Water Test Questions??

djbids

djbids

Medium Fish
#1
Feb 2, 2008
56
0
0
Cayucos Beach, California
#1
I have a 36G tank set up on 1/29 with no fish for about 6 days. I then added my danios (no comments please about cycling with fish-my business not yours) my fish are great--my question is I have been testing my water since 2/8. Keep in mind my tank has only been up with fish for 20 days and is quite large and has a great filter system. I have had no readings in ammonia, nor in nitrite or nitrates. I have been testing my water about every two days. I have not done water changes as it does not need it yet. Some sites say not to disrupt the biofilter process with water changes and why ruin a good thing. I can't find any bad buildup. I did once take out my sponge in the filter and rinse it with fish water because it was getting a little slime. In researching I see that it can take up to 27 days before nitrates can be seen. Any response?? Dont tell me to buy a new kit because it is impossible that all my solutions are wrong. I am doing actual water tests with solution and matching color to the strip (API Freshwater Master Test Kit) Is it possible that I am just having some good luck? It appears to be getting that grassy smell you all talk about as the biofilter is starting to get bacteria. I do check for food particles etc and have once taken some of the algae off the glass.

I guess my question is: Is it possible that a 36Gallon tank can take a little longer to show these levels rising because it would take awhile for ammonia to build up in the water in a tank this size? my filter is doing a good job?

Thank you all as usual!!*twirlysmi
 

d3sc3n7

d3sc3n7

Superstar Fish
#2
Nov 21, 2007
1,455
0
0
44
Ft. Campbell, Ky
www.d3sc3n7.com
#2
Well, you have the test kit alot of people here use, so no reason to change that out.

My guess is that your in for a very long cycle. So, your build up is slow. 8 little fish, in that big tank...things are going to take a while to start going.
 

djbids

djbids

Medium Fish
#3
Feb 2, 2008
56
0
0
Cayucos Beach, California
#3
OK. Thats makes me happy. Since I killed my pleco, you responded to my chest compressions mention, haha...I am not in any rush to add any more fish. I have lots of time...what is your opinion on the water change. I thought i would wait a bit since it looks fine.
 

djbids

djbids

Medium Fish
#5
Feb 2, 2008
56
0
0
Cayucos Beach, California
#5
I am getting frustrated now. My ammonia levels finally started to rise. The tank has been set up for 5 weeks tomorrow, 4 weeks with danios. Ammonia was .25 then .50 ppm then almost 1ppm that I read was dangerous. I did not want my fish to die so have done two 15% water changes in the matter of 3 or 4 days which brought it down a bit. I am running out of patience. Can anyone give me some help with the levels. If ammonia is going to peak, how high is peaking and does it just drop back to 0 then nitrites rise? I cant get a reading for nitrites yet. Its like it wants to but since I'm afraid to let my ammonia rise higher, will I ever get there???? I am in a small panic and want to clean my filter but know I should not..so I have left it alone. Remember I have a 36G with 8 small danios. Someone tell me something. Tell me I'm stupid or whatever. I am getting tired of looking all over the internet.
 

E

emmanuelchavez

Superstar Fish
#6
Feb 22, 2008
1,370
0
0
#6
Don't panic too much. At one point my ammonia levels rose to 8 ppm almost overnight in my 10 gallon with the guppies. None of them have died. I was doing 2 50% water changes every day. It was sooo frustrating I'm almost done cycling now! After so many weeks. 0 ammonia, .25 Nitrites, <5 ppm Nitrates.

What sucks about cycling with fish is that, once your ammonia starts to rise, you're almost essentially going to have to do water changes every day. Why your 36 gall with only 8 Zebras shot up so fast, I'm not sure. On top of doing the water changes, I'd recommend only feeding every other day.

After the ammonia levels get down, you're going to see a HUGE spike in Nitrites! I read that they come fast, but I didn't think it'd be this quickly, and this high. I read that the nitrite spike usually lasts longer, but it really hasn't for me.

Good luck with your tank and the cycling.
 

TabMorte

TabMorte

Superstar Fish
#7
Jan 17, 2008
1,470
0
0
#7
Cycling fish in takes a long long time. The bigger the tank the longer it takes.
You need to do the water changes. Many many more of them. (I did 50% A DAY while I had ammonia). And just be patient. It'll all happen in time.

