Worthy of a water change?

I just started a new tank and at first completely forgot to cycle so my guppies I first got died so I researched again and remembered. I started again but this time with plants, I got a Java fern, windelov Java fern, two separate African water fern and Anubias nana two days ago. My master kit arrived that day so I tested my water and got 0 for everything. I then put like half a dose of liquid fertilizer in the tank after that. Today I went to PetSmart again and got two more windelov Java fern plants, three female guppies(they didn’t have males so I’ll go back after they get supplied Tuesday or Thursday to get one) and some “pest snails” which I didn’t mind taking in. Waited a couple hours and before feeding them for the first time did another water change. Got the results and was wondering if i need to do a water test. 0ppm ammonia, I think less than .25 nitrite because it’s a little purple but not as purple as the .25 on the chart, and also less than 5.0 nitrate since it wasn’t as orange as the chart. Here’s a picture.

 

I just started a new tank and at first completely forgot to cycle so my guppies I first got died so I researched again and remembered. I started again but this time with plants, I got a Java fern, windelov Java fern, two separate African water fern and Anubias nana two days ago. My master kit arrived that day so I tested my water and got 0 for everything. I then put like half a dose of liquid fertilizer in the tank after that. Today I went to PetSmart again and got two more windelov Java fern plants, three female guppies(they didn’t have males so I’ll go back after they get supplied Tuesday or Thursday to get one) and some “pest snails” which I didn’t mind taking in. Waited a couple hours and before feeding them for the first time did another water change. Got the results and was wondering if i need to do a water test. 0ppm ammonia, I think less than .25 nitrite because it’s a little purple but not as purple as the .25 on the chart, and also less than 5.0 nitrate since it wasn’t as orange as the chart. Here’s a picture.

Nitrites are worse than ammonia so yes,change the water...go back to petco and get tetra safe start,sea chem prime. Over dose the prime,pour the whole bottle of safe start in,leave the tank alone for a week or so and then change the water again.

 

I think I'll wait till the morning because the new plants I got should be able to help me deal with it, I'll def do a water change in the morning though despite the parameters

 

I think I'll wait till the morning because the new plants I got should be able to help me deal with it, I'll def do a water change in the morning though despite the parameters

If you’re thinking about using Tetra Safe Start with Seachem Prime, I’d suggest you do some research first.

My understanding is that you should wait 24 hours after dosing Prime before using Tetra Safe Start.

There’s also no reason to overdose Prime. Prime is effective up to a combined level of ammonia and nitrites of 1 ppm. I’d suggest managing those levels with water changes, not Prime.

 

I think I'll wait till the morning because the new plants I got should be able to help me deal with it, I'll def do a water change in the morning though despite the parameters

Plants like java fern and anubias won't do much because they are slow growers, so they won't deal with much if any nitrogen. Definitely should do a water change as soon as possible.

 

If you’re thinking about using Tetra Safe Start with Seachem Prime, I’d suggest you do some research first.

My understanding is that you should wait 24 hours after dosing Prime before using Tetra Safe Start.

Nah I'm not using any of those because I don't think I need any of that. My plants should help the bioload and I'll keep getting plants as I can.

Plants like java fern and anubias won't do much because they are slow growers, so they won't deal with much if any nitrogen. Definitely should do a water change as soon as possible.

Oh which would help then? Like wisteria?

 

Nah I'm not using any of those because I don't think I need any of that. My plants should help the bioload and I'll keep getting plants as I can.

Oh which would help then? Like wisteria?

Your call, but I would suggest using Prime. Just not as a substitute for water changes. Prime will help protect your fish.

 

Your call, but I would suggest using Prime. Just not as a substitute for water changes. Prime will help protect your fish.

I don't have the money that's why, I'd get it right now if I could.

 

I don't have the money that's why, I'd get it right now if I could.

Gotcha. Come back here with questions. Test and change water often.

 

Nah I'm not using any of those because I don't think I need any of that. My plants should help the bioload and I'll keep getting plants as I can.

