Freshwater Cycling ????

I have very soft water. It is very very low in minerals. The CC raises the KH so raises and keeps my PH stable.

Thank you, so much to learn.

 

I tested my parameters again tonight:

PH 8
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5

Yesterday morning I added a second filter (a Tetra Whisper 10i - for 5-10 gallon aquariums). I took the filter cartridge out and replaced with a filter sponge. My intent is to have this populate with beneficial bacteria so if I need to start up my 5 gallon as a hospital or nursery tank I can move it over. Since I added this my PH is at 8.0 when for almost 3 weeks it’s been a 7.8. I read that more agitation increases PH. Is this the case here?

 

PS I have a bit of cloudiness, nothing terrible. I’m leaving it alone! Just hoping this is normal with my newly cycled tank.

 

I tested my parameters again tonight:

PH 8
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5

Yesterday morning I added a second filter (a Tetra Whisper 10i - for 5-10 gallon aquariums). I took the filter cartridge out and replaced with a filter sponge. My intent is to have this populate with beneficial bacteria so if I need to start up my 5 gallon as a hospital or nursery tank I can move it over. Since I added this my PH is at 8.0 when for almost 3 weeks it’s been a 7.8. I read that more agitation increases PH. Is this the case here?

That may be the reason for the .2 rise or you may have done the test at a different time of day. It seems it can fluxuate a tiny bit during different time of the day. I don't really understand the science behind that. I don't think it is anything to be worried about though.

PS I have a bit of cloudiness, nothing terrible. I’m leaving it alone! Just hoping this is normal with my newly cycled tank.

My tanks have been up and running for a long time now and even I occasionally experience a bit of cloudiness. Mine is normally after a big water change. It is always back to clear the next day.

 

5/5/2020 update - this one kind of perplexed me.

PH back down to 7.8

Ammonia 0

Nitrite 0

Nitrate isn’t at 0 and it’s not at 5 (it has consistently been at 5PPM)

Is it possible for Nitrate to go down on its own? I haven’t done a water change since last Thursday (I plan on doing a PWC this Thursday).

 

5/5/2020 update - this one kind of perplexed me.

PH back down to 7.8

Ammonia 0

Nitrite 0

Nitrate isn’t at 0 and it’s not at 5 (it has consistently been at 5PPM)

Is it possible for Nitrate to go down on its own? I haven’t done a water change since last Thursday (I plan on doing a PWC this Thursday).

Please refresh my memory. Do you have any live plant in this tank? If you do that would explain the drop.

 

Yes I have some dwarf water lettuce, red root floaters, some water lilies budding, and a sword plant (I think).

 

Yes I have some dwarf water lettuce, red root floaters, some water lilies budding, and a sword plant (I think).

That could very well be why your nitrates have gone down. Floating plants are very good at soaking up nitrates.

 

Awesome, thanks so much.

 

So I have been religiously testing my water parameters. I have my 3 guppies, 2 platies, and I added 8 harlequin Rasbora on Friday. My numbers have remained stable:

PH 7.8
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0

If my numbers stay the way they are I plan on continuing with my weekly 20% water changes. I know I’m looking for the only thing to go up would be nitrates. Is it normal to not get a spike in any of my numbers after basically tripling my stock?

 

So I have been religiously testing my water parameters. I have my 3 guppies, 2 platies, and I added 8 harlequin Rasbora on Friday. My numbers have remained stable:

PH 7.8
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0

If my numbers stay the way they are I plan on continuing with my weekly 20% water changes. I know I’m looking for the only thing to go up would be nitrates. Is it normal to not get a spike in any of my numbers after basically tripling my stock?

It is very unusual not to be seeing any nitrates. Bacteria replicates quickly so it is possible to not get an ammonia or nitrite spike if your cycle is well established so I wouldn't be overly concerned about that.

I do have to ask if you are sure you are doing the nitrate test correctly. Are you shaking bottle number 2 really really well? When I shake mine I bang it against the palm of my hand while shaking to be sure to break the crystals up that tend to settle to the bottom. Shaking the test tube for a full minute after adding drops from both bottles is important too to make sure the crystals are well mixed.

 

I have been shaking number 2 for my life. While my tank was cycling I was getting them for sure. I did a water change on Thursday, added fish on Friday, and my numbers have been the same. I do have a bunch of floating plants that are self propagating and another plant or two that are planted. My understanding is plants help with nitrates too. I’m stumped so I’m going to retest nitrates again now.

 

Maybe the reading is in between 0 ppm and 5 ppm?

 

As long as your ammonia and nitrites stay at zero I don't think I would stress when seeing close to zero nitrates. Strange not to see them rising but I really don't think it is anything to worry about. In fact it would be great if they stayed at this level.

 

So I tested my water tonight and I am showing some nitrates now.

PH 7.8
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5

What number for nitrate should I look for to do a partial water change? I’m so for my regular weekly partial water change on Thursday.

 

Hi, keep doing your weekly 50% water changes, as it is important to replace minerals and the like that have been used up in the past week. Ideally, nitrates shouldn't go over 20 ppm. Oftentimes, the 10 and 20 look the same, and the 40 and 80 look the same. A good rule of thumb is: if the test water is orange, then you're good, and if it is red, do a 50% water change!

 

So I tested my water tonight and I am showing some nitrates now.

PH 7.8
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5

What number for nitrate should I look for to do a partial water change? I’m so for my regular weekly partial water change on Thursday.

This is great news. Seeing those nitrates rise is what we wanted to see. Since you have goldfish in this tank if I were you I would changed out no less than 50% of the water each week. That should keep the nitrates down to good levels, remove unused minerals and also replenish the minerals that would have been used up.

 

This is great news. Seeing those nitrates rise is what we wanted to see. Since you have goldfish in this tank if I were you I would changed out no less than 50% of the water each week. That should keep the nitrates down to good levels, remove unused minerals and also replenish the minerals that would have been used up.

Interesting numbers tonight.

PH 7.8

Ammonia between 0-.25 (this has been consistently 0)

Nitrite 0

Nitrate 5 (my assumption is this is a good sign)

Should I be concerned about that small jump in ammonia?

 

Interesting numbers tonight.

PH 7.8

Ammonia between 0-.25 (this has been consistently 0)

Nitrite 0

Nitrate 5 (my assumption is this is a good sign)

Should I be concerned about that small jump in ammonia?

Yes, seeing the nitrates is a good thing. It tells us that the bacteria is doing its job. Did you by any change run the ammonia test shortly after feeding your little guys? If so that would explain the slight rise in ammonia and I would expect it to be back to zero fairly fast. Meaning a couple of hours at the most. It will probably happen quicker than that but I wouldn't be overly concerned if it took that long.

 

I did feed my fish a bit before testing, which I typically don’t do. I sadly lost one Rasbora today. He was very tiny compared to the rest of the school. It’s frustrating and heart wrenching because I am taking good care of these guys. I see all these YouTube guys saying they never lost a fish and it’s maddening.