Cycling A 10 Gallon

[TheJ0kerrr]

Alright, first post deserves a newbie question!

I started a brand new 10 gallon tropical aquarium with 3 white cloud minnows in it for a fish in cycle. The introduction of the fishes was made on March 5th. I just received my API master test kit yesterday and proceded to test the water and see where my cycle was at... I expected to find at least some ammonia or nitrite, but both read 0ppm. So I tested for nitrate, and still nothing.

I only made 3 small water changes of 10% or so (1 every week).

My question is this : Is it normal to have readings at 0 after 3 weeks? If not, what does it mean?

Do I have enough fish in there to start the cycle? Should I force things a little or just keep waiting?

Water is crystal clear... it was a bit cloudy for a few days, but I cut back on food since then from once (sometimes twice) a day to once every 2nd day. All 3 inhabitants are doing great and they are chasing each other a lot.

Thanks!

 

[Termato]

Do you have any plants in this tank?

 

[TheJ0kerrr]

Do you have any plants in this tank?

Nope, only plastic plants for now

 

[Termato]

When using the API master test kit are you shaking Regent #2 of the Nitrate for 2 minutes VIGOROUSLY?

This will assure an accurate result.

By the sounds of it your tank should have been well into the cycle by now. IMO I would add 3 more minows...

This will make the current minows more chill and feel safer while giving you more fish to produce ammonia.

This sounds crazy because 3 should be more than enough to start your cycle...especially after 3 weeks...

What water conditioner are you using?

OH...and I would get some real plants they will make your fish happy. Although it will slow down the effects of the cycle because plants eat ammonia.

 

[TheJ0kerrr]

Yeah, i've followed the instructions for the nitrate test... I guess i'll make more tests in the next couple days and if I still have nothing, i'll go ahead and get more fish. I'm not sure I want to add more minnows though as 6 of them would leave me with little room for other species!

As for the plants, i'll wait for after I move in a new house in a couple months, then I'll try some.

Thanks!

 

[Termato]

Yeah, i've followed the instructions for the nitrate test... I guess i'll make more tests in the next couple days and if I still have nothing, i'll go ahead and get more fish. I'm not sure I want to add more minnows though as 6 of them would leave me with little room for other species!

As for the plants, i'll wait for after I move in a new house in a couple months, then I'll try some.

Thanks!

Just keep in mind that the White Cloud Minow is a shoaling fish, it should be kept in a group, minimum 6 but preferably 8 or more. They will be healthier, happier and less aggressive (even though they are known to be peaceful fish keeping them in small numbers can cause them to be sky or skittish...sometimes aggressive)

All of my shoaling fish that I used to keep in smaller schools have seemed to get a lot happier when I upped their numbers.

By having minows you are already restricting what you can put in the tank because they like colder water (60-72F) than your normal Tropical Community.

I have never kept them myself so if they do well for you, more power to you. Just some things to keep in mind while stocking for the future. Good luck! Hope you get some kind of readings soon.

 

[TheJ0kerrr]

That's funny you're saying minnows prefer cool water. I've read that in several places, but I've also read plenty of times that they thrive in tropical water...what to believe?? LFS girl told me to keep them at 78F, so I did and they seem to be doing great so far...

I'm already planning to get a bigger tank when we move, so I guess I could go ahead and get more minnows now, I'll be able to get the other kinds of fish later when I upgrade.

 

[Termato]

That's funny you're saying minnows prefer cool water. I've read that in several places, but I've also read plenty of times that they thrive in tropical water...what to believe?? LFS girl told me to keep them at 78F, so I did and they seem to be doing great so far...

I'm already planning to get a bigger tank when we move, so I guess I could go ahead and get more minnows now, I'll be able to get the other kinds of fish later when I upgrade.

You bring up a good point. Like I said I have never kept minnows myself so I personally have no experience with them. I have only read that information what I would consider a reliable source.

A lot of the times this information has to deal with if they are wild minnows or have been bred to be brought up that way. the LFS here keeps their gouramis almost in hard water...which is insane...but they thrive because they have been bred in it. I think its crazy lol. I dunno but that may be why this is. If your minnows are doing great in that water I would not change a anything. More power to you!

 

[TheJ0kerrr]

Alright, I made another test today and it looks like i have a little bit of ammonia in there now... it's between the 0ppm and 0.25ppm. I'll test again tomorrow and make a small water change.

I had not seen your question about my water conditioner earlier, it is Nutrafin Aqua +

 

[OldMan47]

A simple count of 3 white clouds in a 10 gallon is not going to give you much ammonia. That is a good thing because it means you will be able to keep up with things easily by using water changes. Simply follow the fish-in cycling method and you should be in good shape in another month or so. White clouds are fine at tropical temperatures but can also be kept at lower temperatures much like goldfish. As long as you keep their water clean, they will thrive at any typical home aquarium temperature.

 

[TheJ0kerrr]

Alright, it's been a whole month now and I can barely read any ammonia (it's somewhere between 0 and 0.25ppm) no nitrites and no nitrates at all... I know patience is key in this hobby, but I'd like to know if I can do anything to speed things up!

 

[CezzaXV]

Was it a brand new filter or second hand? The bacteria will grow with levels of ammonia so small that most tests won't even detect, so no need to worry. Just consider yourself lucky you got an easy cycle and you're not doing massive water changes 1-3 times a day.

 

[TheJ0kerrr]

Was it a brand new filter or second hand? The bacteria will grow with levels of ammonia so small that most tests won't even detect, so no need to worry. Just consider yourself lucky you got an easy cycle and you're not doing massive water changes 1-3 times a day.

Yes, it was brand new everything... as most people, I bought stuff and read about it later

Alright, i'll just keep waiting then. You have a good point that i'm lucky I don't have to worry about my fish dying while i'm at work I guess. Water has been foggy lately, so it's probably a good sign that i'm having a bacterial bloom!

Thanks for the reply!

 

[TheJ0kerrr]

Alright, just for the sake of anyone going through a similar cycle, i'm finally reading some ammonia in the tank. Has been around 0.25ppm for a few days now and peaked at 0.5ppm once. I did 2x 25% water changes within 12 hours and it dropped the ammonia back to 0.25ppm...

I'm watching how the fish are behaving and testing water twice a day now to make sure they don't suffer too much.

What I'm wondering now is if I should mess with my filter as it's been over 35 days since I setup the whole thing. They are saying the blue part in the filter has to be replaced every month (there's a blue sponge and a rougher white floss like grid in it). Is the blue sponge carbon or is it the actual bio-filter that bacterias are growing in?

 

[OldMan47]

Ignore the suggestions of the manufacturer. Those suggestions are intended to get you to buy their specific filter media and provide them with a profit. Instead join the rest of us in simply rinsing plugged media in a bucket of old tank water, the kind you end up with during a water change. I have filters well over 3 years old that have yet to see any new media. They work just fine and I maintain them with nothing more than simple rinses. I can appreciate your unease at going against the manufacturer's suggestions, but experience has taught many of us that the manufacturer cares more about his profit than about fish. Fish care that their ammonia and nitrite is being removed adequately, which that nasty old filter is doing it perfectly well. Manufacturers care more about the "bottom line" which a filter change helps out immensely. It is up to you to decide which is more important to you.