Oh which would help then? Like wisteria?

Anything fast growing, but this also depends on your tank conditions. Do you have a nutrient rich substrate or inert? Floating plants will help regardless however, the best being duckweed, frogbit, and salvinia minima. I also recommend a bacteria product such as tetra safestart, it will cycle the tank faster IME.

 

Oh which would help then? Like wisteria?

Fast growing stem plants like wisteria, water sprite, ludwiga varieties, bacopa varieties, hornwort, floaters like frogbit or red root floaters.

 

Gotcha. Come back here with questions. Test and change water often.

I think this is the route I have to go, just testing like everyday or even twice daily and doing water changes when needed, the master kit should last me long enough to do this till the aquarium is stable.

Anything fast growing, but this also depends on your tank conditions. Do you have a nutrient rich substrate or inert? Floating plants will help regardless however, the best being duckweed, frogbit, and salvinia minima. I also recommend a bacteria product such as tetra safestart, it will cycle the tank faster IME.

Do you think I need the tetra safestart though? No I have basic gravel but I have liquid fertilizer. How much faster would the tetra safestart help with the cycle?

 

I think this is the route I have to go, just testing like everyday or even twice daily and doing water changes when needed, the master kit should last me long enough to do this till the aquarium is stable.

You’ll be fine.

What are you using as a dechlorinator? And be sure to match the temperature of the water you’re adding to the tank water temperature.

 

Fast growing stem plants like wisteria, water sprite, ludwiga varieties, bacopa varieties, hornwort, floaters like frogbit or red root floaters.

Don't the stem plants need nutrient filled substrates? Like eco-complete? I have basic gravel so idk if these would do that good in my tank. The floaters will be good but I have to wait till I get some money since I have no idea where I could get them cheap.

You’ll be fine.

What are you using as a dechlorinator? And be sure to match the temperature of the water you’re adding to the tank water temperature.

I use the API water conditioner and **** trying to match that might be hard. How would I do that?

 

If you’re thinking about using Tetra Safe Start with Seachem Prime, I’d suggest you do some research first.

My understanding is that you should wait 24 hours after dosing Prime before using Tetra Safe Start.

There’s also no reason to overdose Prime. Prime is effective up to a combined level of ammonia and nitrites of 1 ppm. I’d suggest managing those levels with water changes, not Prime.

Prime bonds ammonia and protects live stock from nitrite poisoning for whatever reason.
Even at .25 nitirite is deadly to fish.
Prime while cycling a tank with fish in is crucial in my opinion.
I have never done a fish less cycle and have successfully added safe start and prime at the same time to no negative effects on the fish what so ever.

Your call, but I would suggest using Prime. Just not as a substitute for water changes. Prime will help protect your fish.

Prime is a dechlorinator....has nothing to do with what your filtration or plants are capable of..your tap water will kill fish if you dont dechlorinate ...period

 

No, you don't have to add bottled bacteria. Your tank will cycle without it. I will recommend you get a bottle of Prime if at all possible. You only need to run the test once a day. If ammonia plus nitrites are getting up close to one change out half the water to get them down to .5 at least. Say you have .5 ammonia and .5 nitrites that would be a total of one. Get it down with a water change and add A full tank dose of Prime to detox what's left.

Neither ammonia nor nitrites are good for your fish but if you can keep both well below .5 your fish should come through the cycling process just fine. The .25 nitrites you are seeing right now isn't going to kill your fish. Try not to let it get much high than that though.

when you get your test kit run all the tests on your tap water. It is always a good idea to know the parameters of the water you are using to do your water changes.

 

No, you don't have to add bottled bacteria. Your tank will cycle without it. I will recommend you get a bottle of Prime if at all possible. You only need to run the test once a day. If ammonia plus nitrites are getting up close to one change out half the water to get them down to .5 at least. Say you have .5 ammonia and .5 nitrites that would be a total of one. Get it down with a water change and add A full tank dose of Prime to detox what's left.

