Second Stage Cycle Started Today Help

[lana]

ok so from water change of 50% at 530pm

i tested again at 930pm and readings were

ammonia 0.25
nitrites 0.25
nitrates 0

ph 7.0

temp 26C


did another 50% to 60 % water change at 9 30 pm

readings now
ammonia 0.25
nitrites 0
nitrates 0
ph 7.2

temp 25 C about

fish all ok

 

[lana]

6 am reading

ammonia 0
nitrites 0.25
nitrates 5

ph 7.2

temp 27C

all fish ok

doing water change now

 

[lana]

11 am reading for nitrites is almost 0

 

[Miss Wiggle]

woooooooo

certainly getting there lana!

 

[lana]

woooooooo

certainly getting there lana!

thank goodness for that ,

 

[waterdrop]

woooooooo

certainly getting there lana!

Yes, those numbers are certainly starting to have a better feel to them! MW, do you think 5 degrees C in 12 hours was too fast?

Also, Lana, didn't you get a KH kit way back? You could be checking with that. If KH had dropped lower then that would explain a downward pH movement. Of course, now the water changes seem to be having it back up roughly near 7, which should be fine for a majority of fish.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Miss Wiggle]

MW, do you think 5 degrees C in 12 hours was too fast?

are any of the fish dead or dying or looking in the slightest bit bothered by it? if it aint broke!

nah seriously i think it's fine, i've never had fish affected by changes in temp, i think temp shock of course will happen in extreme cases but people worry too much over it like they do for pH shock. in the wild when in rains at night the temp drops dramatically and the pH often does as well. do hoardes of fish die everytime it rains nope!

Sometimes as aquarists we have a tendency to mollycoddle (is that another good british word for you?!) our fish a bit too much, yes we have to do out best for them but the majority of species that we keep are hardy little buggers and can take a fair amount of grief.

 

[lana]

woooooooo

certainly getting there lana!

Yes, those numbers are certainly starting to have a better feel to them! MW, do you think 5 degrees C in 12 hours was too fast?

Also, Lana, didn't you get a KH kit way back? You could be checking with that. If KH had dropped lower then that would explain a downward pH movement. Of course, now the water changes seem to be having it back up roughly near 7, which should be fine for a majority of fish.

~~waterdrop~~

yes i did and i just test both tap and tank for you

tap
gh 4 drops
kh 3 drops

tank
gh 4 drops
kh 2 drops

no idea what it means


and other reading again

ammonia 0.25
nitrites 0.25
nitrates 0

ph 6.8

temp 27C

 

[waterdrop]

Well that explains it, your KH has turned the corner down at 2 and your pH is obediently following suit and dropping from its old levels.

What do you think MW? Should we recommend a mesh bag of crushed coral for our hard worker before she stalls out her fish-in cycle there?

~~waterdrop~~
ps. MY fish are most definately Mollycoddled (do you really say that? )

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yup, little bit of crushed coral to buffer up the KH will stop the pH from falling. start out with a small pile in the middle of your hand around 1" across, either sprinkle it over the substrate or pop it in a mesh bag (improvise with the foot of a pair of tights if needs be!) in the filter. monitor over a few days and if KH doesn't start to climb then stick a bit more in, just a case of tinkering a little bit to get it where you want. not an exact science with crushed coral unfortunately.

i do occasionally say mollycoddled! I think it's a nice expression.

 

[waterdrop]

The reason people use the bag is so that its a reversible action, you can take the crushed coral out again if you wish. Also, a couple more tidbits about crushed coral (which is just broken up seashells and coral bought in a bag that's usually too big from a LFS) are that it is reported to sometimes take 2 or even 3 weeks before you see a measured effect and that if you use it over a long time, especially if in your filter (where its more effective by the way) it will be popular with the bacteria and will get itself coated black, making it no longer able to seep into the water and thus needing a firm rinse in tap water to expose the white stuff again.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[lana]

The reason people use the bag is so that its a reversible action, you can take the crushed coral out again if you wish. Also, a couple more tidbits about crushed coral (which is just broken up seashells and coral bought in a bag that's usually too big from a LFS) are that it is reported to sometimes take 2 or even 3 weeks before you see a measured effect and that if you use it over a long time, especially if in your filter (where its more effective by the way) it will be popular with the bacteria and will get itself coated black, making it no longer able to seep into the water and thus needing a firm rinse in tap water to expose the white stuff again.

~~waterdrop~~

will do i will get some tomorrow and add to the filter, but if it takes a couple weeks how do i keep ph up in the mean time?

 

[waterdrop]

water changes, but for some the coral will act faster - a recent one here in our forum seemed to cause a pH rise much faster

 

[lana]

water changes, but for some the coral will act faster - a recent one here in our forum seemed to cause a pH rise much faster

water changes i can do in my sleep now so no problem there

 

[waterdrop]

where's that hubby? he should have run you a faucet right over the top of that tank by now