Help in cycling my tank

[Matty24]

Hello guys I'm new to the forum and looking for some help I've read a few of the other threads regarding similar issues I am a beginner in the aquarium seen so I am very blue but have done a fair amount of research before setting up but I have alot to learn I'm currently at the stage I have 0/0.2 ammonia but really high nitrite and nitrate tanks been cycling around 2 weeks but I'm unsure on how, what or if I need to ammonia to my tank its a 130litre tank with all live plants I've had black spot alge in the tank also for around 5 days, as of today I've added co2 to the tank to try give the plants a lift im running an internal filter (aqua one maxi 104f) which came with the tank I've upgraded the filter via a video watch on YouTube (pond guru I believe) any info on what to do would be great.


Thanks

Matty

 

[outofwater]

Welcome, thats a nice looking tank and setup!

As for the cycle, I would seem it's "halfway there". How often are you testing? Have you seen any changes in the nitrite numbers? How often are you "seeding" ammonia and in what concentration?

I don't use co2 on my tanks, so can't comment on that, except that algae is usually the product of an imbalance between nutrients and light.
Do you "feed" the plants anything?
How long do you keep the lights on?

And is it any "special" light made specifically to help plants or just a regular tank light (be it fluorescent or LED)

 

[Matty24]

Welcome, thats a nice looking tank and setup!

As for the cycle, I would seem it's "halfway there". How often are you testing? Have you seen any changes in the nitrite numbers? How often are you "seeding" ammonia and in what concentration?

I don't use co2 on my tanks, so can't comment on that, except that algae is usually the product of an imbalance between nutrients and light.
Do you "feed" the plants anything?
How long do you keep the lights on?

And is it any "special" light made specifically to help plants or just a regular tank light (be it fluorescent or LED)

 

[Matty24]

I started the tank on the 1st of April I didnt start testing until the 6th, since the 6th the nitrite levels have just kept rising and has been 8.0 for the last week ammonia started off at 0.5 for the first week then has started to drop and yesterday was the first day of 0 ammonia, as for ammonia I havent added any ammonia don't really understand or know which product specifically to use, ive been using tropica Specialised Nutrition for the past 8 days, as for light it's just the led light that came with the tank (aqua one horizon) started off 10 hours of light a day then the alge started so I dropped the lighting hours down to 8 hours, I started off with the lighting come on at 5pm and going off at 2am but I then get natural lighting through my French doors during the day (only so I could see the tank) in the light in the evening when I'm home so I was thinking maybe the way I had it it was getting to much light, now changed it to come on 1pm and go off at 11pm think that covers most of what you asked thanks.

 

[Colin_T]

Hi Matty and welcome to the forum

Don't bother testing for nitrates until the ammonia and nitrite have both gone up and come back down to 0ppm. Nitrate test kits read nitrite as nitrate and give you a false reading.

You need a picture on the back of the tank to make the fish feel more secure, when you get some.

Make sure you have at least 100ppm KH (carbonate hardness) in the tank water to stop the pH dropping due to the CO2 being acidic.

Reduce aeration during the day when using CO2 because the aeration/ surface turbulence encourages gas exchange and will help drive out excess CO2 and replace it with oxygen (O2).

I probably wouldn't use CO2 yet due to the small size of the plants and due to cycling the tank. When the tank has cycled and the plants are bigger, then use CO2 if you want.

CO2 can drop the pH and the beneficial filter bacteria don't like acid water or low oxygen levels that are associated with supplemental CO2. If you leave the CO2 off until after the tank has cycled, it will allow the good filter bacteria a chance to develop faster.

If you post pictures of the algae we might be able to offer more info on that.

 

[Slaphppy7]

Hi Matty and welcome to the forum

Don't bother testing for nitrates until the ammonia and nitrite have both gone up and come back down to 0ppm. Nitrate test kits read nitrite as nitrate and give you a false reading.

You need a picture on the back of the tank to make the fish feel more secure, when you get some.

