Cycling tank - About To Give Up

[Nefersmum]

I trotted off today to have a water test done, all full of optimism after 6 weeks battling through cycling. I was certain we were close to D Day.

Tap water tested fine and dandy and I felt sure the aquarium sample would be similar. Ammonia 0.1, nitrite 0, pH 6.4 nitrates.... 250!!!

I asked what on earth could have caused this and was told the tank must have been neglected. My jaw nearly hit the deck. I've had this tank for 6mths now, purchased for my goldfish who sadly died of bloat a couple of weeks after moving him in. In total the tank has been occupied about 4 weeks - other than a couple of ramshorn snails. The rest of the time it's been running empty or cycling.

His recommendation was to strip it down to bare bones and start again but I just don't think I have the heart for it. I bought the tank for one special fish and hadn't expected his loss. Having spent the last 6 wks fretting and fussing, spending a fortune on plants and whatnot I'm still miles from seeing any fish in it. The tank has been empty more than not.


I'm profoundly discouraged and now have a decision to make.

 

[Morpheus1967]

You are most definitely not miles away from seeing fish. Do not strip it down. It's empty now, correct? Meaning no fish in it? If so, just do a 90% water change. Yes, the nitrates are incredibly high, but they are easily controlled with simple water changes. For him to recommend starting over is pure nonsense.

 

[SM1199]

I'm sorry you feel so discouraged. We've all been there at some point, myself included, but I'm glad I pulled through it because it's rewarding once you overcome the obstacle. I don't want this experience alone to discourage you.

What type of test did they use? Strips or liquid? Strips are notoriously inaccurate, and I wouldn't count their test as very valid in that case. The API master test kit doesn't test over 160 ppm nitrates. I would highly advise getting your own master test kit to make sure they didn't miscalculate in whatever way.

Also, your tank is cycled if it has nitrates that high with no nitrites (yes, a tiny bit of ammonia is present, but it could be due to inaccurate test strips, too much ammonia application, etc...). I would only question your method of ammonia application. Fish food? Pure ammonia? You may have been putting in so much ammonia through whatever means that they all got converted to nitrates and with no water change, the nitrates had nowhere to go. I would not strip the tank down. Your filter is quite fine, very functional actually, you just need to do water changes to get that nitrate down to a safe level and then stop putting in so much ammonia. I would maybe do a 90% water change (or however much water you can feasibly remove) and re-fill it, turn the filter back on, let it run for a day, and re-test the water. Nitrates should be down enough at that point.

 

[Nefersmum]

I've been using Dr T ammonia to 4ppm(too high?? ) I had used an API liquid test kit but the nitrates were astronomical and I purchased an NT labs kit as a 2nd opinion. Their readings appeared more likely at approx 15 to 20ppm which is where the tap water readings were.

 

[Lypress]

When I set up my tank I went to the local fish store and asked for about 3 gallons of water from vacuuming one of his tanks. It was cycled pretty much instantly. Then just did the usual water changes. The first water change I did was 2 weeks after putting that water in it. About 25%. Then about 20% or so weekly or if I miss a water change I do one after about 2 weeks at about 30%. Worked fine so even if you do decide to strip it down which I wouldn't necessarily recommend this is a way to kick start the cycling instantly. The water will look murky for about an hour or 2 until the filter can filter it out and there will be a little on the bottom of the tank, if there is a lot on the bottom you can stir it up a couple of times to get it into the filter. Good luck!

 

[Nefersmum]

I may be clutching at straws but I have used minI terracotta pots as ornaments and planters. Could that be the cause?

 

[Morpheus1967]

The cause is your tank cycling. Did you do any water changes at all why cycling the tank? Nitrates are the Endgame (see what I did there?) of the cycling process. The only way to get rid of them are water changes, and to a lesser extent, live plants. Do enough water changes to get your nitrates back to between 20 and 40.

Also, with dosing to 4ppm, nitrates will also be much higher much quicker.

You just need to change water.

 

[Sarcasm Included]

I may be clutching at straws but I have used minI terracotta pots as ornaments and planters. Could that be the cause?