Neither ammonia nor nitrites are good for your fish but if you can keep both well below .5 your fish should come through the cycling process just fine. The .25 nitrites you are seeing right now isn't going to kill your fish. Try not to let it get much high than that though.

when you get your test kit run all the tests on your tap water. It is always a good idea to know the parameters of the water you are using to do your water changes.

Okay thank you so much. What does the Prime do? I can't get any now since I'm just trying to get a male guppy with the little I have left but once I can I will. And okay, my ammonia should stay at 0ppm. I'll check my parameters again before feeding them today and if it's the same with the nitrites since I'd prefer it to be zero I'll do a water change. So a 50% would be what I need? Also how long should I leave the lights on? They're basic LEDs so idk how much the plants truly gain from it. I'm in the works of getting actual plant specific lights, I'd want one with a dimmer but it's render the light timer I bought useless unfortunately.

 

Prime bonds ammonia and protects live stock from nitrite poisoning for whatever reason.
Even at .25 nitirite is deadly to fish.
Prime while cycling a tank with fish in is crucial in my opinion.
I have never done a fish less cycle and have successfully added safe start and prime at the same time to no negative effects on the fish what so ever.

Prime is a dechlorinator....has nothing to do with what your filtration or plants are capable of..your tap water will kill fish if you dont dechlorinate ...period

I suggested that the OP use Prime. See post #7 above.

My point was that based on the water parameters the OP gave in his first post, there’s no need to overdose Prime as you suggested in post #2.

As I mentioned above, a single dose of Prime is effective in protecting fish up to a combined level of ammonia and nitrites of 1 ppm. Anything more than a single dose is unnecessary given the OP’s parameters. When and if the combined levels exceed 1 ppm, a water change is warranted in my opinion. I actually suggest water changes to keep the combined level below 0.50 ppm during a fish-in cycle.

About using Tetra Safe Start and Prime, I still suggest waiting 24 hours after dosing Prime.

 

Okay thank you so much. What does the Prime do? I can't get any now since I'm just trying to get a male guppy with the little I have left but once I can I will. And okay, my ammonia should stay at 0ppm. I'll check my parameters again before feeding them today and if it's the same with the nitrites since I'd prefer it to be zero I'll do a water change. So a 50% would be what I need? Also how long should I leave the lights on? They're basic LEDs so idk how much the plants truly gain from it. I'm in the works of getting actual plant specific lights, I'd want one with a dimmer but it's render the light timer I bought useless unfortunately.

Simply put. Prime detoxes low levels of ammonia and some say nitrites too. While cycling a tank you can never water change out all of the ammonia since the fish are constantly producing more. By using Prime the ammonia will be in a safer form long enough for the bacteria to clear it out.

I wouldn't run the lights longer than about 8 to 10 hours a day. If you see algae starting to grow you may want to cut that time down a bit.

 

Simply put. Prime detoxes low levels of ammonia and some say nitrites too. While cycling a tank you can never water change out all of the ammonia since the fish are constantly producing more. By using Prime the ammonia will be in a safer form long enough for the bacteria to clear it out.

I wouldn't run the lights longer than about 8 to 10 hours a day. If you see algae starting to grow you may want to cut that time down a bit.

Okay thank you, do you think the bioload in my tank would be a lot? I only have three guppies and about 3-4 bladder snails. I'm kinda sad the plants won't really help since one main reason I bought them was to help with the cycle. And noted, I usually turn the lights on at ten then turn them off between 4-6pm.

 

Okay thank you, do you think the bioload in my tank would be a lot? I only have three guppies and about 3-4 bladder snails. I'm kinda sad the plants won't really help since one main reason I bought them was to help with the cycle. And noted, I usually turn the lights on at ten then turn them off between 4-6pm.

What size tank do you have? If it is at least 10 gallons then no, the bio-load isn't a lot. I am not sure I know what you mean about the plants not helping. They should have some bacteria on them so should help you there. The ammonia your fish are producing will feed that bacteria. Thee plants you have are slow to grow so won't help as much as fast growing plants at removing nitrates but that is our job. We keep them down with water changes.

