slider6542

I have attached the records using those dreaded sticks, please take a look. ( I get my API master test kit on Friday).

I have got some prawn in the tank and I have just added two files of Bio Digest bacteria so I am hoping something happens soon. I can't measure the ammonia yet but as you can see from the records, there hasn't been a nitrite spike in the 10 days the tank has been installed. I added 2 files of the bacteria on 14th jan but i must admit there was nothing for it to thrive on so it may have died.
Am i doing the right thing? I don't want to rush things, just get it right.

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sirdarksol

A question and a comment.
What are you using to provide ammonia to the tank? I suggest the pure ammonia, but you can use fish food or allow a piece of fish to rot in the tank.
Don't waste your time/money on the Bio Digest. It's likely a terrestrial bacteria, which means it will end up dying, dumping all of the ammonia it's consumed back into the water. In the end, it just sends your tank into a series of mini-cycles.

guppy07

Well, slider I am no expert but I can help a bit. Have you read the article http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm on the fish lore site? If not it is a worth you doing so. As I was looking through your records it seems weird to me yet not impossible i guess to have nitrate at the beginning stages of your tank. Sounds like you have purchased an API master so I would be interested after you test Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate what your reading are. Some times tanks take months to fully cycle so there is something to be said for taking your time and waiting. There are also several thing you can do to speed up the cycle of your tank. Make sure to read the whole article about the nitrogen cycle they have a section on starting the cycle that is where you want to key in. You need to be adding something to the tank to get it going. I went fishless. and it took me about 1 month to complete the cycle. I was actually have trouble at first but I went to my LFS and they gave me some gravel from and established tank and (some people would not like this) but They took one of their sponge filters ans rung it out into a fish bag with water in it. I dumped that into my tank filling it with benificial bacteria. It was like home made bio-spira. That really helped. My tank had ammonia reading and nitrate reading. 1 week later 0 on both with 15 PPM nitrate, did a water change and added two fish! I know this is long and annoying even sometimes but it is worth it in the end. So summary of suggestions 1) read the article. 2) get something in your tank that will START the nitrogen cycle. Keep posting if you have anymore questions I might be able to help. good luck!

slider6542

Thanks for the replies, I may have mislead you, I have put 'dead' prawn in the fishtank to kickstart the cycle. The two first nitrate readings on my chart are also misleading, I thnk that it was zero on both occasions. Just wasn't used to those **** strips at that time.
I will def' come back on friday with readings taken with API master test kit to get your response.
I had read the article on nitrogen cycle on day one and I full understand it, that's why I am so frustrated that nothing seams to be happening as yet