No there is nothing here, just do your water change as stated by Morpheus1967 and you should be good for fish

 

[Annie59]

Throw a bunch and I mean a lot of plants in it. Fast growing plants.

 

[Kiks]

Sounds like you're doing everything right. Also seems that you're very close to having a cycled tank!
Don't give up.

 

[ETNsilverstar]

I'm going to agree with everyone else. Just do a big water change to get nitrates down and you should be good to go!

 

[Jellibeen]

I mean, if there are no fish in it, you could just change out all the water. The filter is cycled, so leave that alone, but a giant water change will rid you of nitrates.

 

[Nefersmum]

I gave myself a talking to and decided to give it one more go. I'm still not entirely confident I'm doing the right thing but one more go around won't hurt, eh? I still can't get my head around 250ppm though.

I did a massive water change this morning but didn't lift the gravel as our fish-man recommended. (Incidentally he used strips to test the water which did surprise me at the time. They have £1000s of fish there and I can't imagine they use test strips on their own aquarium).

Any road up, having done the change, I left it well alone for a couple of hours before doing a retest just to give me a starting point.

On my NTL kit, Ammonia 0 and nitrates 0 - it was almost clear water. However the API kit gave me a reading of 40ppm although it wasn't the blood red colour I got on Thursday. I'm not sure how two kits can give such a different reading TBH.


So, one way or another the nitrates have dropped, how much depends on which kit you consider the most accurate. I'll do another water change in a day or two and see what occurs.

 

[AngryRainbow]

You should dose the ammonia back up so that the bacteria don't starve. Try not to get so hung up on your nitrates while you're cycling. All of that ammonia you've added had to go somewhere, and it turned into nitrates. So if no water changes were done while cycling (which is fine for fishless) the nitrates would naturally just continue to rise.

If the ammonia you dose this time is gone in approximately 24 hours, with no nitrites, then you're completely cycled! Change out 100% of the water to get rid of all of those nitrates, test the water once more for nitrates just to confirm they're gone, and add your fish!

 

[kallililly1973]

you could do back to back WC's to help get the nitrAtes even lower. You don't have to wait a day or two. Your there as far as cycling goes.

 

[sixtyfour]

250!, Something about that seems wrong. I agree with everyone else, you are almost there. IF, and I stress if, that test is right you must have bacteria present. That said, it might be off balance. Like somebody else said, get some seed material from the pet store. Filter muck would be best, some gravel will work. Keep it wet during transport. Do a huge water change, and put that muck in the filter.

 

[mossman]

I wouldn't advise using anything from the fish store, but that's just me. Ideally, you would find a friend with a cycled tank that could lend you some cycled media. Or I'm sure someone here would even ship you some.

 

[AxChick]

I trotted off today to have a water test done, all full of optimism after 6 weeks battling through cycling. I was certain we were close to D Day.

Tap water tested fine and dandy and I felt sure the aquarium sample would be similar. Ammonia 0.1, nitrite 0, pH 6.4 nitrates.... 250!!!

I asked what on earth could have caused this and was told the tank must have been neglected. My jaw nearly hit the deck. I've had this tank for 6mths now, purchased for my goldfish who sadly died of bloat a couple of weeks after moving him in. In total the tank has been occupied about 4 weeks - other than a couple of ramshorn snails. The rest of the time it's been running empty or cycling.

His recommendation was to strip it down to bare bones and start again but I just don't think I have the heart for it. I bought the tank for one special fish and hadn't expected his loss. Having spent the last 6 wks fretting and fussing, spending a fortune on plants and whatnot I'm still miles from seeing any fish in it. The tank has been empty more than not.


I'm profoundly discouraged and now have a decision to make.

Oh please don’t give up!! I lost a bunch when I first set up!
My friend who breads fish sent me over some of his gravel in a pouch and got me a couple of golden barbs.
That did the trick for my tank, I’ve now got a happy family of tetras and Cory’s!

 

[PhillyKev]

2ppm dosing if ammonia with Dr Tims is plenty. No need to go to 4ppm. The more you dose, the more you convert to nitrates and the higher they will be. I would change all water. Dose to 2ppm and test next day. If ammonia anednitrite are 0 after 24 hours from dosing ammonia you are cycled. If nitrates are above 40ppm,do a water change, then add fish.

