Is my 7.5gallon cycling?

I set up my 7.5 gallon tank 2 weeks ago, and nothing seems to be happening. I ama cycling fishles and I am putting a pinch of flake in every day to help it but nothing is happening. :-\ I have some nitrAtes but nothing else. ??? Any ideas why it is so slow?

Here are the readings from yesterday :

Ammonia : 0
NitrAte : 5.0
NitrIte : 0
PH : 7.6

Do you think it just might be a little slow and I should give it time? What do you suggest?

Thanks

Gwenz

 

It might just be slow. Do you have nitrates in your tap water?

 

I still think you aren't adding enough ammonia-producing stuff. As I said in the other thread, I recommend throwing a piece of shrimp into the tank. Human kind of shrimp, no sauce, cooked or uncooked is your choice.

 

I don't think I have any NitrAtes in my tap water.

Boxermom, sorry I didn't answer in the other thread. I have been thinking about it though. Thanks for the tip.

How does that work? What happens?

I just tested the tank again. I think it might just be slow.

Ammonia : 0.25
NitrAte : 5-10
NitrIte : 0
PH : 7.6

(I'm testing using API tests)

Gwenz

 

Buy this or something simular to it. It works right away, for better, wait a week.

 

I would not recommend wasting your money on Cycle or any other product that sits on the shelves. They do NOT have the appropriate live bacteria needed for cycling and all they do is waste your money.

The shrimp works the same way as the food. It deteriorates and creates ammonia as it rots. A sufficient amount to start the cycling process.

 

I bought a small pot of Cycle a while ago but everyone here said not to bother so it just sits at the back of the cupboard.

Thanks Boxermom, I think I'll try that. Is there a specific time during the cycle when I should take it out? Or do I just leave it there until it rots and disappears?

Thanks

Gwenz

 

hI gwenz ..I would suggest puting some gravel from one of your other tanks in there...ive just finished cycling my new tank..I got a lot of advice from others that say this is one of the best things to do to get the cycle going quicker..I vacumed the gravel of my old tank and put the water that was vacumed out in the new tank,just a small amount though..hope that helps good luck..

 

David, that's not a bad idea! ;D I'm taking some gravel out of my 15gall today (I'm re-decorating it) and so I could put some of it in there. Thanks! ;D

Did you put old water from another tank in there? Does that really work?

Thanks for the tips.

Gwenz

 

Leave the shrimp in until your tests show the ammonia and nitrites are zero. Then you know you've bulit up enough good bacteria to handle some fish.

 

I would not recommend wasting your money on Cycle or any other product that sits on the shelves. They do NOT have the appropriate live bacteria needed for cycling and all they do is waste your money.

The shrimp works the same way as the food.  It deteriorates and creates ammonia as it rots. A sufficient amount to start the cycling process.

Then obviously your not using it right. Since I've been using that, I have NOT lost a fish because of bad water. I even have takin my water to an aquarium store just cuz and it was PERFECT. It works, I'm starting to wonder if you kn ow anything your talkin about.

 

just curious; if nitrates, ammonia and nitrites are so bad...then why would you not want it at 0?
I know almost nothing about it so just curious...
but then also someone said there nitrates was 80-100...

 

Nitrates are only bad in large numbers. They are almost always present in a properly cycled tank. Go to the main fishlore.com page and read up on the nitrogen cycle which will explain it all.

 

Leave the shrimp in until your tests show the ammonia and nitrites are zero. Then you know you've bulit up enough good bacteria to handle some fish.

I think I'll try that. I'm going out to buy some later.

When you say "throw a piece of shrimp in", how big a piece should I put in?

Thanks

Gwenz

 

hI again I put the water from the old tank in the new 1..but its all the fish poo and uneaten food that you vacumed of the bottom that you want not so much the water..that should get your ammonia going..

 

OK thanks David. Is this what you did? Did it work quickly?

Gwenz

 

yes it worked quickly,but I added to many fish as soon as it was cycled and my ammonia went threw the roof again..bactozym is what you should use after u add the fish and that will speed up the cycle even more..I wrote a bit about it in another one of your questions..definitely saved my fishies life ;D ...again good luck. ..

 

Ok thanks. so does bactozyme speed up the cycle, if the cycl hasn't started yet?

