Low95chevy

i have my tank established and all the test kits for ammonia and everything but i dont have a heater in my tank should i wait until i have my heater until i start the nitrogen cycle? and i already have fish in it because i didn't know about this until after i bought them there in good temperature though

Shawnie

im confused..if your tank is established, why would you have to cycle it?

alot of us have started out without knowing the proper way to cycle...we keep learning more each day

Low95chevy

i messed my words up a little...i have my fish tank mostly with everything only thing im missing is a heater and i've never gone through the nitrogen cycle or tested for ammonia nitrite nitrate or tested my pH level and stuff like that....should i test for it without my heater there? and if i have high ammonia should i start the nitrogen cycle or wait until i buy it? because i dont know if the temperature of the fish tank is going to effect any of that

Lucy

Warmer temps help bacteria grow faster.

The nitrogen cycle will start whether you try to or not. Ammonia starts the nitrogen cycle. It's how we handle it depends on if the fish will survive or not.
Without knowing what your readings are, it's hard to advise you on water changes for the health of your fish.

You really should look into getting a test kit and a heater.
We not only use heaters to get the recommended temp for our fish but also to keep that temperature consistance.

Peterpiper

Ok, lets get this straight.
Are there any fish in the tank? If you have fish in the tank, you should have a heater.
You should check the ammonia level if you have fish in the tank.
Tank temp will not affect the test for ammonia.
The tank will cycle faster with a heater set on 80f.
What are you using to treat the water when you do the water changes?
How often are you doing the water changes and how much are you changing?

dennis

I did the same mistake. I did not know about the nitrogen cycle and i put fish in my tank. Well to put it another words i lost 90% of my fish. I have 3 left now. If you have fish in your tank you started the cycle. My advice is if you can return the fish to LFS, if not just stay on top of your daily water changes and pray. It is going to be a tough ride. Heater speeds up your cycle.

Red1313

Adding a heater after the fact will cause an ammonia spike, so be prepared for that. The increased temp will cause increased decay. But I would recommend a heater.

Low95chevy

I use aquasafe to treat the water and i do water changes weekly wich im probably going to have to do it every other day after i test for ammonia im going to test for it now and try to get the levels down and ill be ready for the ammonia spike when i get the heater

Lucy

If there's fish in the tank, it's really important for their help to keep the ammonia level down.

I don't understand what you mean when you said you'll be ready for the ammonia spike when you get a heater?
The ammonia comes from fish waste and left over food, not the heater.

Perhaps it'll help you to read about the cycling process:
Nitrogen Cycle

Low95chevy

^^^ thats why i said it i guess red's wrong and i read the aquarium nitrogen cycle thats why i went out and bought the test kits in the first place because i didnt know about it before and the test didnt come out too pretty.

According to the bottle these are my results:

Ph - 6.8 (neutral)

Nitrate - 20 (safe)

Nitrite - 10.0 (danger)

Ammonia - 3.0 (harmful)

I just finished a 25% water change how often do you recommend i do one and how much of it

Lucy

Oh, I'm so glad you got your kit!

There's fish in the tank right?
50% water changes daily, beginning now. It's really important for your fish to get the ammonia and nitrite levels down.
If you can get some Prime or Stess Coat+, they're water conditioners that'll detox the ammonia for 24hrs between changes but not lock it up. It makes it safer for your fish but available to the bacteria.

There's some good news though, the fact that you're showing nitrates means the bacteria has started to develop.

Keep up the daily changes until your readings are 0 for ammonia and nitrites with 5-10 nitrates showing.

Did you get the heater?