 

[TomJAX]

What kind of filtration? If you are using foam filters then quit adding stuff, dosing stuff, fiddling with water parameters, or putting ANYTHING else in the water. Do a water change and put in your fish. Start with a low bio-load and go from there.

Tom

 

[Rj Forster]

250 nitrates means your cycling. 4ppm ammonia dose seems high to me. I normally keep it around 2ppm. Also the amount of bacteria that is being created is way above and beyond what a normal bioload for the size of a tank would be.

Do not give up. You are literally at the finish line of the cycle. Do a massive water change. Maybe a few over the next week.

Keep in mind that nitrates will never go down unless you physically remove them (water change) or you have something that will eat them (plants).

 

[AxChick]

Here are the things I use now and my fish, who love to hide!

 

[Do0kski]

Oh my!! Lollll sorry to laugh. You did nothing wrong! You're fine. I'm assuming someone who works at the fish store told you this? My issue is I don't know of a test that goes up to 250 for nitrates. I think API only goes up to 160??? Maybe? If you have that many Nitrates then your definitely cycled. .1 ammonia is okay. Thing is, you'll always have some kind of ammonia in the tank. It's actually needed for the cycle. A lot of tests will say 0 even if there is ammonia in it. It's such a minute amount. Don't strip down your tank. Go spend 20 on your own testing kit and never listen to people in the fish store. Talk to them and then talk to people on this forum. If information matches up that one person is probably a member here or has been in the hobby themselves for years and they can be trusted.

 

[DougDame]

Don't give up!

You can always deal with the SYMPTOMS of nitrate by doing water changes. And if you don't have fish in the system yet, massive water changes are not a problem. Take out 95% of the water, and refill. By the magic of math, you'll have 1/20th of the nitrates you had before. From 250 to 12.5, plus or minus measurement error. Your nitrification bacteria live almost entirely on surfaces, not in the water column, so they'll be essentially unaffected. (Unless you leave them dry for a significant amount of time. So don't do that.)

But in the long run, you (probably) don't want to have to be continually dealing with *symptoms*, you (probably) want to solve the underlying *problem*. Which is that your nitrogen solution is only dealing with two thirds of the problem, namely ammonia and nitrites, which are admittedly the more acute aspects. You need a nitRATE solution to complete the bio-cycle. The two easiest de-nitrification solutions are:
(1) Plants-plants-plants
or/and
(2) a bio-media friendly to the anaeorbic bacteria that eat up nitrates. I like Seachem's Matrix very much for this, and I find their research on that's media's properties to be thorough and convincing (not that I'm an expert in that field.) Put a cupful of Matrix in an old-fashioned box filter, all by itself, adjust the air-flow to be slow, and in a couple of months it will be significantly reducing your nitrates. Rinse it gently once every six months.

This is NOT to advocate in any way against routine water changes, there are many reasons why that's good fish husbandry practice. But doing routine water changes primarily to deal with nitrates is a time-sucking chore, that is avoidable with better "systems design."

HTH

 

[ThatMikeHill]

I trotted off today to have a water test done, all full of optimism after 6 weeks battling through cycling. I was certain we were close to D Day.

Tap water tested fine and dandy and I felt sure the aquarium sample would be similar. Ammonia 0.1, nitrite 0, pH 6.4 nitrates.... 250!!!

I asked what on earth could have caused this and was told the tank must have been neglected. My jaw nearly hit the deck. I've had this tank for 6mths now, purchased for my goldfish who sadly died of bloat a couple of weeks after moving him in. In total the tank has been occupied about 4 weeks - other than a couple of ramshorn snails. The rest of the time it's been running empty or cycling.

His recommendation was to strip it down to bare bones and start again but I just don't think I have the heart for it. I bought the tank for one special fish and hadn't expected his loss. Having spent the last 6 wks fretting and fussing, spending a fortune on plants and whatnot I'm still miles from seeing any fish in it. The tank has been empty more than not.


I'm profoundly discouraged and now have a decision to make.

