ThisGuy

Tank looks good it will be better once there is some fish in there

HatchetHaven

Looks good - especially for a first tank, my first one looked half as good!

Lucy

Your tank looks great! Very well done.
My first tank was a mish mash of colors and stuff, not very appealing. lol, Actually it hasn't changed much, but it's grown on me and my fish like it.

tzqng8

Got in on the tail end of all this discussion, but thought I'd say welcome to fishlore and good luck on the tank!

scorpiogirl

Thank you all for the compliments. I am having a very hard time waiting on this stupid thing to cycle! You know, all of my levels are staying the same. Granted, I am using test strips right now because that's all I have but still, shouldn't SOMETHING be happening? In fact, it looks like my ammonia levels are going down...? I have been putting flake food in twice a day and the heat is up to 84. The test strip shows that the nitrite and nitrate are both 0. When should I expect to see a change? Getting antzy here.

jdhef

There should be some overlap in your ammonia dropping and your nitrites rising. So that fact that your ammonia is dropping may be a good thing! It took about 2-1/2 weeks for my ammonia to drop to zero (I cycled with danios). and about 2-1/2 to 3 weeks for the nitites to cycle.

scorpiogirl

Tomorrow will be three weeks and the ammonia is lowering but no change in the nitrite or nitrates. Went ahead and put some fish in though, they are doing fine. Love to watch them all the time.

ThisGuy

What kind of fish?

HatchetHaven

Seconded!

Lucy

You're using test strips? They're not accurate. It would be a good idea to get a liquid test kit so you really knew where you were in the cycle.
It's probably mentioned in this thread somewhere that the API is recommended by a lot of people here.

If you put fish in while you have ammonia readings, you can be jeopardizing your fish's health.
I'd suggest you start daily water changes until the tank finishes cycling.

Good luck.

scorpiogirl

I have 3 guppies, 2 platies, and 6 neon tetras in my 26g tank. They all have been doing very well but this morning I noticed that the mickey mouse platy is just hanging around the bottom of the tank. He will come up for food and moves around some but not as active as usual. No visible signs of any problem so I don't know what is goin on with him. I know I need to get the liquid testing supplies but until I do I have been taking samples to a local pet shop for testing. They use the liquid and as of Mon. my ammonia was between 0.25 and 0.50. I bought some of the reverse-osmosis water they have there because the source of the ammonia is my tap water. I did a 50% water change with the water and the lady told me to bring in another sample for testing today which I will do. Just not sure what is going on with the platy. Any advice? Thanks!

jdhef

It could be the ammonia. Fish usually can't tolerate even small amounts. So you are really going to have to keep up with the 50% water changes until it comes down.

I don't know how much the R.O. water costs at the lfs, but you could also use bottled water. You can usually get bottle water pretty cheapat places like WalMart.

Lucy

Using Prime as your conditioner will help neutralize the ammonia.
We have another member who has ammonia in their and that's what helps her.

Your platy is feeling the effects of the ammonia, the water change will do him good.

Good luck.

scorpiogirl

How often will I have to change the water? Do I need to change 50% each time? The RO water is 52 cents per gallon is that much cheaper than the bottled water at walmart; spring water/distilled water, or mineral water?

scorpiogirl

Lucy, I was told that I don't need to add any Prime if I am using the RO water. Is this right?

mrsmuffin

The RO water may not have chlorine in it that requires you to use water conditioner, but the Prime will help your fish deal with the ammonia that is in your tank right now. I believe that since there is ammonia in your tank, you should dose the entire tank with prime every 24 hours (after or during your daily water change.)

scorpiogirl

Thanks for the advice. My problem is that I can't afford to buy enough RO water to do daily changes and I don't think I can use my tap water because it has 1.0ppm of ammonia. Will the Prime eliminate all of that ammonia from the tap?

scorpiogirl

I took a sample of the tank water to the pet shop and my ammonia level is 0.25, nitrite and nitrate are 0. I am using some Zeolite in a media bag that is placed behind my regular filter for extra help in ridding the tank of ammonia. What else can or should I do to get the ammonia down to 0? The fish seem fine, just doing a little bit of "flashing". Any suggestions?