Comprehensive Cycle/Test Results and Care Help

[ccondardo]

I always read posts that have to do with test kits, cycling, and water changes. The reason for that is because I can't really get a grasp on what I'm supposed to do when.

Now that I received my API Freshwater Master Test kit from Petco.com for $22 on sale, I'm ready to be a mad scientist.

I have 2 tanks. Below is a breif history of both.

14g Tank: 3 Danios, 1 Silvertipped shark, 2 Serpae Teteas (note: i know that its not the right size i shoudlnt have the shark or danios ect, please limit this post to Cycle/Test help)

I have been running it since Feb 2. I do weekly water changes and started the tank with a fish cycle (I was a noob and didn't know better).

In the process I lost 1 shark and 1 serpae tetra.

I ran the tests from the API test kit exactly as described in the directions using the exact timings and everything they provide. Below are the results for 14g tank.

Ammonia- 0
Nitrate- 10
Nitrite- 1

My other tank is a bit of a bad one. I really messed this one up. 10g tank, housing 2 silver danios, 6 comet feeder fish (kind of experimenting with breaking the tank in with cheap fish who are going to die anyways, I figured this is a better life for them). It has been running for 2 weeks now. I have had 8 deaths in the tank in that time, cementing the idea that I will never do a fish cycle again. I guess some people need to learn the hard way.

pH- between 7.4 and 7.8, closer to 7.4
Ammonia- between 1 and 2... closer to 2
Nitrite- 0
Nitrate- between 5 and 10, closer to 5, I would say about 6.

What I'm really looking for is someone to fill in the blanks below to help every noobie with their test results and what steps to carry out afterward.

When Ammonia is _________(above/below) _______ (test result number) do ________________( water change, including what %). This means that ________________ (explanation of why it is reading like this). When your Ammonia reads _____________ your cycle is completed.

When Nitrite is _________(above/below) _______ (test result number) do ________________( water change, including what %, or nothing). This means that ________________ (explanation of why it is reading like this). When your Nitrite reads _____________ your cycle is completed.

When Nitrate is _________(above/below) _______ (test result number) do ________________( water change, including what %, or nothing). This means that ________________ (explanation of why it is reading like this). When your Ammonia reads _____________ your cycle is completed.

This I believe would be very helpful to a lot of people who don't understand what to do with those test results or what exactly they mean. Like I said this information is everywhere, and MissFishy's site explains the process very well, but the page doesn't exactly go in depth with testing and curing the water problems.

Thanks!!

 

[Whiskers]

When Ammonia is above 1.0 (test result number) do 25% to 50% water change to get reading below 1.0 (including what %). This means that good bacteria hasn't developed enough to break down the ammonia (explanation of why it is reading like this). When your Ammonia reads 0 your cycle is partitally completed.

When Nitrite is above 1.0 (test result number) do 25% to 50% to get nitrite below 1.0 ( water change, including what %, or nothing). This means that you are in the second part of the cycle (explanation of why it is reading like this). When your Nitrite reads 0 your cycle is completed.

When Nitrate is above 40ppm (test result number) do 25% w/c ( water change, including what %, or nothing). This means that you tank is cycled but has need for weekly cleaning/water change (explanation of why it is reading like this).

if i've got anything off a little someone please adjust or add to answers ok.

 

[DesignsOnYou]

Looks good to me whiskers, that's what I've heard too. The only thing I would add is that when you are still cycling it can be theoretically helpful to not vacuum the gravel during the water changes, instead just pulling water from the top or the middle of the tank so as not to disturb the bacteria. I don't know if this actually helps or not though. The flip side of it is that if someone is over feeding, they may need to vacuum up the excess food so as not to be producing even more ammonia. So, that might be more confusing than helpful to add in to a general step by step what to do.

 

[homebunnyj]

Sounds great, y'all, only thing I would add is I like to keep nitrate under 20. With some tanks it's harder to do that, so I have settled for 40 at times. In a tank like that you might look at reducing bioload or adding a few plants.