You are most definitely not miles away from seeing fish. Do not strip it down. It's empty now, correct? Meaning no fish in it? If so, just do a 90% water change. Yes, the nitrates are incredibly high, but they are easily controlled with simple water changes. For him to recommend starting over is pure nonsense.

Agree with Morpheus,
Water changes will get you where you need to be. Most—not all pet store employees get their knowledge from watching a 30 minute video in the back of the room for training. I have gotten so many missed answers and different opinions from different employees at the same pet store. I have learned to consult this forum.
I’m new but have learned a lot thanks to this forum and trusted YouTube channels.

 

[Brenda55]

I trotted off today to have a water test done, all full of optimism after 6 weeks battling through cycling. I was certain we were close to D Day.

Tap water tested fine and dandy and I felt sure the aquarium sample would be similar. Ammonia 0.1, nitrite 0, pH 6.4 nitrates.... 250!!!

I asked what on earth could have caused this and was told the tank must have been neglected. My jaw nearly hit the deck. I've had this tank for 6mths now, purchased for my goldfish who sadly died of bloat a couple of weeks after moving him in. In total the tank has been occupied about 4 weeks - other than a couple of ramshorn snails. The rest of the time it's been running empty or cycling.

His recommendation was to strip it down to bare bones and start again but I just don't think I have the heart for it. I bought the tank for one special fish and hadn't expected his loss. Having spent the last 6 wks fretting and fussing, spending a fortune on plants and whatnot I'm still miles from seeing any fish in it. The tank has been empty more than not.


I'm profoundly discouraged and now have a decision to make.

I myself find spring water is the best and I have had fish for over 30 years and ONLY used spring water and never had any issues.

 

[Mrjazzery]

At first I didn’t know what I was looking for but having your own test as a visual representation of where your numbers stand is very helpful you can watch these numbers decline daily. API viles

 

[alphaparrot]

Assuming 250 ppm is an accurate reading, I have no trouble whatsoever believing it, given how much you've been dosing and where you are in the cycle. The reason is that that ppm measurement is parts per million by mass. A brief chemistry refresher: ammonia is NH3 (NH4 if you add ammonium or add Prime with your ammonia). If H (hydrogen) weighs 1 mass unit, N (nitrogen) is 14. Nitrite is NO2, and O (oxygen) is 16. So NH3 weighs 17 units, NO2 weighs 46 units, and nitrAte, NO3, weighs 62 units. A functioning nitrogen cycle will convert one NH3 molecule into one NO3 molecule, so 1 ppm NH3 turns into 3.65 ppm NO3. You've been dosing 4 ppm, so effectively you've been adding 14.6 ppm of nitrate every time you dose. So, I'm gonna take a stab in the dark here... It's been about 2.5 weeks since your last water change (before the big one), right? Because 2.5 weeks of 4 ppm daily ammonia dosing is exactly how long it takes to build 250 ppm of nitrates, once the beneficial bacteria kick in and convert everything. Like the others have said, the guy at the fish store is an idiot, you've done nothing wrong, your tank is fully-cycled, and you should do one more big water change (at least 50%) to get below 20 ppm (to give yourself room to grow), and add fish immediately. Your tank will be stable within a week of adding fish. Congratulations on completing your cycle!

A note for the others: I don't think his store did this, but the API kit can measure twice as high if you dilute the tank water by half with tap water Even so, my preference during my cycle was just to do partial water changes to keep levels where I could measure them normally.

 

[Brian Knowles]

For goodness sakes don't give up. You've come a long way and are right where you need to be. As others have said, water changes will be all you need at this point!!!!!! Enjoy your new fish!!!!!!!!!

Just a little suggestion, get your own test kit, and don't rely on people that know less than you do!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Elkwatcher]

When I set up my tank I went to the local fish store and asked for about 3 gallons of water from vacuuming one of his tanks. It was cycled pretty much instantly. Then just did the usual water changes. The first water change I did was 2 weeks after putting that water in it. About 25%. Then about 20% or so weekly or if I miss a water change I do one after about 2 weeks at about 30%. Worked fine so even if you do decide to strip it down which I wouldn't necessarily recommend this is a way to kick start the cycling instantly. The water will look murky for about an hour or 2 until the filter can filter it out and there will be a little on the bottom of the tank, if there is a lot on the bottom you can stir it up a couple of times to get it into the filter. Good luck!