Cycling a tank simply means growing ammonia and nitrite eating bacteria. Once you have enough of each of them the tank will be cycled. Both ammonia and nitrites are being produced but once fully cycled the bacteria will almost instantly remove them. Once fully cycled you will get a constant reading of zero for both ammonia and nitrites. You will only see nitrates and like I said, it is our job to keep them down to safe levels by doing our weekly partial water changes.

 

What size tank do you have? If it is at least 10 gallons then no, the bio-load isn't a lot. I am not sure I know what you mean about the plants not helping. They should have some bacteria on them so should help you there. The ammonia your fish are producing will feed that bacteria. Thee plants you have are slow to grow so won't help as much as fast growing plants at removing nitrates but that is our job. We keep them down with water changes.

Cycling a tank simply means growing ammonia and nitrite eating bacteria. Once you have enough of each of them the tank will be cycled. Both ammonia and nitrites are being produced but once fully cycled the bacteria will almost instantly remove them. Once fully cycled you will get a constant reading of zero for both ammonia and nitrites. You will only see nitrates and like I said, it is our job to keep them down to safe levels by doing our weekly partial water changes.

I have a 20g long. I mean like they aren't absorbing the nitrite as much as I'd think they would. I will get some frogbit or red floaters when I get the chance. And yes I understand the whole cycling thing and like what becomes what and what needs to be taken out. Can't wait till the tank is completely cycled, wouldn't have to be so stressed but it'll all be worth it I hope!

 

I have a 20g long. I mean like they aren't absorbing the nitrite as much as I'd think they would. I will get some frogbit or red floaters when I get the chance. And yes I understand the whole cycling thing and like what becomes what and what needs to be taken out. Can't wait till the tank is completely cycled, wouldn't have to be so stressed but it'll all be worth it I hope!

With just 3 little fish and a few bladder snails in a 20 gallon tank the bio-load is very low. As long as you aren't over feeding and letting leftovers stay in the tank you shouldn't have really high spikes. There is no need to be overly stressed if the nitrites go no higher than the .25 you are seeing. With such a low bio-load in this tank I wouldn't expect them to spike to dangerous levels. If they go up to .5 a 50% water change will get them back down to .25. Keep it at that level and your fish shouldn't be in any danger.

 

With just 3 little fish and a few bladder snails in a 20 gallon tank the bio-load is very low. As long as you aren't over feeding and letting leftovers stay in the tank you shouldn't have really high spikes. There is no need to be overly stressed if the nitrites go no higher than the .25 you are seeing. With such a low bio-load in this tank I wouldn't expect them to spike to dangerous levels. If they go up to .5 a 50% water change will get them back down to .25. Keep it at that level and your fish shouldn't be in any danger.

I do plan on getting more fish like a dwarf gourami or kuli loaches and if possible shrimp but that's in the far future after I have much more plants that have grown in to fill the tank. I did a water change after checking the parameters right before feeding. Ammonia was a .25, nitrite was 0 and nitrate was like 5.0. The api water conditioner is really hard to use when trying to use it for just a couple gallons. I did calculations and use a l syringe without the needle to measure how much I put while doing water changes.
These was me testing this morning before feeding and a water change.

 

I do plan on getting more fish like a dwarf gourami or kuli loaches and if possible shrimp but that's in the far future after I have much more plants that have grown in to fill the tank. I did a water change after checking the parameters right before feeding. Ammonia was a .25, nitrite was 0 and nitrate was like 5.0. The api water conditioner is really hard to use when trying to use it for just a couple gallons. I did calculations and use a l syringe without the needle to measure how much I put while doing water changes.
These was me testing this morning before feeding and a water change.

Your converting,ammonia is at what .25? Nitrites appear zero with 5ppm nitrate? Looks good to me,it may jump one more time on nitrite and ammonia but after that I think you will be cycled.

