Low nitrates.. Will I lose my cycle?

When I recently cycled my nitrates were at 5.00. I added 4 zebra Danios and 2 baby Peppered Corys. Ammonia and nitrites are still at zero. I did a 50 percent water change yesterday and nitrates are now under 5 and maybe even close to zero. I did not vacuum nor change any filters. My tank is 75 gallons. Also I did a fishin cycle. I have 12 zebra danios, 6 Platys, 4 Corys and 1 Mystery Snail.

 

Water changes will remove nitrates.

 

When I recently cycled my nitrates were at 5.00. I added 4 zebra Danios and 2 baby Peppered Corys. Ammonia and nitrites are still at zero. I did a 50 percent water change yesterday and nitrates are now under 5 and maybe even close to zero. I did not vacuum nor change any filters. My tank is 75 gallons. Also I did a fishin cycle. I have 12 zebra danios, 6 Platys, 4 Corys and 1 Mystery Snail.

You could add stability or another additive meant to jump start a tank. If you have another tank you could rinse the filter media into it, or get some from a friend's tank... Just a few ideas

 

Thanks all...I did not realize that changing water would remove nitrates...it had not been changed for almost a week. So, I guess I could lose the cycle then? Would adding more fish food help? Will the jump start hurt the fish? I only have one tank.

 

If you have fish in the tank, you don't need to add fish food, except to feed them. The fish are your ammonia source for your tank's cycle.
Nitrates are the end product of the nitrogen cycle, and need to be removed with water changes. If you have a lot of live plants, they can also use up some nitrates. Generally, a nitrate reading of 20ppm or less is reasonable.

Hope that helps!

 

Thanks all...I did not realize that changing water would remove nitrates...it had not been changed for almost a week. So, I guess I could lose the cycle then? Would adding more fish food help? Will the jump start hurt the fish? I only have one tank.

That's why we do water changes.

 

Thanks all...I did not realize that changing water would remove nitrates...it had not been changed for almost a week. So, I guess I could lose the cycle then? Would adding more fish food help? Will the jump start hurt the fish? I only have one tank.

Exactly what Algonquin says. Your fish are your bio loading that provides for the nitrification process. You are doing everything you should be doing. Low nitrates are what you want and keeping up with weekly water changes are how you keep them down.

Keep doing what you are doing. Now sit back and enjoy watching your fish!

 

When I recently cycled my nitrates were at 5.00. I added 4 zebra Danios and 2 baby Peppered Corys. Ammonia and nitrites are still at zero. I did a 50 percent water change yesterday and nitrates are now under 5 and maybe even close to zero. I did not vacuum nor change any filters. My tank is 75 gallons. Also I did a fishin cycle. I have 12 zebra danios, 6 Platys, 4 Corys and 1 Mystery Snail.

I understand that it can seem a daunting task to someone new to this wonderful hobby but fully understanding the nitrogen cycle can prevent a lot of stress.

Your tank is now cycled. Meaning you have grown enough bacteria to process the ammonia your fish are producing straight through to nitrates. This bacteria grows on all the surfaces in your tank but the highest concentration of it will be on your filter media since that is where the highest concentration of food will be.

At the start of this cycle your fish produced ammonia. You first grew your ammonia eating bacteria. The waste product of that bacteria is nitrites. You had a high spike in nitrites because the ammonia eating bacteria was pooping out high levels of nitrites.

Once that happened another bacteria started growing that ate the nitrites the ammonia eating bacteria was producing. Eventually you had enough of that bacteria to eat the nitrite as soon as it is produced.

Once you had grown enough ammonia and then nitrite eating bacteria both of those numbers will stay at zero. Both ammonia and nitrites are constantly being produced but you have enough bacteria in there to almost instantly remove them. The poop from the combined ammonia and nitrite eating bacteria is nitrates. Nitrates will continue to rise because most of our tanks never grow the bacteria that will eat the nitrate. It is our job to keep them down with water changes.

Thanks all...I did not realize that changing water would remove nitrates...it had not been changed for almost a week. So, I guess I could lose the cycle then? Would adding more fish food help? Will the jump start hurt the fish? I only have one tank.

What you saw in the nitrate reading after the water change is exactly what you should have seen. Most tanks will never see zero nitrates once the cycle is complete. They will be kept down with water changes. As long as you use your water conditioner if you have chlorine/chloramines in your source water and you temp match the water when you do your water changes you should not damage your cycle. A cycle is simply ammonia and nitrite eating bacteria.

Don't add extra food. Low nitrates is a good thing and what most of us strive to accomplish. As long as you continue to see zero ammonia and nitrites your cycle is fine.

 

Thanks Mattgirl. I was concerned that my nitrate would disappear and ammonia and nitrite would build back up. I am a bit panicky here even though I keep reading it over and over. Thanks for your response