That's a great way to boost bacteria if the LYS has looked after tanks. I purchased a large used sponge filter from my LYS and it hastened the cycle along with using Nutrifin Cycle. Mine was a fish cycle that did no harm to the fish as I tested daily with the master test kit and did the water changes religously. In all it was still 2 months before everything was ready. Squeezing the sponge from another tank, preferably my own is another jump start. Like Lypress stated the water will be cloudy for a few hours but soon becomes clear again. Inoculated gravel works great too. Water changes are the answer!

Here are the things I use now and my fish, who love to hide!

That was nice of you to post your assessories!

 

[H2O Concierge]

I would not worry about 20-40ppm NO3. In my opinion you are good to go, but I am sure there are others who will disagree with me.

 

[Karenk2]

Hi- Try putting some Pothos stems in your tank. Keep the leaves out of the water, I put mine directly in the aqua clear filter. I’m also trying an orchid in there as well.

 

[pilotshorvath]

Hey Mate, relax, it sounds like you have a good tank. Do another 90% water change and then go to your LFS and pick the fish you like. The fact that you test the levels means you will give fish a good home! (from your readings it sounds like you are cycled after a few water changes to get rid of the Nitrates).

Anyone with a fish tank that gets ‘lazy’ and doesn’t do a water change will get Nitrate readings high.... and we have all been there when life gets in the way for a few weeks....I mean oops a month, etc. :/

Mate! Do a water change and go and get your fish!

 

[KarenA]

Hi. Haven’t been on in a while, as I admin in a group that keeps me busy. You have gotten a lot of great advice. Just have patience. Here a little more info that may help. I would take your water to an aquarium specific store, not big box if you can. I don’t know your tank size or if you are using the store cartridge or layering your media: bottom up: course sponge, filter floss or similar, bio media, such as SubStratPro, Purigen (instead of carbon) and if room at top, more filter floss. Note that if using carbon, only lasts a few weeks, so needs to be changed out. It is best used mainly to take out medication, which Purigen also does. The media will build up your BB (beneficial bacteria). Contrary to what others may say, water and substrate are not going to hold what you need. You can also use an internal bio-sponge filter. These are great filters and hold your BB. In addition, Pothos as I did see mentioned, is a great plant to add. You only add the roots. Regarding goldfish, as an FYI, they create a very heavy bio load, so I wouldn’t go below a 55 gallon for 2, and if a common goldfish, will eventually need a pond. Attached is an example of my 10 gallon betta tank with pothos in top and media example from my aqua clear 50 from my 20g. (5 running tanks.) I use different products, but highly recommend pretreating your water with Seachem Prime and then adding Seachem Stability once you have done the water change. You can also get something called the Wonder Shell to drop in your tank for now. Another, but but more expensive to add concentrated live nitrifying bacteria you would get refrigerated to help with the cycling, I hope this helps. Don’t give up. You will be fine.

 

[member102986]

I agree with the above ppl in putting pothos in your aquarium. It's a miracle worker in removing nitrates. You don't even have to go and buy a whole plant, you can very easily get cuttings from ppl, often for free.

 

[Nefersmum]

HI all, I did a massive water change yesterday and tested again this evening. Just for curiosity sake I tested nitrates using both NTL and API test kits from the same jug of water and following the instructions for both exactly. How do they turn out such different readings? The NTL is showing a Nil reading while the API appears to be reading at least 40ppm. Not even close enough to call a minor difference of opinion. It's really confusing and leaves me wondering which is the correct one. (I did also test ammonia with both kits and they came out more or less the same reading with Nitrites at 0).

 

[Nefersmum]

By the way, I forgot to say thank you all for the great help and advice you have all given. It's very much appreciated and I am learning masses. I'm perhaps more twitchy than I should be having lost several beautiful fish before I realised the tank hadn't been properly cycled and don't want to subject any more defenceless creatures to that. I promised myself another week to see how we went and then possibly will put on my big girl pants and buy some actual fish.