I would get some Biospira if I were you. It'll cycle your tank much faster. Also see if you can get some cycled media from a pet store.
 

HAAA

HAAA

Large Fish
#9
Mar 2, 2008
203
0
0
Inland Empire
#9
i dt know why ppl dt just cycle with feeder fish thats what i did but not goldfish i use feeder guppies then they desapier when u but bigger fish in :eek:
 

K

khisanthax

Large Fish
#11
Feb 19, 2008
195
0
0
#11
From what I've learned, even if your fish survive the cycling their lifespans may be shortened due to the stress they are going through in trying to adapt to the changing toxic environment.

My understanding is that any ammonia is toxic, but over 1ppm really isn'thealthy for them. The only problem is you need to have some ammonia present to grow your bacteria culture, which is in turn necessary to grow the bacteria necessary to convert your nitrites to nitrates.

So, while ammonia is bad for fish, it's necessary for the tank (bacteria) and a necessary part of the cycle. The same goes for nitrites, it will harm the fish a bit, but it's necessary. A person may not notice the damage for a long time.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
 

T

trailmule

Large Fish
#12
Jan 2, 2008
126
0
0
#12
To cycle my tank, I bought at medium sized piece of driftwood with anubias on it from one of the tanks at the lfs. I also followed the directions on a bottle of Stability. I never had ammonia above .50 ppm. Even with a full bio-load.

If you can, buy a piece of wood from an established tank at the lfs... it will help things along quicker.
 

d3sc3n7

d3sc3n7

Superstar Fish
#13
Nov 21, 2007
1,455
0
0
44
Ft. Campbell, Ky
www.d3sc3n7.com
#13
Well, the idea is to not do a fish-in cycle, if you dont have to. That way the fish come in to a nice cycled home, and not a home full of the bad stuff. If you must do a fish-in cycle, you should stay on top of the water changes to keep your levels as low as possible to keep the fish healthy, however, doing so...increases the time your cycle takes dramatically
 

pwrmacG4

pwrmacG4

Superstar Fish
#14
Jan 16, 2008
1,086
0
0
My LFS!
#14
well.. I can tell you that I did a fish in cycle and it took 7 weeks.. the ammonia spiked at 8ppm and came down over a few weeks.. then the nitrite spike lasted 4 weeks. I had to do daily water changes for that entire nitrite spike. the thing you want to do is make the water less toxic for them.

"diloution of pollution is the solution" that is what happens when you do a water change.. you don't remove the ammonia and nitrites.. you just dilute it so it isn't as harmful to your fish. good luck. why did you make the comment about my business not yours? you are making it our business when you ask for help. fyi
 

Whiskers

Whiskers

Large Fish
#17
Feb 29, 2008
425
1
18
central Michigan USA
#17
Your both right djbids didn't want to be harped on and if your gonna post questions about what you are doing you've made it everybodys business. As DG said he has also cycled with fish so I don't think he was getting down on djbids, hell I've cycled with fish when I first started and now have a 6" columbian shark that the wife and I think is a little brain fried. We live and learn and thats what this place is all about. We all have sucess and failures, and believe me I've made my mistakes hahahaha.
 

djbids

djbids

Medium Fish
#20
Feb 2, 2008
56
0
0
Cayucos Beach, California
#20
pwrmacG4 said:
well.. I can tell you that I did a fish in cycle and it took 7 weeks.. the ammonia spiked at 8ppm and came down over a few weeks.. then the nitrite spike lasted 4 weeks. I had to do daily water changes for that entire nitrite spike. the thing you want to do is make the water less toxic for them.

"diloution of pollution is the solution" that is what happens when you do a water change.. you don't remove the ammonia and nitrites.. you just dilute it so it isn't as harmful to your fish. good luck. why did you make the comment about my business not yours? you are making it our business when you ask for help. fyi
Click to expand...
I made that comment because when I first came to this site I got hammered with why did you use fish to cycle. its like swimming in a toilet. people were harsh. I just wanted help and am so glad all these posts this time are positive and very helpful and not judgemental. Thank all of you for taking the time to respond.*BOUNCINGS
 

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