Couple Question About First Tank...

[eaglesaquarium]

Lighting isn't really my best area.  I've dipped my toe into planting a tank, I've not gone the full depth of getting into all that.  New lighting wouldn't hurt, but I don't feel comfortable making suggestions regarding that.  A thread started in planted chit-chat might help.  Be sure to include all relevant information: size of the tank, substrate, plants, etc.

 

[Trod673]

Thanks guys! I just bought two new lights yesterday that were suitable for live plants and fairly cheap... If they don't start to thrive soon, then I'll contemplate getting a new fixture! They don't look bad yet, so we'll see! At least I have stuff to experiment with until the fish-less cycle is complete! 

 

[Trod673]

Okie dokie! Plants are growing great, ammonia goes from 5ppm to 0ppm in 12 hours, still waiting on nitrites to get to 0 in 12 hours, but I had a question about pleco's! I want one, and I know they are algae eaters, do I also feed them fish food? And I have a squidward house in my tank and it has a white film on parts of it. Is that algae... Or other first and stuff that needs to be cleaned? Thanks!!

 

[Trod673]

Also, Do I need to keep dosing the tank with ammonia to keep the bacteria alive?

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Yup, but drop the dose down to about 2ppm to give the nitrite bacs a chance to catch up.

 

[Trod673]

My pH has dropped to 6.8. Should I do a water change?
 It's been at a constant 7.4 since starting the cycle.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I would.  Either that or add some baking soda to bring the pH and kH back up.

 

[Trod673]

50% sound good?
 
Can I just add tap water and then use dechlorinator, or will that harm the bacteria? I know you can't do that with fish.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Just don't turn on the filter until after the dechlorinator has been in the tank for a while - 10-15 minutes.  It doesn't take long to do its job, but its better safe than sorry.
 
Personally, I'd add the dechlorinator to the tank first, then fill it up.

And you CAN do that with fish in the tank.  I do it that way all the time.

 

[Trod673]

So just put in all my drops in the tank with the water half way full and then fill it up and wait 15?

Someone at the store told me not to, but again, local fish stores apparently don't know anything! Thanks for your help, by the way!

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Put sufficient drops into the tank for the FULL volume of water of the tank, not just what you are replacing.  And if you do that before adding water back to your tank, you don't even have to wait for the 15.  Its not a bad idea though, because the bacteria are still rather fragile at this point. 

 

[Trod673]

Awesome! And it's safe to do water like this all the time? Even with fish, just straight from the tap with dechlorinated?

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Yup.  All the time.  If I am doing a small percentage change, I won't even use dechlorinator.

 

[Trod673]

Alright, my ammonia has started to linger around .25ppm after 3 days of going from 2ppm to 0ppm in 12 hours, and my nitrites have finally reached 0ppm but my pH has crashed. It is around 6, maybe less, 6 is as low as the test goes, I am doing a water change right now. Will the pH crash ruin my cycling? And what can I do to help fix this?

 

[fluttermoth]

A pH crash will stall your cycle, but won't ruin it.
 
A large water change should be enough to bring the pH back up (the nitrate that builds up during a cycle is acidic); if that doesn't do the trick, you could add a small amount of bicarbonate of soda (not baking powder!) to buffer the pH up.