 

[KarenA]

There can be an issue with the API test. Did you do the vial shaking? My friend in the UK has consistently been testing with high nitrates using the API kit and he is not the only one. Also, don’t test right away after doing a water change, as that can affect the outcome.

 

[Dch48]

I have never seen the API test kit do that. I have used it in freshwater tanks, my new brackish tank, and on newly treated tap water and never seen nitrates go over 20. The tap water tests at 0. There must be something unusual in your water that is causing the reaction.

As an aside, I have also checked with 5 in 1 strips made by Tetra and the results match up well with the API ones.

 

[eagledriver]

Water change...a BIG one ..75-80%. That will get your nitrates back down where they belong. With all the other numbers where they are, it looks like your tank is cycled. Simple. Don't make it more complicated and hard on yourself than it needs to be. Water change, check the numbers and you wil be able to safely put your fish in. Piece of cake!

 

[TucanSam]

API gives me odd readings for nitrate. You really do have to bang the bejesus out of the bottle to get all the crystals in it dislodged and a decent reading. I've become a fan of massive water changes and as long as I know my cycle is working through the ammonia and nitrite I try not to worry about the wonky API nitrate reading.

 

[Nefersmum]

Thanks all.

I have more plants on order (pothos is poisonous to cats I understand so unfortunately I can't use that) but I always planned to be lavish with the planting.

The plan is to do water changes as recommended with a view to getting fish over the bank Holiday weekend. (white cloud minnows to begin with hopefully followed up by leopard danios).

 

[Tiffany Garcia]

I trotted off today to have a water test done, all full of optimism after 6 weeks battling through cycling. I was certain we were close to D Day.

Tap water tested fine and dandy and I felt sure the aquarium sample would be similar. Ammonia 0.1, nitrite 0, pH 6.4 nitrates.... 250!!!

I asked what on earth could have caused this and was told the tank must have been neglected. My jaw nearly hit the deck. I've had this tank for 6mths now, purchased for my goldfish who sadly died of bloat a couple of weeks after moving him in. In total the tank has been occupied about 4 weeks - other than a couple of ramshorn snails. The rest of the time it's been running empty or cycling.

His recommendation was to strip it down to bare bones and start again but I just don't think I have the heart for it. I bought the tank for one special fish and hadn't expected his loss. Having spent the last 6 wks fretting and fussing, spending a fortune on plants and whatnot I'm still miles from seeing any fish in it. The tank has been empty more than not.


I'm profoundly discouraged and now have a decision to make.

Don't be discouraged...the fish stores use strips so if you are using the master test kit then I would go with your readings. It's also a good sign that your nitrates are going up that means your nearing the end of the cycle. Do a large water change and then retest nitrates and you should see them going down. My tank took almost 2 1/2 months to cycle. There isn't a set time on when the tank should cycle just approximate time frames, every tank is different.

API gives me odd readings for nitrate. You really do have to bang the bejesus out of the bottle to get all the crystals in it dislodged and a decent reading. I've become a fan of massive water changes and as long as I know my cycle is working through the ammonia and nitrite I try not to worry about the wonky API nitrate reading.

Also, with the nitrates you may have to divide that number by 4.4268 depending on what is tested in your water. My company tests the Nitrogen level so I have to divide mine.

 

[CyndiLove]

For goodness sakes don't give up. You've come a long way and are right where you need to be. As others have said, water changes will be all you need at this point!!!!!! Enjoy your new fish!!!!!!!!!

Just a little suggestion, get your own test kit, and don't rely on people that know less than you do!!!!!!!!!!

Yes getting your own test kit is the way to go. Saves time and stress of running to town with a water sample every day.

 

[Nefersmum]

I had been testing with the API for six weeks. Having had some unusually high readings I decided to try a different brand and plumped for NTL. I took it to the aquarium shop for a final check as much as anything.

