were ph 7.4, ammonia 0.25, nitrate and nitrites 0. first fish added day ten 2 swords 3 tetras and 2 gouramis. 3 days later i had lost both the gouramies a day later one of the tetras.test levels remained the same during this time. did first 25% water change around this time and tests still good. Then added the guppies and another 5 tetras. a week later and all doing fine, fish alert and acting natural ( ithink). Tested tonight and ammonia is 0 nitrite is 0 and ph is still stable at 7.4. Nitrate is around 3to4ppm So on the face of it its all goodor is it? should i be seeing more nitrate by now? And when should i rinse my filters? my instinct is to leave well alone and keep testing as the water is clear and its a new tank so needs to grow the bacteria what do you think ??
 
delkimgreen

 

[Ch4rlie]

Hi and welcome to the forum.
 
To be honest , i think you have not cycled your tank properly, despite advice given by LFS, their advice is not always the best.
 
What you need to do is to follow this article, highly recommended -
 
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/421488-cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first/
 
Basically you need bacteria to convert the ammonia, which fish produces as well as leftover foods and decaying plant matter, covert ammonia to nitrite and then bacteria to convert nitrite to nitrate.
 
All these are toxic to fish, with nitrate the least least toxic, we control nitrate levels by water changes weekly.
But most importantly is to have the bacteria to deal with ammonia and nitrite.
 
So, do have a read of that link and see if that explains things more clearly.
 
And not sure which test kit you are using, paper dip strip kits are pretty unreliable to use so hopefully you are using a liquid based test kit, such as API FW Master test kit for example - 
 
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As for maintenance on filters, this depends on your filter itself. Usually if a filer slow down in terms of water flow, thats a sign you need to do some maintenance on your filter, generally a quick squeeze of half you sponge media in old tank water and replacing / cleaning filter floor will suffice, but occasionally  you'll need to clean the impeller and housing of gunk. Pretty straightforward once get the hang of this.
 
 
 

 

[delkimgreen1]

Ok thanks i know what your saying about the cycling not being completed but the tank was a present for my birthday and was set up for me while at work and first fish bought again without my consent the following week. I am testing every 2 to 3 days so as to keep an eye on the ammonia and nitrite levels and im using API master kit. With what ive read this was the way it was done pre fishless cycling ??  again im not sure how often i need to change water(25%) as if the tests are within parameters surly im only slowing an already slow cycle ? I do now have my first readable nitrate although very low. Removing the fish are not an option as i only have the one tank. One last thing is how do i know howmuch food to give them ?

 

[Mamashack]

Now you've got fish in there you can go 2 ways - you can take the fish back to the LFS/ have someone foster them for you
OR you can do the fish-in route in which case you'll need to read these articles: http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/433769-rescuing-a-fish-in-cycle-gone-wild-part-i/
and http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/433778-rescuing-a-fish-in-cycle-gone-wild-part-il/
They will guide you thro the suggested way of continuing the fish-in cycle
My personal advice would be to get the fish out of there as quickly as possible and go for the fishless cycle that Ch4rlie linked for you.
Whatever you decide, I wish you luck and do let us know how it goes..

 

[delkimgreen1]

Ok i have read both articles and am not sure how any of it applies to me as i have no ammonia and no nitrite present in the tank. My last and so far only water change was a week ago and the ammonia which was showing 0.25 ppm (api) has zero'd and nitrate has remained at 0. Nitrate which was also 0 a week ago  is now showing at about 3 maybe 4 ppm. So it would appear that some cycling is taking place. My ph is and always has been a stable ph of 7.4. Most of part 2 of the article concerns what to do if ammonia and nitrate get to high so do not hopefully concern me at this stage, Should i add bacteria to boost the cycle or leave it until i get raised readings? I should say the tank was bought second hand and as i was not present when it was set up i have no idea if the filters still contained any bacteria or if they had been thouroughly washed in tap water rendering them pretty much bacteria free due to the chlorine contamination, i will speak to the previous owner and see how he washed them. I am at a loss as to how to proceed !
 
Delkimgreen

 

[Ch4rlie]

Now we have a clearer picture, lets hope the previous person who gave you the tank and set up has indeed completed a fishless cycle, however with nitrate being so low am a little wary if the tank is indeed cycled.
 
Just because you're showing little ammonia and nitrite does not mean you are cycled and your reading of nitrate being at 3 or 4 ppm is confusing as tests for nitrates tend to be in 10's, 0, 10 , 20, 30, 40 ppm etc
 
But hopefully you'll hear soon from the previous owner, but in meantime do keep a close eye on your water parameters just in case.

 

[delkimgreen1]

ok thanks for advice i will keep a close eye on it and keep you informed. API test chart for nitrate shows yellow as being 0 ppm and  pale orange as being 5.0 ppm mine is showing inbetween in no way bright yellow but not quite the orange on the chart so im guessing inbetween 0 and 5 hense 3 to 4 .
 
delkimgreen

 

[Ch4rlie]

A few other questions, hopefully you don't mind -
 
Does your tank have lots or only a few plants?
 
A picture of your tank may help us figure out what your tank set up is like.
 
Even just a few plants may help explain why your nitrate is very low, depends on the plants.
 
So testing tap water may help eliminate some things, so if you could test tap water for all the parameters, including gH and kH may prove useful.
 
And water temp of tank might help as well.

 

[delkimgreen1]

Here i hope is the picture you asked for
 
 


ok so the twoplants on the left of the tank are real and the middle one has grown by about 4 inches in about 10 days. the other one is established and growing but at nothing like the same speed. dotted around the forground is another plant which has been in less then a week but the swords are destroying it for some reason so im slowly scooping it off the top. lol Plant on the right is artificial as is the rock ornament. Temperature is set at 80f.
I will test the water again tomorrow after work and will test some tapwater also. Cannot do KH as do not have kit (what is it) i live in devon where the water is soft.
Hope that answers at least some of your questions.
 
Delkimgreen

 

[Ch4rlie]

Right, thanks.
 
What plants are they?
The pic is a little small for me to really identify what you have in that tank
Elodea / densa in middle and possibly the left back could be anubia or cyrpt of sorts?
 
Still need the details asked for earlier if you can.

 

[delkimgreen1]

Ok i have just done the tests you wanted on tap water it is 0 ppm amonia, 0 ppm nitrite, 0 ppm Nitrate and 7.4ph
tank water tested 0 ppm ammonia, 0 ppm Nitrite, 3 ppm Nitrate and ph is 7.4.
Fish are all healthy and feeding / acting correctly. I also found two tiny snails in the tank today opaque shells almost see through on one side they seem quite active and happy. I think (may have dreampt it) that i read somewhere that snails are very susceptible to harm by bad water. These either came in as eggs on the plants or were in the gravel when the tank was set up either way there alive and thriving. By the way i was looking at a pic from when i first planted the two plants on the left and they have both grown in the two weeks they have been in there. The middle one must be 5 times bigger then when it went in could this be where the nitrate is going ?
 
Delkimgreen

 

[delkimgreen1]

Right some more info ! i spoke to the previous owner and he told me he washed the pump and filter in tank water, he replaced some carbon(??) and said that the filter should have been good to go from the off as it was a long established tank.

 

[Ch4rlie]

Sounds good, cycled tank then
 
Carbon is usually used for removing metal or medical elements from tank water.
Although Carbon is only active for a few weeks then becomes basically inactive.

 

[delkimgreen1]

Yes it looks good 

Thanks for all the advice
 
delkimgreen