Is My Water Cycled?

[ronkey]

Hi

Can some one advise, Some fry have appeared in tank, Set up for about a month.

Left tank for two and half weeks then added 3 danios within 4 days all dead, took sample of water to fish supplier told water condition not bad slightly high ammonia performed water change left for a week.

I was thinking of trying some new fish (platys) this week when my daughter pointed out fry in tank, only a few,does this mean my tank's water is in good condition or is it too soon to be fully cycled?.

These fry not enough to complete cycle, should i put adult fish in tank, my daughter does not like the idea of fry being eaten.

Ronkey

 

[donna123]

hi,
if you want to keep the cycle going with fish,its well worth getting your own testing kit so you can keep an eye on ammonia,nitrite etc,have you got any one who could look after the fry in a breeder net in their tank?
if not all you can do is add hiding places and hope for the best, they may not make it through the cycle,
all the best with your tank donna

 

[ronkey]

hi,
if you want to keep the cycle going with fish,its well worth getting your own testing kit so you can keep an eye on ammonia,nitrite etc,have you got any one who could look after the fry in a breeder net in their tank?
if not all you can do is add hiding places and hope for the best, they may not make it through the cycle,
all the best with your tank donna

Hi Donna

Thanks for your reply, unfortunately i have no alternative arrangement for the fry.

I should go ahead with purchasing some more adult fish, I was going to take a water sample to the fish supplier for them to test before purchasing more fish.

I will follow your advice and buy my own tester kit, So many to choose from any advice?.

Once again thanks for replying

Ronkey

 

[donna123]

hi again
what size tank have you got?
there is lots of testing kits to choose from, some people dont like using the test sticks because they believe the results are not accurate, i use the fresh water master test kit, i got it from pets at home it is expensive at about £20, but you get up to 7oo tests .it tests for ph, ammonia ,nitrite and nitrate,
its a liquid test kit you get test tubes with it. its good to see the resuls infront of you and you can test as often as you wish.hth donna

 

[ronkey]

hi again
what size tank have you got?
there is lots of testing kits to choose from, some people dont like using the test sticks because they believe the results are not accurate, i use the fresh water master test kit, i got it from pets at home it is expensive at about £20, but you get up to 7oo tests .it tests for ph, ammonia ,nitrite and nitrate,
its a liquid test kit you get test tubes with it. its good to see the resuls infront of you and you can test as often as you wish.hth donna

My tank is only 18" high by 12" by 12" i will go on to something bigger in the future, I was going to take a sample to the shop this weekend, i must put some fish in there or the cycle cannot complete its self,
I am amazed they are still alive!!.

 

[stephen2825]

its cycled for deffs.

 

[ronkey]

its cycled for deffs.

Thanks for your input stephen, I will let the fry grow and buy a test kit has donna suggested, what about water change should i do them weekly for these tiny fish, I suppose they are living off matter in the tank at the moment.

 

[donna123]

its cycled for deffs.

to be cycled the tank would show no ammonia,no nitrite but some nitrate which we keep below 50 if possable by a water change. fry need feeding 2-3 times a day as they have small insides. so keeping water clean is important, feed them flake thats crushed to a powder brine shrimp ect, when you get your test kit it will be easy to monitor to water levels,you could do more smaller water changes instead of one big one.say 10%. hth donna

 

[ronkey]

its cycled for deffs.

to be cycled the tank would show no ammonia,no nitrite but some nitrate which we keep below 50 if possable by a water change. fry need feeding 2-3 times a day as they have small insides. so keeping water clean is important, feed them flake thats crushed to a powder brine shrimp ect, when you get your test kit it will be easy to monitor to water levels,you could do more smaller water changes instead of one big one.say 10%. hth donna

I wondered about feeding them, I have not cleaned the filter since i started the tank, Should i do water changes once a week?

 

[carrera]

25-50% change per week is standard

 

[donna123]

hi,
i would do 2 small water changes a week say 10%, changing to much will delay the cycle.dont worry about cleaning the filter untill cycle is complete.the cycle in my daughters tank has taken 4weeks the filters in hers were lightly swished in old tank water after the cycle was done.hth donna .

 

[ronkey]

hi,
i would do 2 small water changes a week say 10%, changing to much will delay the cycle.dont worry about cleaning the filter untill cycle is complete.the cycle in my daughters tank has taken 4weeks the filters in hers were lightly swished in old tank water after the cycle was done.hth donna .

I am going to buy the water kit today, If the amonia levels are up, are water changes the answer?

 

[mike_nofx]

im no expert, but, i would say the tank is NOT cycled. As there are no fish in the tank (Even fry would probably make no difference) there is no ammonia being produced, so nothing to feed the bacteria.

So if you do get a 0 ammonia reading, i would not guarantee your tank is cycled. You SHOULD get a 0 ammonia reading having no fish in there anyway!

Even if your tank WAS cycled at one point, i would say most bacteria has died off in the absence of fish.

But i would confirm everything you read here!

 

[ronkey]

im no expert, but, i would say the tank is NOT cycled. As there are no fish in the tank (Even fry would probably make no difference) there is no ammonia being produced, so nothing to feed the bacteria.

So if you do get a 0 ammonia reading, i would not guarantee your tank is cycled. You SHOULD get a 0 ammonia reading having no fish in there anyway!

Even if your tank WAS cycled at one point, i would say most bacteria has died off in the absence of fish.

But i would confirm everything you read here!

I am buying a test kit this weekend to check the tanks environment, Do you know of a good test kit i can buy?, Should i also buy a bacteria product for the tank to help the cycle along.

 

[unspoken930]

if you get bacteria, marineland makes this stuff called bio spira, and even if the dosage is too much for your tank, put it all in anyways (this is what ive read and what i do....) because it cant hurt, only help...now im not telling you to go get enough to treat a 75 gal when you only have a 15 but if it treats a 20 gal and you have 15 then go for it