Peterpiper

Ok, Nitrites and nitrates are a good sign that the cycle is well on the way.
The ammonia at PH6.8 is ammonium which is not as much of an issue, ammonia when mixed with water becomes ammonium, once the PH goes above 7.0 then it starts to change back to ammonia.
The nitrite reading is very high, and this is the issue at the moment.
Doing a 50% WC now will reduce your readings by 1/2. ie
ammonium will fall from 3ppm to 1.5ppm.
nitrite will fall from 10ppm to 5ppm.
The readings are still to high, so you would need to do another water change the next day of 50%, this would drop the readings to-
ammonium 0.75ppm.
nitrite 2.5ppm.
The readings are still to high, so you would need to do another water change the next day of 50%, this would drop the readings to-
ammonium 0.4
nitrite 1.2
Remember that the readings will reduce the same % as the % of water changed.
You still need some ammonium and nitrite in the system for it to cycle.. it is the food for the bacteria, you just need to keep it at a level that is safe for the fish.
Pete

Shawnie

awesome job on getting all the things you need!! its so hard learning as we go

Id almost do two changes if your nitrites and ammonia are that high tomorrow..id do 50% in the morning and another 30-40% at night and the prime and stress coat+ is a must at this point to get the fishies back in good health and stop the poisioning for the 24 hours...then daily changes until your done the cycle of about 40-50% ..goodluck chevy!!!

Low95chevy

thanks for all the help guys i'll be doing the 50 % water changes and i have stress coat so i will be adding that too once again thanks for everything!

Lucy

Make sure it's Stress Coat+ and not plain Stess Coat.
Plain Stress Coat is a good conditioner, it just doesn't detox the ammonia like + does.

Good luck!

Low95chevy

got another question after i get the ammonia and nitrite down to 0 how often do you think i will have to do a water change weekly? or like every 2 weeks

Shawnie

every tank is different and different stocking makes a difference..what kind of fish and what size tank?

Low95chevy

20 gallon tank 3 dwarf gouramis 2 platys ill probably add more when im done with this little problemo dont know which ones though

Shawnie

once its cycled, and the water parimeters are stable, id say once a week or once every 10 days...if you stock more, it would depend on nitrate readings ...you dont want them over 20 and under would be great

TennThunder

Shawnie is awesome, she is just like a mod here, so helpful!!

Low95chevy

this is how things are looking so far my test are little pads that turn a certain color then i compare the color to the ones on the bottle so this is the most accurate i can get using what peterpiper said that it will go down the % of water changed...so if everything seems good tell me! if not tell me what im doing wrong

Day 1
Before 25% WC 01/19/09
P.H. - 6.8
Nitrite - 10.0
Nitrate - 20
Ammonia - 3.0

Day 2
Before 50% WC
Nitrite - 8.5
Nitrate - 20
Ammonia - 2.25

Day 3
Before 50% WC
Nitrite - 4.25
Nitrate - 20
Ammonia 1.125

Day 4
Before 25% WC (I caught a fever still have it it was a dumb idea even doing only 25% but i was worried about my fishies)
Nitrite - 2.125
Nitrate - Looks like its at around 10 now
Ammonia - 0.562

Day 5
Sick not doing water change
Nitrite - 0.5312 (Lets just say 0.5 lol slightly darker)
Nitrate - 10
Ammonia - Looks like 1.0?!?!?!?!?

Day 6 (Today)
Nitrite- Right in between .5 and 0 close to 0
Nitrate - 10
Ammonia - 1.0


Besides all of this i just bought the heater and i put it in the water about 2 hours ago how long do i have to wait until turn it on?

Lucy

I'm sorry you're sick....get well soon!

My heaters don't have an on/off button, it turns on when I plug it in.
I would think you could turn it on now, but check the directions.

Keep up the water changes. The strips really aren't that accurate so it's hard to advise.
Are you using Prime or Stress Coat+?

Low95chevy

naa i wasn't able to get it and my heater turns on when you plug it in too on the directions it says only wait 15 minutes but i wanted to be sure

Lucy

It should be safe to turn it on now.
Assuming your ammonia and nitrites levels are correct, it would really be a good idea to do a 50% water change now if you haven't done one already today.
Ammonia and nitrites are toxic at any level except 0.