New fish tank advice

by **jorivesud** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 3:27 pm

I have a new fish tank:
- 20 Gallons
- 6 plants ( Elodea, Cabomba, Vallisneria, 3xCryptocoryne)
- Eco-Complete gravel
Left free running for 4 days(Cycle was added at setup time) and added 2 Bleeding heart tetras 6 days ago and still don't have ammonia readings.
(GH 12, KH 9, pH 8.0, temp at 78).

Wondering why I still don't see any ammonia reading.
Anything more I can do to kick start the cycling process.

thanks,

Jocelyn

by **spongebob4460** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 6:22 pm

In my personal experience Cycle never helped me. What type of water test kit do you use? Also, what do you feed the fish, and how often and how much? Are you doing any water changes? The more detailed info you give us the better we can help pinpoint your issue.

Welcome to the forum by the way :)

by **Serial324556** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 8:11 pm

I've used cycle for a couple tanks. Double the first dose and then a single dose every week after that.
It may take a couple weeks to get bacteria growth with it.

by **jorivesud** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 8:15 pm

My test kit is Tetratest Laborett(for GH, KH, pH, ammonia and Nitrite). I also have a Nutrafin Nitrate test kit. Both test kits are liquid coloring tests. I haven't done water change yet. I feed twice a day, alternating staple flake food, spirulina flakes and freeze dried bloodworms. The food is gone within 2-3 minutes each time. My filter/lightning is an Marineland Eclipse II system.

I was also told I could put more fish(no more than 4) after a week with my 1st 2 tetras, by the store(Big Al's), but I don't think it would be wise to do. I read everywhere that no more fish should be added before cycling is complete. Comments?

by **miami754** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 9:18 pm

I have tried cycle before and it doesn't do anything. It doesn't even contain the right bacteria. I tried it twice to test it out and the cycle was exactly the same length as with nothing added but fish. Tetras are pretty small fish and don't generate much waste. This is probably why it is taking so long. You can either be patient and the ammonia will end up showing up or you can add a couple more fish. Adding 1-2 more fish will help to speed things up and won't do anything detrimental to the tank. Adding 2 fish and then adding 2 a week later is not going to hurt anything. It's not like you are adding 7-8 fish all at once. That is when you have problems.

Do enough water changes during the cycle to keep both the ammonia and nitrite spikes at 1 ppm or less. You'll be just fine. The ammonia should spike pretty quickly and then the nitrites will take several (3-4) weeks. Let us know if you need anything else.

by **jorivesud** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 9:42 pm

I was told to go with a 1" of fish per 10 gallons, for cycling, which is why I have 2 Bleeding heart tetras. Here is what I was thinking of having at the end: 2 Platties, 4 Pristella Maxilaris, 2 honey gouramis, 2 pigmy cories and my 2 bleeding heart tetras, which will max out my tank. So, you would recommend adding either my 2 Platties or Gouramis to speed up my cycling process.

You can also comment or make suggestion on my fish selection.

by **miami754** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 10:18 pm

There's certainly nothing wrong with your rule. I was just saying that if you want to speed it up, adding a couple fish will help and certainly won't be enough to hurt the cycle or your tank.

I would add the platys next. They will survive the cycle no problem. Gouramis will too, but they are a bit bigger and will put more of a load on the tank.

I'll let someone else comment on your specific ideas for the setup as I do not have experience with several of the species you mention. I am mostly into cichlids.

by **jorivesud** » Fri May 02, 2008 1:51 am

I added 2 Platys on tuesday. So, now it's been 7 days with 2 Bleeding heart tetras plus 3 days with my 2 tetras and 2 Platys...still no ammonia, and of course no nitrite or nitrate. How long can it take before something starts? The fishes and the plants look happy. Could it be Cycle that is causing such a lag?

by **Snowboss4492** » Fri May 02, 2008 11:53 am

im not a fresh water keeper but it took my salt tank 4 1/2 months to cycle correctly...i listened to an LFS {that i don'tuse anymore } the first time and they had me over feed and over stock right off the bat to get the cycle going 6-8 damsels............the tank exploded and i lost everything ...poor little guys.........so if anything....just be patient my friend..........after i restarted and waited 4 1/2 months my tank is basically bullet proof.......a much better feeling for sure.........cycleing with fish or forceing a natural cycle unnaturally is not a good practice.....now like i said im a salt guy so.........the advise your getting from other fresh people will be better than im giving...but the concepts are the same ......good luck and welcome, Snowboss

by **spongebob4460** » Fri May 02, 2008 6:20 pm

feeding twice a day for this long should bring about ammonia... maybe your test kit is old? hmmm tryin to think....

New fish tank advice

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