Cycling Tank? Help!

[T'sMommy]

Hi guys; brand new to the forum! Just got my boy Takeo a little over a week ago and I have been reading nonstop to make sure I'm taking good care of him. But I somehow never came across tank cycling until today. I'm so confused and terrified because now since he's already in there I will have to cycle the tank with him in it right? How do I keep the amonia and nitrate levels from killing him and what do I do to get a healthy level of bacteria established? He is currently in a 2.5 gal with a very gentle sponge filter; heater was unsuitable so none right now as I'm looking for a better one, but his temp stays steady around 76 degrees. Anyway, any and all advice would be great I do not want him to die. He is a beautiful reddish halfmoon by the way I thought about buying a live plant this weekend as they're supposed to eat amonia would that help?

 

[Joanne_]

This link may help you

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/277264-beginners-resource-center/

 

[rebeljim300]

Get some "stress zyme+" at your pet store. It helps by adding "good" bacteria to the water. It will help to cycle your tank faster. Also pickup some test strips and test your water. PS Make sure you add a water conditioner to remove the cloirhine from the tap water.

 

[Essjay]

Don't get test strips as they are not very accurate, and most don't test for ammonia. Get yourself some liquid reagent testers (the type with bottles and test tubes). If you can't afford a master kit at the moment, get just ammonia and nitrite testers. Then follow the fish-in cycling thread in the link that Joanne gave you.
Basically, you need to be doing plenty of water changes until the bacteria grow in your filter. Some people keep bettas in unfiltered tanks, and they keep the fish healthy by frequent water changes.

You can try using stress zyme if you want, but it may or may not work.

 

[omega59]

Most pet shops will test your water for you free. The one here uses liquid test so i would go there. Just keep-up with water changes and don't over feed. In 6 weeks it should be cycled up. Good Luck.

 

[pablothebetta]

You'll need to do good sized regular water changes to keep the ammonia and nitrite levels down during the fish in cycle but bettas are usually very hardy fish so he should be ok so long as you keep on top of it

 

[T'sMommy]

Thanks everyone! I won't be able to get to the pet store for the testing stuff until this weekend, guess I will just keep an obsessive eye on him until then

 

[pablothebetta]

I have heard of products which lower/get rid of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels by turning them into other harmless substances. I don't know how well they work, but if you are unable to get any testing equipment until the weekend, this may be an idea for you until you can properly cycle the tank if you can get hold of some.

 

[OldMan47]

Welcome TsMommy.
If you keep a close eye on your new pet and he is comfortable, the water has probably not gone outside his comfort zone. A temperature of around 76 to 80F is fine unless you are trying to breed him. When you search for a test kit, try looking on line. My LFS sells an API master test kit for about $30 while I can buy one on line for less than $20. That kit contains good enough tests for anything you will need for your betta. As pablo says, there are things that claim to reduce chemical poisons to acceptable levels. Do not believe everything that you read. The only way that I know to reduce chemical poisons in my water is to do a huge water change. If I read a chemical result that indicates a need for action, I typically do a water change of at least 90%. It is simply a value that I use to allow me to wait a bit longer before my next water change. In reality, you can use the measured value of a chemical and figure out the ratio it would take to make that concentration safe for the fish but I like to err on the safe side of things.

 

[T'sMommy]

I had been doing half changes a couple times a week but after reading scary ammonia poisoning stories have been doing them every day just to be safe. Do any of you have live plants and if so what works best for a small tank and can they live without natural light? Thinking maybe a live one will help with the cycle? I need to get him a better set up anyway I bought plastic they are supposed to be gentle on fins and I haven't noticed any tearing but I've been reading that plastic is bad so gonna toss them. Also, any advice on the best heaters for a 2.5 gallon? DON'T want him to boil so I've been wary of buying one I need one that will only raise the temp a little bit. He's doing great right now and is so fun to have and seems happy and active!

 

[OldMan47]

A live plant will help loads because plants absorb nitrogen for growth. A nice low light plant that grows fast enough to help with ammonia is a java fern. It does fine with very low light, compared to what high tech plant people use. A typical aquarium light arrangement that runs 6 to 8 hours a day is plenty to keep one growing nicely. I use mechanical timers for my planted tanks so that the plants can rely on a particular amount of light. It helps when you are trying to adjust things to minimize algae while promoting growth of the desired plant. For nitrogen control, even algae works very nicely but most people don't care much for it.

 

[T'sMommy]

I got a plant it is really small with nice broad green leaves; forget what it is called but he loves it! Got a terra cotta pot too but he hasn't gone in it yet Still can't get my hands on a water testing kit (darn petco) so gonna order online. I've been doing 50% water changes daily and full ones a couple times a week just in case.

 

[pablothebetta]

[quote name='T'sMommy' timestamp='1331780706' post='3283565']
I got a plant it is really small with nice broad green leaves
[/quote]
Anubias?
I have found hygrophila polysperma to be a plant which grows very quickly, so that might be worth looking into. Relatively low-light too I believe.

 

[OldMan47]

As pablo has guessed, Anubias is one of the plant genus, with broad leaves, that will grow well under minimal lighting conditions. I will take any plant at all that thrives in my tanks including Anubias, java fern, duckweed, frogbit, Cryptocoryne or java moss. All of them remove just tons of nitrogen in order to grow.

 

[Amanita.m]

Prime and Ammolock will def help protect fish from ammonia spikes. Had one due to a large rotting plant bulb under my gravel (that I forgot was there and couldn't find), was doing 50% water changes a day and the ammonia still spiked to almost 4 PPM at it's worst, used prime and ammolock, and tested for "free ammonia" (the toxic kind) and it didn't even register ANY...fish were fine, eating, (was scared to feed them much while it was happening, but when I did they all went after it) behaving normally during the process. After finding and discarding the bulb, and another couple massive water changes, all was back to normal. Prime will lock ammonia for 24-36 hours before the bond is reversed, ammolock apparently longer, but it gives u time to change water and fix the problem and protects the fish by converting the ammonia to ammonium. Tests that test total ammonia will still give u ammonia readings while using these products, but it will have been rendered temporarily non-toxic. Not a permanent solution (you would never want to KEEP it at 2-4 ppm ammonia,lol) but helpful in a pinch...3 days of ammonia between 2-4 PPM and I didn't loose a fish and they all acted normal. Was still scared out of my wits till I fixed the problem tho. From now on will not bury any bulbs till AFTER they sprout,lol. Prime would be good to use during water changes while tank is cycling just as a precaution...even low levels of free ammonia can irritate fish. Ideally try to keep the ammonia no more than .25 ppm while cycling, and use prime and u should be ok. (u need a bit of ammonia to feed the bacteria) A good liquid test kit is uber important!
Wouldn't claim to be an expert, but my father bred fish as a hobby for many years and got me into it when I was 4. I am 41 now The fact that my dad is a chemist def helped me learn about water quality!