Thanks

Gwenz

P.S. - I just read the other post. Thanks

 

Ammonia - 0.25
NitrAte - 5-10
NitrIte - 0
PH - 7.4

My mum has been looking for shrimp,but can't seem to find any. ??? She said looked everywhere she could think of, but I don't think she could have looked much, because she was only out for like 10-15 minutes. ??? I think she might be a bit fed up with me always saying that I'm needing something else. Or she's just lying and can't be bothered to look.  >  I doubt she is lying though, I guess I'm just angry with her (we had an argument this morning, and she's kind-of ignoring me :'( ).

Do you think if I put the filter into my already cycled 15 gallon for a while, it will help it cycle?

Thanks

Gwenz

 

Hi, I used Stability when I got my 46 gallon tank, was told to use it for 7 days, and I added a copuple of fish straight away as I was informed I could do, its great, all my readings a re as they should be, and the fish are very healthy, everyone says how lovley and clear the water is and how good the fish look so I must have done something right,

 

I believe the shrimp that are being discussed are the frozen kind from the grocery store and it will take a long time to get them to convert to ammonia.  The quickest way to get ammonia to your tank is to go to the cleaning supply area of the local grocery store and get some unscented ammonia that you use to wash windows with.  It will just say ammonia - no fancy stuff.  Then just add 4 drops in your 7.5 gallon tank daily and then when nitrites start to show up drop the amount to 3 drops of ammonia a day until nitrates start to show up and then cut the ammonia off and wait until the nitrites are at 0 and the ammonia is at 0.  This is how I did every fishless cycle I have done other than the ones I did with Bio-Spira and it took a matter of a few days to a week.  The temperature of the tank needs to be 82 degrees F or 28 degrees C.  It also is a lot less messy to deal with than the rotting fish, shrimp or flake food.  You change about 30% of the water when the cycle is complete and you can add a fish or two and then when the cycle is more stable you add more fish.  You are not going to be able to add a whole tank of fish with any new cycle and this one is no different.  Bio-Spira is the only thing I know of where you can add a whole tank full immediately. 

https://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm  Please read Option 3 under Starting the Cycle Fishless.

I agree with the notion that the other chemicals are not the thing to use to cycle the tanks.  They are temporary at best and use a different bacteria than the one commonly needed to provide the most stable cycle.  The Cycle product must constantly be added or you go into a mini-cycle and can lose fish that way.  I am just not a fan of using short cuts and methods that are not tried and true when there are some that really do not take that amount of time and are proven to be solid cycles that are not going to disappear on you the first time you need them.  I DO know how to use the products and have had poor results from them.  If you have had good luck, good for you, but they are expensive and this method does not mean buying a product to sustain the cycle forever.

Rose

 

Thanks Rose. If it only takes a week, then I might try it. Would I need to get a dropper? Where would I get one of these?

Thanks

Gwenz

 

Most pharmacies or drug stores would or should have them and they do not cost much.

I did also just dip my finger into the ammonia and let it drop off of the end of my finger and count the drops when I couldn't find a dropper.

Rose

 

OK. I think I will buy the ammonia after I come home from holiday. I'm going on the 5th until the 12th, and mum said that it would be best to just wait until we get back.

Gwenz

 

My mum bought some Ammonia yesterday. YAY! ;D I won't start adding it till I get back.

Gwenz

 

You need to feed the tank every day. Is there a way you could get the neighbor to do it for you while you are away.

Rose
???

 

I've just come back from my holiday, and I'm not sure what the water levels are yet. I'll be testing it later.

The tank has a lot of algae in it and the heater is broken > I have a new heater to put in there, which I will replace later. I don't know how long it hasn't been working, but the temperature of the tank is at 20 'C but the heater is set at 28 'C. :-\ What do I do with the old heater?

I was thinking, now that I have the pure ammonia, that my mum bought, and because I've been having problems with the heater and everything, could I clean the algae off the rocks and things, put in the new heater and start the cycle again with the ammonia? How long would it take to cycle if I did this?

Thanks

Gwenz

 

It does not take long to cycle with pure ammonia and it is a very clean cycle. It does away with the long step of waiting for the fish flake food to convert to the ammonia as the ammonia is already there in its pure form. Mine cycled in less than a week but it was a small tank so it may take a little longer for a bigger tank. It is important to follow the directions to the letter and try to keep the temperature up while you are doing it though. And when the cycle is complete and you have 0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrite, and less than 10 Nitrates then you do a 30% water change and you can add a couple fish (or 3 if they are small) but add your fish slowly or you will disturb the cycle and throw it into a mini-cycle.

It does sound like a plan to go ahead and do the ammonia cycle, but what type of heater were you using? You did not have a Visi-therm did you? If so I hope you kept the sales slip and Box and the manufacturer owes you a heater.

