Alm0stAwesome
Fish Aficionado
Yep! Nitrate tells you that your nitrifying bacteria are starting to develop 
I Got My Test Kit, I'm 2 Weeks Into A "fish In Cycle" Advi
- Thread starter blur411
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OP
OP
blur411
Fish Fanatic
*Update*
I'm 5 weeks into the cycle now, I have been doing my water changes, often and 50% or more and always after those my nitrites shoot back up to 2-5 range within 24 hours. I went and bought some Hornwort (I liked the way it looked) and added it to the tank...since then my Nitrites have been trending down without water changes, and my ammonia is at 0 and my nitrites are ranging between 0-.5. My Nitrates are not very high though, between 0-5. Is the Hornwort helping, hindering, or was it just coincidence that my levels started changing drastically at this time. Am I on the right track even with the nitrates so low? Also, since I'm reading nearly 0 on the ammonia and nitrites should I continue the water changes? I did about 15% today because there was a ton of poop today (I swear it wasn't there this morning but this evening there was a TON) so I vacuumed that out.
I'm 5 weeks into the cycle now, I have been doing my water changes, often and 50% or more and always after those my nitrites shoot back up to 2-5 range within 24 hours. I went and bought some Hornwort (I liked the way it looked) and added it to the tank...since then my Nitrites have been trending down without water changes, and my ammonia is at 0 and my nitrites are ranging between 0-.5. My Nitrates are not very high though, between 0-5. Is the Hornwort helping, hindering, or was it just coincidence that my levels started changing drastically at this time. Am I on the right track even with the nitrates so low? Also, since I'm reading nearly 0 on the ammonia and nitrites should I continue the water changes? I did about 15% today because there was a ton of poop today (I swear it wasn't there this morning but this evening there was a TON) so I vacuumed that out.
Alm0stAwesome
Fish Aficionado
Hi there! Thanks for the update, it's nice to hear how you're getting on
It looks like you ammonia-eating bacteria have now developed to the point to handle your fish but your nitrite-eating bacs aren't quite there yet. This is normal and I've heard it said that the nitrite eaters take 2 to 3 times as long to grow as the ammonia-eaters. This also makes sense for your previous high nitrite readings because the ammonia was quickly getting converted into nitrite but there was nothing there to "eat" it.
Keep on doing your water changes because even at .5 it is still harmful but you are nearing the end now
Your nitrates seem quite low to me. Have you checked your tap water to see is there is any nitrates present? I imagine they will increase as your nitrites decrease, this is normal and perfectly OK. Your nitrates are only harmful at very high levels (e.g. 300ppm!). Many people have somewhere around 20-40 at all times and this is fine so don't worry! Apparently as long as you can keep your nitrates to no more than 20ppm OVER what comes in your tap water, then you are doing well.
I hope this helps
It looks like you ammonia-eating bacteria have now developed to the point to handle your fish but your nitrite-eating bacs aren't quite there yet. This is normal and I've heard it said that the nitrite eaters take 2 to 3 times as long to grow as the ammonia-eaters. This also makes sense for your previous high nitrite readings because the ammonia was quickly getting converted into nitrite but there was nothing there to "eat" it.
Keep on doing your water changes because even at .5 it is still harmful but you are nearing the end now
Your nitrates seem quite low to me. Have you checked your tap water to see is there is any nitrates present? I imagine they will increase as your nitrites decrease, this is normal and perfectly OK. Your nitrates are only harmful at very high levels (e.g. 300ppm!). Many people have somewhere around 20-40 at all times and this is fine so don't worry! Apparently as long as you can keep your nitrates to no more than 20ppm OVER what comes in your tap water, then you are doing well.
I hope this helps
OP
OP
blur411
Fish Fanatic
That does help thanks! I dont have any Nitrates in my tap water, but is it OK if my nitrates are not anywhere near the 20ppm? Also, it's kind of nice because my nitrites don't get to a readable level for a couple days now, instead of every 24 hours (lots of water changes, I'm surprised my apartment hasn't said anything about my water bill haha). Alm0st Awesome you have been consistently helpful to me, thanks for all your help in getting my tank where I want it. Also, thank you to everyone else as well!!
