Few fish in Cycle questions

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Oh! for water changes, if you float something like a plastic bowl, or even a sheet of clingfilm on the surface then gently pour the water over that, it spreads the water out so it refills more gently, and doesn't disturb your plants and substrate too much.

 

[Essjay]

For refilling, I pour the water through a home-made 'colander' - a large yogurt pot with as many holes as I could fit stabbed in the bottom with a knitting needle.

 

[AilyNC]

Yeah I went through the shop's website looking for low maintenance plants. The pink plant was mid level of effort but I wanted to break up all the green. It's actually very tall already so I will have a look at separating it out.

I think I may lose another fish as she's hanging out on the bottom a lot this morning. Her side fins are ragged and scales not looking as bright as usual. She's unbelievably harassed by the one male Platy. Hoping today's water change will help her though.

Ammonia is about 0.25 again.

 

[AilyNC]

Day 13 of 75% daily WCs.

Today my Ammonia is 0, Nitrate 0 (I tested both against control using tap water)

My nitrate is between 5-10. I find the vote hard to read as my tap water nitrate is above 20.

Am I good to skip a water change today?

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Day 13 of 75% daily WCs.

Today my Ammonia is 0, Nitrate 0 (I tested both against control using tap water)

My nitrate is between 5-10. I find the vote hard to read as my tap water nitrate is above 20.

Am I good to skip a water change today?

View attachment 113051

Yep! Test results are great, no water change needed

Just keep the tests going daily for now, and change if ammonia or nitrites are anything other than zero, or if nitrates reach 40 or above. Usually I change once they hit 20, but since you have higher nitrates straight from the tap, you should still be safe as long as they're under 40ppm.

Looks like you might finally be fully cycled, yay! You did it! Weekly water changes of 50-75% should be enough to mantain now, but keep testing frequently for a while to be sure, it might need doing twice a week with your current stocking and tank size, just depends on your tap water, bioload, feeding, amount of fast growing plants etc. Keeping a log of your water test results will let you know if weekly is enough or if you need to do it more often at the moment. Like my tank is usually fine with weekly, but when there's a lot of guppy fry or they're getting quite large and will be going to store soon, I have to do them twice a week.

Congrats again on turning this tank around so much, so fast! I know it's a lot of work, and your dedication is very admirable.

 

[Essjay]

Congrats again on turning this tank around so much, so fast! I know it's a lot of work, and your dedication is very admirable.

I agree, you've done a remarkable job

 

[AilyNC]

Thanks guys! I'll test daily & expect it's too early for weekly changes. But hopefully the hardest work is behind me. It's been a busy 13 days but I feel better now than before I joined the forum & the tank & fish are doing better too.

Once I get a week or two of good rest results & through the ICH high temp I'll look at addressing the stock issues. 9 platy fry will grow quickly!

Thanks all so much