Getting Nitrogen Cycle in New Tank

Hi,

To start with - I learnt about nitrogen cycle and establishing tank only after losing my first fish. Even the Aquarium seller did not mention about it

I bought the tank (attached picture) on 31st Jan and along with it 2 artificial plant, gravel. Along with the tank came water pump with filter and sponge, siphon cleaner tube.
2 fantail goldfish (2.5 inch), 2 orange guppy, 2 black guppy, 2 blackskirt tetra(glo fish yellow fluorescent), 2 neon tetras.

On 2nd day one of the neon died and immediately I researched online to find that neon's are schooling group and do best with family of 6 or more. So I purchased 7 more neon's and added the same day!
Next day another neon died and on 4th day a black guppy and on 5th day another neon died. Purchased 2 more guppies (orange and yellow tail) on 6th day (friday) along with 2 live plants(hoping for more hiding place and also read that live plants can aid in faster nitrogen cycle process), and on 8th day the recently purchased yellow tail guppy also died (ie yesterday Sunday). So 5 died out of total 19 and 14 remain as of now.

I feed only 2-3 pinches morning and evening and tank is not under any sunlight and it is in my living room which is not bright ( I can say quite dark on day time and lights on only from 6PM - 11 PM) and with filters running 24x7. Also the water is quite warm since we live in tropical climate.

Today I purchased API Fresh Water Master Test Kit and this is what I am planning to do -

• Whatever fish maybe remaining, continue to run the tank with filter on always and hoping that tank gets established with benefetial bacteria by 42 days(6 weeks)
• Will be getting the test kit by this saturday and perform water test for ammonia, nitrates and nitrites once in 7 days. If any high ppm is noticed perform 25% water change immediately or else perform 25% water change on 20th day and another 25% water change on 40th day, before finally performing water test on 42nd day and if all is fine(with 0 ppm) then only purchase additional fish (to start with 4 and gradually increase another to another 4 the following week)

1) So my ask for experts is if my above plan looks good? I am not sure how to check if my tank got established fully.
2) So my assumption is if water test return 0 ppm of ammonia, nitrate and nitrites then tank must have got full nitrogen cycle, correct?
3) Also, can I rinse the filter lightly once with little of my existing tank water in a bowl (maybe in between around 20th day?) since I am afraid it may wash off if any benefetial bacterias forming colonies. But today I just removed 2 or 3 dirt particles manually from sponge pores. But not seeing any major dirt in sponge except the color of white sponge has turned little grey in some parts.

So above 3 are my questions to experts and highly appreciate your suggestion on these 3 points or you also correct me if my plan is entirely wrong!
Thanks in advance!

PS: Picture with tank1(with flashlight on), tank2(with flashlight off) so there is a difference in color appearence, but to naked eye water looks clear and white only.

gopikrish81 said:

1) So my ask for experts is if my above plan looks good? I am not sure how to check if my tank got established fully.
2) So my assumption is if water test return 0 ppm of ammonia, nitrate and nitrites then tank must have got full nitrogen cycle, correct?
3) Also, can I rinse the filter lightly once with little of my existing tank water in a bowl (maybe in between around 20th day?) since I am afraid it may wash off if any benefetial bacterias forming colonies. But today I just removed 2 or 3 dirt particles manually from sponge pores. But not seeing any major dirt in sponge except the color of white sponge has turned little grey in some parts.

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1) Yes, the plan above looks good. Don’t buy any more fish though. Daily water changes will help get rid of ammonia and nitrites.
2) The readings you should get for successfully completing a nitrogen cycle are the following: Ammonia: 0ppm, Nitrite: 0ppm, Nitrate: bellow 20ppm. (pH is used for measuring how acidic your water is, and is not that important right now. However, most tropical fish do best in pH from 6.8 - 7.8)
3) After performing a water change, swish the filter cartridge/media in the used tank water. Never wash it off in tap water, because it will kill your BB.

