Betta Tank | Sumatra's Journal

[Sumatra]

I thought I'd do a little update seeing as I haven't for a while now.
 
Everything is going well with the tank & I'm pretty sure it's nearly cycled. Here's all of my water test results since my last post. Please note that I have added crushed coral to my filter because my KH was ridiculously low initially and my P.H. was all over the place.
 
Day 7
 
P.H. - 7
Ammonia - 2ppm
Nitrite - 2ppm
KH - 2
 
Day 10
 
P.H. - 6.6
Ammonia - 0ppm
Nitrite - 5ppm
 
Added 2ml of Ammonia
 
Day 12
 
P.H. - 7
Ammonia - 0ppm
Nitrite - 5ppm
 
Day 14
 
P.H. - 6.4
Ammonia - 0ppm
Nitrite - 5ppm
Nitrate - 5ppm
 
Day 16
 
P.H. - 6.6
Ammonia - 0ppm
Nitrite - 5ppm
Nitrate - 5ppm
 
Added 1ml of Ammonia
 
Day 18
 
P.H. - 6.6
Ammonia - 0ppm
Nitrite - 5ppm
Nitrate - 5ppm
 
Added crushed coral to filter
 
Day 20
 
P.H. - 7
Ammonia - 0ppm
Nitrite - 5ppm
Nitrate - 40ppm
 
Added 1ml of Ammonia
 
Day 22
 
P.H. - 7
Ammonia - 0ppm
Nitrite - 0ppm
Nitrate - 40ppm
 
Added 2ml of Ammonia
 
Day 23
 
(Yesterday)
 
P.H. -  7
Ammonia - 0ppm
Nitrite - 5ppm
Nitrate - 40ppm
KH - 5
 
And that's as far as I've got. I'll be testing again today.

 
I know I've added slightly more ammonia than what is recommended but I was worried that the bacteria would starve if I left them for more than four days straight. My ammonia has been coming down within 24-hours, so now I'm just waiting for my Nitrites to follow. 
 
I've also changed some of the plants around. I had to remove the Alternanthera Rosaefolia because, even though it was growing at an incredible rate, it was thin and weak and many of the leaves were dead. I have since replaced it with Ludwiga Palustris Red and this is doing much much better. Infact, this morning I've come downstairs and it's already starting to develop beautiful red leaves. I also added a small Anubias Nana and attached it to a piece of bogwood which I already had in my tank. I've put a few moss balls around too, aha!

I also changed my Co2 system to the Tropica Plant Growth Nano Co2 System and I'm having much better results with this.
 
I do have a question. I am planning to add a few snails/shrimps to my tank and I was going to do this BEFORE adding my Betta. The reason for this is that I simply haven't been able to find a nice healthy Betta in recent days and so my search continues. Would I be okay doing it this way round or would the bacteria in the tank suffer because of it? I am aware that shrimp hardly add to the bio-load but I think snails do contribute to it right?
 
Thanks so much!

 

[Mamashack]

Snails can be quite messy so they will keep the bacteria going with plenty of waste for the bacteria to work on.
You are right that shrimp hardly add to the bioload unless there are absolutely swarms of them.
The only problem with adding more ammonia than needed is that it can lead to too much nitrites in the tank. I suspect you are using API tests (haven't looked back thro the thread to find out) API only goes up to 5 ppm so altho it's showing 5 it could be much higher and can stall the cycle if it gets too high.
Only telling you so you can make an informed decision about how to proceed.
If you can get hold of some RO water you can do a dilution test to see how high the nitrites actually are and whether you'd need to do a water change to reduce it. If this is something you are interested in the method is described in this article about half way down the page:
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/433778-rescuing-a-fish-in-cycle-gone-wild-part-il/
 
EDIT: Just an after thought - don't add ANY livestock until the cycle is finished. 
You probably wouldn't anyway, but felt I had to say it. 

 

[Sumatra]

Snails can be quite messy so they will keep the bacteria going with plenty of waste for the bacteria to work on.
You are right that shrimp hardly add to the bioload unless there are absolutely swarms of them.
The only problem with adding more ammonia than needed is that it can lead to too much nitrites in the tank. I suspect you are using API tests (haven't looked back thro the thread to find out) API only goes up to 5 ppm so altho it's showing 5 it could be much higher and can stall the cycle if it gets too high.
Only telling you so you can make an informed decision about how to proceed.
If you can get hold of some RO water you can do a dilution test to see how high the nitrites actually are and whether you'd need to do a water change to reduce it. If this is something you are interested in the method is described in this article about half way down the page:
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/433778-rescuing-a-fish-in-cycle-gone-wild-part-il/
 
EDIT: Just an after thought - don't add ANY livestock until the cycle is finished. 
You probably wouldn't anyway, but felt I had to say it. 

 
At the moment my Ammonia is 0ppm after 24-hours & my Nitrites are 0ppm after 48-hours. Do you think I should put a lot less Ammonia in next time they're both low enough until they are both reading 0ppm within 24-hours?

 

[Sumatra]

Just thought I would do a little update. My ammonia & nitrites are now 0ppm within 24-hours and I've tested this on two separate occasions. Therefor, I'm declaring my tank officially cycled, aha! *does a little dance*
 
I just have one last question regarding my KH & GH.
 
Originally, my KH was incredibly low at 2 and my PH was all over the place. I added some crushed coral to my filter and this has helped my KH increase to 5 and my PH to remain at a steady 7. However, my concern lies with my GH, which is currently reading at 18. Is that too high for a Betta?
 
Thanks, 

 

[Dandyman3]

Any update? Did you get shrimp? Dun Dun Dun............