Are these results for the tank or the
tap water? Please test both. When testing the pH from the tap it's best to let the water sit out for 24hrs before testing.
The results indicate you have very soft water. Your GH and KH are both below 1dGH. Close to distilled water. The fish you plan (tetras and
cories) will be fine with that, but the shrimp will need you to ammend the water. You should do a bunch of research on keeping shrimp and provide them with what they need, including how to properly
acclimate them. The fish will be fine with the changes you make for the shrimp.
The pH is probably too low for shrimp, however increasing the KH will increase the pH some.
The plants etc that you have may be enough. It just depends on what fish you have. Those tiny baby shrimp are nice snacks.
Yes, cycling a tank requires an
ammonia source. Most of us will do a "fishless" cycle, which involves feeding ammonia to the tank to establish the bacterial colonies that will eventually consume the ammonia produced by the fish and organics that decompose, like plant matter and uneaten food. The ammonia source can be
pure ammonia (the easiest method IMO) or anything rotting. Adding
fish food at or above the amount you will be feeding your fish daily (ghost feeding) will decompose and produce ammonia. This can take longer and is difficult to control. A "fish-in" cycle can also be done. In this case the fish are providing the ammonia through their resipiration and poo. Since ammonia is toxic to fish, this way of cycling must be strickly controlled in order to prevent the fish from being injured by the toxins produced (ammonia and
nitrite). Another way to cycle a tank is to install filter media from an established tank. The filter media (as well as all hard surfaces) is where the bacteria reside. Using tank water from an established tank is of little use.
What exactly are the biological boosters you are adding? If you mean bacteria in a bottle, they too need an ammonia source. Your showing
nitrates and no ammonia or nitrite, which is how a cycled tank looks, so something is going on in there. That is not typical in a tank that has just been set up. What have you added to the tank so far? Did you ever see ammonia or nitrites in your testing before now?
Testing note: Some tests will show results as
mg/L. Others express the results as
ppm (parts per million). mg/L is equivalent to ppm. Also, hardness is expressed 3 different ways. mg/L and ppm as well as degrees of hardness. The "d" in dKH or dGH is for degrees. One degree of hardness = about 18ppm or 18mgL (actual number is 17.9).
