Jump to content

Cycling a new tank


Recommended Posts

Hey guys,

It's been a long time since I've cycled a tank proper and it was for fish (which are probably a thousand times more resilient than shrimp) so I'm not sure what to expect from my tank. The current water parameters are as follows:

Ammonia: 0.25ppm

Nitrite: 0

Nitrate:30ppm

pH: 6.4

Currently housing 2 tetras and a bristlenose starlight pleco.

My tank has begun to smell, is this normal? And how long would it take for the bacteria to kick in?

Sent from my 2014817 using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Are you adding any bacteria supplement like Seachem Stability or Tetra SafeStart?

Nope not that I know of. I did however add a layer of Borneo wild balance before adding the substrate if that counts?

Are you adding any bacteria supplement like Seachem Stability or Tetra SafeStart?

Sent from my 2014817 using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hmm okay. Any idea how much water in supposed to change and how often?

Sent from my 2014817 using Tapatalk

I'd do about 10-15% depending on how high your ammonia is. Just keep an eye on your ammonia levels and that should tell you when you should do a water change. Too much water changes will stress out the fish, but so is high levels of ammonia. This is why I stopped doing fish cycling :(

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd do about 10-15% depending on how high your ammonia is. Just keep an eye on your ammonia levels and that should tell you when you should do a water change. Too much water changes will stress out the fish, but so is high levels of ammonia. This is why I stopped doing fish cycling :(

Yeah, I decided to remove my fish. They did their job of introducing ammonia to my water column
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah for that I'll be getting white cloud mountain minnows for that. My neons have suffered enough imo

Sent from my 2014817 using Tapatalk

 

How about a bottle of this instead? http://www.amazon.com/DrTims-Aquatics-Ammonium-chloride-bottle/dp/B006MP4QG6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1449437370&sr=8-1&keywords=dr+tims+ammonia

More precise and much less cruel :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That is great but what sucks is they got cheap and watered it down like crazy.

 

It says 1 drop per gallon is 2 ppm but my bottle was more like 5 drops per gallon is 2 ppm.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That is great but what sucks is they got cheap and watered it down like crazy.

It says 1 drop per gallon is 2 ppm but my bottle was more like 5 drops per gallon is 2 ppm.

I got myself some seeded material from my friends filter and some bacterial supplements too! I'll be sure to update y'all on the tank status soon! Thanks [emoji3]

Sent from my 2014817 using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6.4 PH is quiet low for neos/tiger (assuming since you are using substrate). might want to up that a bit when you're near the end of your cycle!

Okay should I do it artificially or with chemicals? Cos I think the only reason its low is because I'm running pressurised CO2. My tap water is relatively hard at 7.2-7.4

Sent from my 2014817 using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Okay should I do it artificially or with chemicals? Cos I think the only reason its low is because I'm running pressurised CO2. My tap water is relatively hard at 7.2-7.4

Sent from my 2014817 using Tapatalk

Shrimps are not too fond of co2.. I try to never mess with p.h as it can get quiet whacky. My only suggestion is to stop using co2 if you want to continue with shrimps.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Shrimps are not too fond of co2.. I try to never mess with p.h as it can get quiet whacky. My only suggestion is to stop using co2 if you want to continue with shrimps.

Alright. I do kinda think that shrimps are more particular of the pH swing than the co2 but I'll take note.

Sent from my 2014817 using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...