(I’m sorry to hear your first fish experience turned out poorly. )

Its a shame the shops dont give good advice, goes to show they're more interested in $$$ than they are fish welfare. Oh well, youve come to the right place!

May I ask what size tank you have, and also do you know if yoht have hard or soft water?

Regarding you current position, you are enduring a 'fish-in cycle' where the fish are producing the ammonia necessary to build up the colony of beneficial bacteria (BB).

As you've probably read, there are two groups of BB that you are trying to grow in the sponges of your filter...

Bacteria 'A' convert ammonia > nitrite
Bacteria 'B' convert nitrite > nitrate

Bacteria 'A' usually grow before Bacteria 'B'.

Ammonia and nitrite will kill fish in fairly low concentrations whereas nitrates don't.

Yes, ideally you will measure 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite in a cycled tank. You should be measuring some nitrate, however live plants will absorb some.

A good plan at this stage would be to test the water multiple times a day, and at any point you measure an amount of ammonia, you should perform a water change to remove as much as possible.
When you no longer measure ammonia, you should test for nitrite and again, perform a water change whenever you can measure some.
When neither Ammonia or Nitrite show on test, you're cycled.

PheonixKingZ said:

1) Yes, the plan above looks good. Don’t buy any more fish though. Daily water changes will help get rid of ammonia and nitrites.
2) The readings you should get for successfully completing a nitrogen cycle are the following: Ammonia: 0ppm, Nitrite: 0ppm, Nitrate: bellow 20ppm. (pH is used for measuring how acidic your water is, and is not that important right now. However, most tropical fish do best in pH from 6.8 - 7.8)
3) After performing a water change, swish the filter cartridge/media in the used tank water. Never wash it off in tap water, because it will kill your BB.

(I’m sorry to hear your first fish experience turned out poorly. )

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Thanks, np, first experience though

mbsqw1d said:

Its a shame the shops dont give good advice, goes to show they're more interested in $$$ than they are fish welfare. Oh well, youve come to the right place!

May I ask what size tank you have, and also do you know if yoht have hard or soft water?

Regarding you current position, you are enduring a 'fish-in cycle' where the fish are producing the ammonia necessary to build up the colony of beneficial bacteria (BB).

As you've probably read, there are two groups of BB that you are trying to grow in the sponges of your filter...

Bacteria 'A' convert ammonia > nitrite
Bacteria 'B' convert nitrite > nitrate

Bacteria 'A' usually grow before Bacteria 'B'.

Ammonia and nitrite will kill fish in fairly low concentrations whereas nitrates don't.

Yes, ideally you will measure 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite in a cycled tank. You should be measuring some nitrate, however live plants will absorb some.

A good plan at this stage would be to test the water multiple times a day, and at any point you measure an amount of ammonia, you should perform a water change to remove as much as possible.
When you no longer measure ammonia, you should test for nitrite and again, perform a water change whenever you can measure some.
When neither Ammonia or Nitrite show on test, you're cycled.

Click to expand...

I am not exactly sure of tank size but its definately above 5 Gallon and less than or equal to 7 Gallon (i.e above 20 Litres and less than or equal to 27 Litres)

I am using R.O purified drinking water which contains nil chlorine (Mineral RO + UV/UF + TDS Water Purifier)

So you mean to say now after performing water test and notice high ammonium or nitrite then perform 25% water change even if my tank is not fully established? My concern is it should not affect BB formation.
Also, can I rinse filter sponge once in between before the tank gets fully established?

gopikrish81 said:

2 fantail goldfish (2.5 inch), 2 orange guppy, 2 black guppy, 2 blackskirt tetra(glo fish yellow fluorescent), 2 neon tetras

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If all these were in 20 litres of RO water I think you'll run into problems regardless of whether your tank is cycled or not.

1) Goldfish need much more space than that,
2) guppys are hard water fish and won't last long in soft water (RO water is as soft water gets).