Make sure you have at least 100ppm KH (carbonate hardness) in the tank water to stop the pH dropping due to the CO2 being acidic.

Reduce aeration during the day when using CO2 because the aeration/ surface turbulence encourages gas exchange and will help drive out excess CO2 and replace it with oxygen (O2).

I probably wouldn't use CO2 yet due to the small size of the plants and due to cycling the tank. When the tank has cycled and the plants are bigger, then use CO2 if you want.

CO2 can drop the pH and the beneficial filter bacteria don't like acid water or low oxygen levels that are associated with supplemental CO2. If you leave the CO2 off until after the tank has cycled, it will allow the good filter bacteria a chance to develop faster.

If you post pictures of the algae we might be able to offer more info on that.

"I probably wouldn't use CO2 yet due to the small size of the plants and due to cycling the tank. When the tank has cycled and the plants are bigger, then use CO2 if you want."

Agreed....CO2 use during a cycle just complicates matters

 

[Matty24]

Ok thanks for the replies as of now I have turned the co2 off, as of now am I right in believing I should be adding ammonia to the tank?? This is what I've been told on another forum I've read different opinions here and there I'm just looking for a straight answer if so which product would you recommend sorry for what seems such basic questions to most of you

Thanks

 

[Essjay]

Yes, ammonia is added once certain targets have been reached. Too much ammonia makes so much nitrite the cycle stalls.

Cycling Your New Fresh Water Tank: Read This First!

Cycling Your First Fresh Water Tank What is Cycling and Why is it Important? Fish waste, and especially fish breathing, plus uneaten food and other organic matter breaking down in a tank all produce Ammonia. This can quickly become toxic to fish if it is allowed to build up to any measurable...

www.fishforums.net

 

[outofwater]

I'm a bit out of my depth here. The specialized nutrition seems obviously great for your plants, I'm not sure if that provides ammonia too, or where your bacteria is getting it from, but clearly you have bacteria at work because your nitrites are there. As Colin mentioned the nitrites should come down and then you'll get "true" nitrate readings, however based on my experience that should already start happening which is why I asked if you had any readings for it yet. The more experienced forum members will provide more insights for you. Again, very nice looking tank, it's getting there.

 

[Matty24]

I'm a bit out of my depth here. The specialized nutrition seems obviously great for your plants, I'm not sure if that provides ammonia too, or where your bacteria is getting it from, but clearly you have bacteria at work because your nitrites are there. As Colin mentioned the nitrites should come down and then you'll get "true" nitrate readings, however based on my experience that should already start happening which is why I asked if you had any readings for it yet. The more experienced forum members will provide more insights for you. Again, very nice looking tank, it's getting there.

Very rough and basic but this is what I have from the 6th until today

 

[Slaphppy7]

See the link provided by @Essjay above.

 

[Matty24]

See the link provided by @Essjay above.

Completely missed it wish I had that link from the start, seems I've probably stalled the cycle but not understanding as and when to add the ammonia

 

[outofwater]

Completely missed it wish I had that link from the start, seems I've probably stalled the cycle but not understanding as and when to add the ammonia

There are many views on "bacteria in a bottle" products, but in my experience seachem stability has worked great.. it helped me cycle my tanks in 2 or 3 weeks tops, and I've cycled 3 of them already, 1 from scratch, 2 with help of "seeding bacteria" from sponges and other hard surface things (decorations, rocks, plants) moved from the cycled tank to the new ones). It might help you too.

 

[Matty24]

Can anyone work out at which part of the cycle I am currently at in simple terms understanding this is crazing me, I have ordered "Dr Tim's ammonium chloride solution" unless anyone can point me in a better direction

 

[outofwater]

My guess is that your bacteria starved, which is why I had asked if you were feeding them with ammonia or if the plant "food" contained ammonia. That would also explain why you're reading nitrites and no ammonia. There's a chance that some bacteria is still there. If you add ammonia and after a day or two it goes down that'd be proof you still have bacteria there (as you mentioned you're looking at Dr Tim's product).