 

Your converting,ammonia is at what .25? Nitrites appear zero with 5ppm nitrate? Looks good to me,it may jump one more time on nitrite and ammonia but after that I think you will be cycled.

Omg you think so? That'd be a really quick cycle if it does get cycled already. It's a spike probably from overfeeding? Since yesterday was their first feeding. I'm thinking of possible tankmates once I have more faster growing plants and like driftwood. I definitely want cories and I hope they do okay with my gravel since it's not sharp. Otherwise I might try ottos instead since I really want some schooling catfish.

 

I use the API water conditioner and **** trying to match that might be hard. How would I do that?

you can get those temperature strip stickers that stick to the tank or what have you. just put the strip on your fill-up bucket so you can temp match your tank and fresh water thats being added. Amazon.com : AikTryee Aquarium Thermometer Sticker Fish Tank Temperature Sticker Brewing Thermometer Strip Adhesive Thermometer Sticker for Fish Tank Storage Tank Wine Jar : Pet Supplies

 

you can get those temperature strip stickers that stick to the tank or what have you. just put the strip on your fill-up bucket so you can temp match your tank and fresh water thats being added. Amazon.com : AikTryee Aquarium Thermometer Sticker Fish Tank Temperature Sticker Brewing Thermometer Strip Adhesive Thermometer Sticker for Fish Tank Storage Tank Wine Jar : Pet Supplies

Okay that's smart. I have the strip on my tank so I could take it off and put it on the bucket I use for water changes. Thank you.

 

Okay that's smart. I have the strip on my tank so I could take it off and put it on the bucket I use for water changes. Thank you.

A simple thermometer would be easy too.

 

Okay that's smart. I have the strip on my tank so I could take it off and put it on the bucket I use for water changes. Thank you.

Honestly just put your hand in the tank to your wrist, fill the bucket in the tub with warm water first then scroll it back as you have your wrist under the water...you will be within 1 degree or so every time.
Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

 

Honestly just put your hand in the tank to your wrist, fill the bucket in the tub with warm water first then scroll it back as you have your wrist under the water...you will be within 1 degree or so every time.
Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

Huh? I dont get it....

 

Honestly just put your hand in the tank to your wrist, fill the bucket in the tub with warm water first then scroll it back as you have your wrist under the water...you will be within 1 degree or so every time.
Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

To support Patman here, I do this too. Just feel whatever temperature the tap water is with my hand while I'm filling buckets, then dechlorinate and add to tank. It'll be within a degree or two, which is fine for almost all fish and easily adjusted to. After many water changes I know how to match to tank temperature using the tap easily. And if I'm feeling uncertain, I can chuck in a thermometer.

 

Yes I can do this to a single degree of temperature. I adjust the water check the tank adjust the water check the tank when its good fill the bucket. I think your hand in the bucket while adjusting it would get used to the water.

 

A simple thermometer would be easy too.

Sadly don't even have one of those but that seems better seems it might give me more accurate readings so maybe in the future I'll get one.

 

Sadly don't even have one of those but that seems better seems it might give me more accurate readings so maybe in the future I'll get one.

Those stick on thermometers get some of your room temp too so they are not the most accurate things in the world. I would make sure to have at least 1 glass thermometer on hand. They are really cheap at the pet stores.

 

Honestly just put your hand in the tank to your wrist, fill the bucket in the tub with warm water first then scroll it back as you have your wrist under the water...you will be within 1 degree or so every time.
Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

That's pretty much what I did this water change. I used my hand to feel the temp in the tank and made the water coming from the tap match it by adjusting how much cold and hot water was coming out the tap before then dechlorinating.

Those stick on thermometers get some of your room temp too so they are not the most accurate things in the world. I would make sure to have at least 1 glass thermometer on hand. They are really cheap at the pet stores.

Ouu that makes sense tbh, never thought of it that way. Good thing I have a battery powered thermometer, the mini ones for my aquarium.