If you're using RO water, theres a good chance your PH is also incredibly low. Is there any particular reason you're using RO water?

Yes, you need to change the water if you measure ANY ammonia and/or nitrite. If you don't, the ammonia/nitrite will kill the fish. Dont worry, the bacteria will grow with the low levels of ammonia that accumulates inbetween water changes.

I think you'd probably be better to return the fish, cycle the tank and then think about the stocking you want for it as a 7 Gallon is very limited. Luckily you're in the right place for all the information and advice you'll need going forward sorry to hear that you were ill advised by a pet shop, its a running theme here for most members unfortunately!

mbsqw1d said:

If all these were in 20 litres of RO water I think you'll run into problems regardless of whether your tank is cycled or not.

1) Goldfish need much more space than that,
2) guppys are hard water fish and won't last long in soft water (RO water is as soft water gets).

If you're using RO water, theres a good chance your PH is also incredibly low. Is there any particular reason you're using RO water?

Yes, you need to change the water if you measure ANY ammonia and/or nitrite. If you don't, the ammonia/nitrite will kill the fish. Dont worry, the bacteria will grow with the low levels of ammonia that accumulates inbetween water changes.

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Sorry, I re-measured my tank capacity again and it is 32 Litres (8.5 Gallon)
Actually, the reason why I am using RO water is because the seller mentioned neons wont survive in tap water or ground water and adviced to use only RO water.
And that's the reason I am using RO water. Also, we wont get tap water here and we only get ground water through borewell pump. Also our ground water is little "hard" and not "soft" here and so I am afraid to use it. If it is okay for the fish even if it is little hard water then I can use it.
"If you're using RO water, theres a good chance your PH is also incredibly low" - From what I researched, RO water ph value will be around 7. Anyway once I get water test kit, I can measure ph value also to find out.
Google - "kent ro water purifier ph value" returns
8.5 - 9.5

Balances pH Levels
KENT Alkaline Water Filter Pitcher increases the pH level of water to provide us with the right pH (8.5 - 9.5) level water for a healthy body and healthy mind.

Thanks for the suggestions as always!

Yeh RO is a good way to go for the tetra, 100%, not the guppys though, they might actually do better with your ground water. RO water starts off with base/neutral PH, but theres no buffering capacity to it (KH), and so as soon as acids are introduced, the PH drops. Acids such as nitric acid from nitrates and carbonic acid from co2, plus humic acid and potentially tanic acid depending on your hardscape. It'd be wise to make a decision between the tetra and the guppys.

mbsqw1d said:

Yeh RO is a good way to go for the tetra, 100%, not the guppys though, they might actually do better with your ground water. RO water starts off with base/neutral PH, but theres no buffering capacity to it (KH), and so as soon as acids are introduced, the PH drops. Acids such as nitric acid from nitrates and carbonic acid from co2, plus humic acid and potentially tanic acid depending on your hardscape. It'd be wise to make a decision between the tetra and the guppys.

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Okay. I did a quick research as well and see that obviously guppies like hard water. And also I read tetras prefer soft water but can adapt in hard water. So in that sense if I use hard water for my tank, I believe I can have both neons and guppies right?
But I can only say the water is hard after performing water test again, because it was few years back when it was hard when tested.

gopikrish81 said:

Okay. I did a quick research as well and see that obviously guppies like hard water. And also I read tetras prefer soft water but can adapt in hard water. So in that sense if I use hard water for my tank, I believe I can have both neons and guppies right?
But I can only say the water is hard after performing water test again, because it was few years back when it was hard when tested.

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You could try and work out a middle ground for them, where youd mix RO with your ground water if thats an option? If you get a TDS meter (pen), i think theyre quite cheap, and work out what hardness you're going to aim for. Top end of scale for the tetra and bottom of the guppys.

Check out what the parameters come up as on seriously fish website. If you google the name of the fish along with "Seriouslyfish" thats a good resource ??