Latest testing results: End of Week 4

[larryag59]

Review of tank specs:

14g Biocube, < 10g actual water after rocks/sand

CaribSea live aragonite used as bacteria starter

One damsel from the beginning to provide "food" for bacteria

New: dosed tank one week ago with bottled bacteria (TLC for Saltwater Aquariums)

 

12/31/16

PH: 8.0

Ammonia: 0.25 PPM

Nitrites: 0 PPM

Nitrates: 0 PPM

 

01/07/17

PH: 8.0

Ammonia: 0.5 PPM

Nitrites: 0 PPM

Nitrates: 0 PPM

 

Latest readings:

01/17/17

PH: 8.0

Ammonia: 0.5 PPM

Nitrites: 0 PPM

 

Nitrates: 0 PPM

 

Please comment.  The guy in the LFS said that the nitrate reading is the most important in cycling, and that cycying is done when my nitrates are at zero, but they have always been at zero....at least that's what I think he said...comments requested and welcome!

 

[SandJ]

If you have .5 ppm of ammonia, that is a dangerous level for the fish. While the ammonia level is serving the purpose of cycling the tank, it is also damaging the fish.

 

As long as you have ammonia showing, you have not cycled yet. First you add an ammonia source to the tank. I like to use pure ammonia when cycling because you can measure exactly how fast the bacteria can process ammonia (Can't do that now with a fish in the tank). The fish is adding the ammonia in your tank.

 

Then the bacteria population that breaks ammonia into nitrites increases, so you will see ammonia decrease and nitrites increase.

 

Next, the nitrites will be broken down into nitrates by a different bacteria. Nitrites decrease and nitrates increase.

 

This is when your tank is considered cycled.

 

What test kit are you using to test for ammonia? The API test kits are notorious for giving false positives. If you are using an API, you may want to run the ammonia test on fresh salt water as a control, just to make sure it is giving you an accurate result.

 

And someone correct me if I am wrong on this please...you will want to add fish slowly after the tank has cycled. The tank has grown enough bacteria to process the ammonia from the fish you have in it. When you add more fish, the ammonia production in the tank will increase and it will take the bacteria a little while to catch up.

Edited January 19, 2017 by SandJ

[larryag59]

Yes, I am using API for testing, And I like your idea of testing on fresh salt water as a control.  I think I'll dose some bacteria in the tank to help reduce the ammonia level and reduce stress on the fish.  I wish now I had used another method other than introducing a fish to get the cycling started, but that was suggested to me at the time I was getting what I needed to set up the tank.  By the way, is there a way by observing the fish to tell that he is being stressed?

[SandJ]

Yes, I am using API for testing, And I like your idea of testing on fresh salt water as a control.  I think I'll dose some bacteria in the tank to help reduce the ammonia level and reduce stress on the fish.  I wish now I had used another method other than introducing a fish to get the cycling started, but that was suggested to me at the time I was getting what I needed to set up the tank.  By the way, is there a way by observing the fish to tell that he is being stressed?

Using a fish to cycle has been a method for many years and many people still do it. But to me using pure ammonia is just an easier and measurable way to start the cycle. Plus if the fish was not quarantined, you can risk adding a disease to your tank. And some fish can be very difficult to catch once in the tank, and people sometimes find the damsels (especially the blue with a yellow tail) can be a more aggressive fish that they no longer want.

 

A stressed fish may breath fast, stop eating, and with ammonia burn you may notice the gills are red.

[larryag59]

When I was at my LFS in Glen Burnie (where I got the damsel) my concerns about what to do with the fish once the tank was cycled, he told me I they would take it back for exchange, which was a relief.  By the way, I finally bought a piece of live rock and put it in my tank.  So many people suggested it that it seemed like a good idea.