 

[CyndiLove]

By the way, I forgot to say thank you all for the great help and advice you have all given. It's very much appreciated and I am learning masses. I'm perhaps more twitchy than I should be having lost several beautiful fish before I realised the tank hadn't been properly cycled and don't want to subject any more defenceless creatures to that. I promised myself another week to see how we went and then possibly will put on my big girl pants and buy some actual fish.

I had similar issues with my 30 gallon when I started. Lost the female of my 2 yr old breeding angelfish. I almost gave up too, but am so glad I found this forum. It's a life (& sanity) saver!

 

[Heron]

I trotted off today to have a water test done, all full of optimism after 6 weeks battling through cycling. I was certain we were close to D Day.

Tap water tested fine and dandy and I felt sure the aquarium sample would be similar. Ammonia 0.1, nitrite 0, pH 6.4 nitrates.... 250!!!

I asked what on earth could have caused this and was told the tank must have been neglected. My jaw nearly hit the deck. I've had this tank for 6mths now, purchased for my goldfish who sadly died of bloat a couple of weeks after moving him in. In total the tank has been occupied about 4 weeks - other than a couple of ramshorn snails. The rest of the time it's been running empty or cycling.

His recommendation was to strip it down to bare bones and start again but I just don't think I have the heart for it. I bought the tank for one special fish and hadn't expected his loss. Having spent the last 6 wks fretting and fussing, spending a fortune on plants and whatnot I'm still miles from seeing any fish in it. The tank has been empty more than not.


I'm profoundly discouraged and now have a decision to make.

Don't give up now your almost there. Your pH is low but that is probably caused by your high nitrates. Plenty of water changes will bring your nitrates down and hopefully your pH up. Once you add fish continue water changes frequently enough to keep nitrates at 20 or less. If you have a test kit that measures kH make sure the kH of the tap water is not too low because kH helps maintain a correct and steady pH. If it is very low you can purchase a buffering product.

 

[Momgoose56]

So....what was your ammonia reading?

Thanks all.

I have more plants on order (pothos is poisonous to cats I understand so unfortunately I can't use that) but I always planned to be lavish with the planting.

The plan is to do water changes as recommended with a view to getting fish over the bank Holiday weekend. (white cloud minnows to begin with hopefully followed up by leopard danios).

White cloud minnows are a cold water fish and shouldn't be kept in the same tank as tropicals. Research each fish you want and make sure they are a fit with the water you have (hardness and pH) and each other (temperature and temperment). You'll save yourself a lot of grief if you do that. So how are your water parameters today? I've been following this thread and it sounds like your tank is probably nearly cycled! I agree with Morpheus, redose with ammonia to 2ppm and if in 24 hours it has dropped to 0ppm, you're cycled. Do enough big water changes to get your Nitrates down to 20 ppm with the API test kit and you can then fully stock your tank. There is nothing wrong with your API test kit. If you shake the Nitrate #2 test solution for 60 seconds, then the test tube with both solutions in it for another 60 seconds then wait 5 additional minutes to read it, it will be accurate.

 

[Nefersmum]

Okay, today's scores on the doors are: - Ammonia 0.25, nitrates and nitrites 0 on NTL kit (nitrates were 20 on API). I did another massive water change yesterday and these were readings I took at about 7am.

 

[Momgoose56]

Okay, today's scores on the doors are: - Ammonia 0.25, nitrates and nitrites 0 on NTL kit (nitrates were 20 on API). I did another massive water change yesterday and these were readings I took at about 7am.

Use one or the other test kits. Not both. Make sure you are doing the tests exactly as directed on the product instructions.
In the API test kit, you have to vigorously shake the #2 Nitrate test solution for a full 60 seconds before adding it to the test tube, then vigorously shake the test tube for an additional 30-60 seconds after test solutions #1 and #2 are added, then wait 5 minutes before reading the results. If you don't follow those instructions exactly, you will get false readings.
I see with the NTL kit you just have to 'swirl' the solutions. Not so with the API. If it says "shake" it means "shake"! Lol!
With those readings, I'd say you need to dose your ammonia back up to 2ppm and keep it there while you're cycling the tank. Do water changes now only when your nitrate levels get too high. Use the online ammonia calculator I gave you. Dr. Tim's is 4% ammonia.