Alm0stAwesome
Fish Aficionado
Ah well that will explain why they are quite low, especially with all of your water changes they haven't been able to build up. You do need nitrates to some extent for your live plants but once you are finished with the cycle, and are down to just weekly water changes, then the nitrates will get a chance to build up and feed your plants, so it's all good! If you find your plants are struggling you may want to add a liquid fertiliser, or you may just want to do that even if they aren't!
You are very welcome, I'm glad I could help!
You are very welcome, I'm glad I could help!
OP
OP
blur411
Fish Fanatic
I've been using tetra floura-pride.. I had trouble finding reviews on a good one, so I just went with that one.
Alm0stAwesome
Fish Aficionado
I'm new with plants myself so no use at reccommending a fertiliser. I've been using TPN+ as it's one I've seen reccomended on the forum
IF your hornwort is growing well it will be consuming ammonia as fertilizer, just like it will pull out nitrates. That leaves only the intermediate form in your tank. Once the plants get caught up consuming all ammonia, the nitrite will no longer be produced because there will be no ammonia to convert.
OP
OP
blur411
Fish Fanatic
Does this allow my bacteria enough food? should I take the hornwort out?
OP
OP
blur411
Fish Fanatic
Day 3 of reading 0 across the board...is this OK? Please, any input on if I should take that hornwort out?
Prime Ordeal
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You should take it out so that you can see if your ammonia and nitrite remain at zero without it and your nitrate gradually increases. You'll then know that you're cycled.
On the other hand, if you don't intend to add any more fish any time soon, then just leave it in and basically stop worrying. The tank will cycle quite happily over the next several weeks and you'll then be ready to add more fish if you want to.
Hornwort is a great oxygenator and a great eater of all three toxins, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, which is why I usually recommend it as the first plant a newbie uses in their tank.
On the other hand, if you don't intend to add any more fish any time soon, then just leave it in and basically stop worrying. The tank will cycle quite happily over the next several weeks and you'll then be ready to add more fish if you want to.
Hornwort is a great oxygenator and a great eater of all three toxins, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, which is why I usually recommend it as the first plant a newbie uses in their tank.
OP
OP
blur411
Fish Fanatic
Thank for the advice!!!
I am going to vehemently disagree with PO on this subject. If you have had good chemical readings, do not worry too much about why. We can help you work that out. Simply removing plants in order to expose your fish to poisons sounds less than optimal to me. My first priority is fish health, not PO's lack of real world experiences.
Prime Ordeal
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Perhaps your eyesight is going with age Old Man, didn't you see this line:
"On the other hand, if you don't intend to add any more fish any time soon, then just leave it in and basically stop worrying. The tank will cycle quite happily over the next several weeks and you'll then be ready to add more fish if you want to."
Or is your obvious bias against me just getting the better of you and forcing you to insult me personally?
Highly inappropriate for a moderator.
P.S. Blur, sorry that OldMan has seen fit to disrupt your thread.
OP
OP
blur411
Fish Fanatic
Thanks, since the water levels have been good for about 5 days now, (meaning reading 0 across the board), I went ahead and added a few more fish. 12 hours after adding them everything is still 0, I also added a few more plants as well today. I will continue to monitor it...How long should I be doing daily water testing? I'm still doing small water changes (not the large ones I was doing). I added 5 yoyo loaches, I hope that wasn't too much at one time, but its the first pet store I found with them and they said they don't get them often so I bought the last 5 they had.
*Edit*
I also took the hornwort out for about 15-16 hours, and levels were still 0..Not sure if that was long enough...but I guess we will find out in the next few days. Before this, the levels would be significantly higher after 12 hours...back up to around 2ppm of Nitrite so I felt safe with 0 after 15
*Edit*
I also took the hornwort out for about 15-16 hours, and levels were still 0..Not sure if that was long enough...but I guess we will find out in the next few days. Before this, the levels would be significantly higher after 12 hours...back up to around 2ppm of Nitrite so I felt safe with 0 after 15
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