Rose

 

Thanks Rose. I think using the ammonia is what I'm going to do. My mum was worried that because I had such a big bottle (they didn't have smaller), that it was going to go to waste but then my mum realised it can be used to clean windows etc., so now mums happy too!! 

The heater I had is an Aqua One heater, and it came free with the tank, so I don't have a receipt or anything.  :-\ My mum E-mailed the company, and they said because it was free, they can't replace it (or something similar to that). It's not as if I'm loosing money or anything, because it was free. I'm wondering what to do with it now.  ??? Do I just throw it away? Or do I have to get rid of it in a specific way?

The new heater is a Interpet Delta Therm Tropical Aquarium heater, and has a 2 year guarantee. It's meant to be a very good heater. I hope it is... :-\

Thanks

Gwenz

 

Ammonia is one of the very best cleaners for windows that there is. (and the ingredient in a lot of the spray type window cleaners) It will leave her windows very squeaky clean . It also does a good job of whiting clothes when you soak them in a solution of it. I used to use it on my nurses' caps when they got dirty. Enough laundry lessons. ;D

The heater can just be thrown in the trash. It does not have any chemical composition so it won't hurt the environment. You may want to cut the cord off so no one can take it (like small kids) and plug it in somewhere and get something hot with it, if it works at all. I just cut the plug off of any of my little appliiances that I throw away so no one can plug them in. The new heater sounds fine. It is really too bad that the Aqua One people wouldn't at least send you a new heater to use as a back-up heater. After all the tank and the set-up was new in May and that was just a couple of months ago. The folks at Marineland are sure not like that. I asked for a part for my hood and got a new hood and then a couple weeks later here came another one. So now I hqve 3 hoods for one of my tanks as I did figure out how to fix the original. I offerred to pay them but they said not to worry about it as it was their mistake. That is why I will give them my business as long as I can find one of their products to use. They are so great.

The idea I guess is to always have an extra heater in case of emergency, but you have a new one now so it will be a while before you should need one. Just be careful and keep the receipts on anything that has a guarantee. I have an envelope and all it has in it are receipts for the aquarium equipment.

Rose

 

Thanks Rose. Mum is going to call the company the the tank came from and is going to see what they can do. I fthey give me another heater, great I'll have a spare one, if they don't then never mind :-\, I have one that works now so it should be OK.

The ammonia is really working in the tank and it's really quick. It' shouldn't be long now I shouldn't think. ;D Thanks for the tip Rose. ;D

Gwenz

 

Well my mum got an answer from the company I got the heater from, and they said to send it back and they would send us another one. YEY! ;D Good thing I didn't throw it away.

Gwenz

 

WONDERFUL news!!!!
Carol

 

I thought most reputable companies would do something if they were made aware of the situation.

I am so happy for you. Now you have a back-up for if you ever have a problem of any kind.

Rose

 

It's great. Sent the brocken heater yesterday, I should get the new one soon. ;D

The heater I have in the tank right now, is weird though. It works great, but if I set it a specific temperature it will heat the tank 2 'C higher than it is set to. E.g. If I set it to 26 'C it will heat to 28 'C, it's really wierd. It works OK though, I just have to remember to set it 2 degrees lower than I want it. :-\

Gwenz

 

That is why it is absolutely essential to have a thermometer and not just to trust the heater. A lot of heaters provide a good even heat just not the one that it says on the thermostat.

Rose

 

Yes. I agree. I check the thermometer regularly just to make sure. So far everything is ok.

Gwenz

P.S. - Rose - I wrote you a PM. Did you get it?

 

Thanks for the PM Rose. I wonder what happened to the other one you wrote ???

I think the cycle is nearly finished:

Ammonia - 0
NitrIte - 0
PH - 7.2
NitrAte - 40

Just waiting for NitrAtes to go down, then I'll do a water change and get some guppies.

;D ;D ;D

Gwenz

 

hI ther Gwenz sounds to me like your cycle is finished ..nitrates don't drop by themselves I don't think,to lower your nitrates you have to do a water change..unless you have a lot of plants in your tank..hopfully if I'm wrong somone will corect me.. : but I'm pretty sure your nitrates will just get higher if you don't do water changes.. and congratulations,sounds like your 7.5 is ready to go.. ;D ..

 

Gwenz it looks like your tank is finally cycled. Water changes will bring the Nitrates down and plants will soak them up also.
time to get Guppies!!! Wahoo!!!
Carol