A Little Advice Please

[stue0]

Just worked out where my ammonia reading came from, when i cleaned everything i forgot one thing! The heater holder! I noticed it had some algae on it. This shouldn't spread should it, i haven't had lights on since setting up?

Added filter media an now getting my nitrate + nitrite + Ammonia readings going up, this is good
Have started adding Ammonia aswell as you need to keep feeding the bacteria? Am i right??

 

[stue0]

anyone??

 

[Canis-Equus]

Not wanting to confuse you any further....

But when i have swapped smaller tanks for bigger ones or set up new tanks ive just used half the media from a mature filter, kept the tank as uncloudy as poss, and added fish straight away, although where possible ive stocked slowly (ie new tank), that isnt possible in a straight tank swap though and i had no losses when i swapped my 40g for my 55g using this method, and that was a heavily stocked tank.

 

[Majjie]

Just worked out where my ammonia reading came from, when i cleaned everything i forgot one thing! The heater holder! I noticed it had some algae on it. This shouldn't spread should it, i haven't had lights on since setting up?

Added filter media an now getting my nitrate + nitrite + Ammonia readings going up, this is good
Have started adding Ammonia aswell as you need to keep feeding the bacteria? Am i right??

It's only dying plants that produce ammonia - so if it is the algae - they're not doing well (probably because there's no light)

Don't overdo the ammonia either - yes you need to keep the bacteria alive and build up a bigger population and you need to check that nitrite is produced and then disappears again - but you don't need large amounts. If you add some in the evening it should be gone in the morning - only then add some more (and if that disappears during the day - add a bit more in the evening).

If the nitrate gets too high (over 100) - it's good because it means the nitrite is being processed - but change some water and keep it below 100. As soon as you can add some ammmonia at night and get a zero reading for both ammonia and nitrite in the morning - you're ready to go. Do water changes to get the nitrate down to less than 40 (depending on what the level in your tap water is) and add fish!

The advantage of doing it this way is that you can add more or less your full stock of fish straight away (apart from any fish that need a more mature tank)

 

[stue0]

thank you for helping me out on this one, i would have been lost with out this help!!
Well just to update you, my ammonia is now dropping to zero in the morning after adding it the evening before, my nitrite is just reached its spike an is starting to drop, and nitrate is now falling too, should be nearly there i think
ammonia 0
nitrite 2.0-5.0
nitrate 40
ph 8.2