Tropical Fish Tank and Aquarium Information

Go Back   Fish Lore Tropical Fish and Aquarium Forum > Freshwater Aquarium Fish Forum > More Freshwater Aquarium Topics > Aquarium Water > Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle

Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle forum. Some call it new tank syndrome, others call it a pain in the you know what. You have to understand this process in fish keeping. You may have issues related to the aquarium nitrogen cycle and if you do post your questions on this board. Also see:: Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle, The Cycle - How Mother Nature Cleans House

Join Fish Lore Aquarium Forum

Search Fish Lore Facebook 
Google+
Twitter


Aquarium Forum
General
Welcome To FishLore
Using the Forum
General Discussion
Members Fish Tanks
Photos and Videos
Member Photos
Member Videos
Freshwater Aquarium Forum
Freshwater Beginners
Freshwater Equipment
More Freshwater Topics
Freshwater Fish & Inverts
Ponds
Saltwater Aquarium Forum
Saltwater Beginners
Saltwater Equipment
More Saltwater Topics
Saltwater Fish & Inverts
Member Blogs
Member Blogs
Misc. Topics
Reviews
Aquarium Fish Clubs
Buy, Sell, Trade
Fish Profiles
Freshwater Fish
Saltwater Fish
Fish Forum Archives
Closed Thread
 
Fish Forum Thread Tools
Old June 23rd, 2009  
Fish Keeper
 
Readings today

I did a water change on my 36G Corner today and took a full reading and it was: ammonia 0, Nitrites 0, Nitrates 0.. Is 0 Nitrates a good thing or should I have at least some nitrate present?
Phinny12 is offline  
Old June 23rd, 2009  
Moderator
 
You should have some nitrate reading. Did you test before the water change by any chance to compare?
What test kit are you using?
Lucy is offline  
Old June 24th, 2009  
Fish Keeper
 
I am using the API Master Test Kit. I only tested it after I changed the water but even still it is odd that there is no Nitrate. It looks very slightly cloudy. What could be going on?
Phinny12 is offline  
Old June 24th, 2009  
Fish Master
 
are there live plants in the tank? how longs it been running and what did you cycle it with?
Shawnie is offline  
Old June 24th, 2009  
Fish Keeper
 
Shawnie,
I set this tank up in December. I cycled it with decorations, gravel and old filter pad from my 55 gallon which had been running for 2 years.This tank ran for about 4 weeks before I put in my fish at which time the levels were Ammonia -0 nitrite-0 Nitrate 0.5.The last time I checked my levels was 1 week ago at that time my nitrates read 0.25 which had dropped from 0.5 over the course of a month's time. There are no real plants in this tank only silk and plastic.
Phinny12 is offline  
Old June 24th, 2009  
Fish Master
 
hmm you are in a mini cycle then without live plants and no nitrates...what additives do you add with water changes and whats the stock in there now? did you really bang that #2 nitrate bottle on a hard surface to mix up those crystals? you could be getting a false negative reading for nitrates if not...
Shawnie is offline  
Old June 24th, 2009  
Fish Keeper
 
Shawnie,
When I do water changes I use Tetra( brand) water conditioner/dechlorinator,Stresscoat and vita chem.
My Fish include: 2 Cory Cats, 2 Kuhli Loaches, 6 neon tetra & 4 Glow Danio in 36 Gallons.

When I did the test I put the cap on the tube and shook it up really hard.. Myabe it is possible that it did not all dissolve?

The water did seem to become very slightly cloudy in the past few days ..at first I did'nt really notice it was so slight.
Phinny12 is offline  
Old June 24th, 2009  
Fish Master
 
bang that # 2 bottle on a hard surface like I said and retest it...make sure the lot# on the bottle isnt older than 3 years old ...the last 4 digits is what you go by...cloudy is usually a bacteria bloom so maybe you lost your cycle somehow and its starting over...if you still have all 0's after banging that bottle, id test for the next week or so to make sure you dont have a spurt of ammonia out of no where...
Shawnie is offline  
Old June 25th, 2009  
Fish Keeper
 
Shawnie,
I tested again last night and got the same 0-0-0 ..I will check the dates on the bottle tonight. The Slight cloudieness in the water started to clear last night. My fish seem fine, healthy, shiney,hungy,active, No signs of stress. How will the mini cycle effect them? Is there anything I can add to the water to accelerate through the mini cycle?
Phinny12 is offline  
Old June 25th, 2009  
Moderator
 
Hello. You mentioned that you seeded your new tank with gravel and filter media from your established tank and you didn't add any fish for 4 weeks. Did you feed the tank or add pure ammonia during these 4 weeks? If not, then chances are the good bacteria you seeded with may have starved and your tank started the cycle again once you added fish. hmmmmm? Keep us posted.
aquarist48 is offline  
Old June 25th, 2009  
Fish Keeper
 
aquarist,

During the time I was running tank I used a raw shrimp in a nylon stocking...very gross.During this time my fish were still in my old 55 gallon tank. After my water tested Ammonia-0 Nitrite-0 and nitrate-0.5 I transfered my fish to the new tank. Those readings held the same since November untill just 3-4 weeks ago when the nitrate level started to drop off first to 0.25 and now to 0.0
Phinny12 is offline  
Old June 25th, 2009  
Moderator
 
Ok...thanks for clearing that up for me. I don't know of anything that will speed you on through the cycle other than daily water changes. It shouldn't take any where near as long as the original cycle. Be sure to add some Prime or Amquel + with your changes.
aquarist48 is offline  
Old June 25th, 2009  
Fish Keeper
 
Thanks for the advice aquarist & Shawnie. I will do daily water changes until I see some change in readings. i am worried about my fish though..they are so beautiful & health I would hate for anything to happen to them!
Phinny12 is offline  
Old June 25th, 2009  
Fish Master
 
actually, if you retested and its still 0-0-0 , id stop the water changes and still test daily..when you see a rise in ammonia , start the water changes....overcleaning can cause a mini cycle as well.....they are not in any harm with all 0 readings so no panicking needed...you need that ammonia to be able to start processing..then id start the daily water changes with the prime from there
Shawnie is offline  
Old June 29th, 2009  
Fish Keeper
 
Thank You for your advise Shawnie. It my be that i overcleaned the tank. I thought I was going away for the weekend so I did an extra water change that week.
Phinny12 is offline  
Closed Thread

Fish Forum Thread Tools

Fun Fish and Aquarium Games!
Fish Tycoon
Fish Tycoon
Insaniquarium - Insane Aquarium
Insaniquarium
Insane Aquarium
Jenny's Fish Shop
Jenny's
Fish Shop
FishCo
FishCo!


Similar Aquarium Fish Forum Threads
Thread Fish Forum
Question: can I run some readings by you? Freshwater Beginners
can someone help me out with these readings Freshwater Beginners Archive
Help with API readings Livebearers
My Readings Freshwater Beginners Archive
PH readings Freshwater Beginners Archive



Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.7.1
Copyright ©2000 - 2012, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
LinkBacks Enabled by vBSEO 3.3.2 © 2009, Crawlability, Inc.
© Fish Lore.com - providing tropical fish tank and aquarium information for freshwater fish and saltwater fish keepers