Just Learning-Not A New Tank!

[smarch93]

I'm not a new aquarium keeper but I'm a newly educating aquarium keeper.  I've kept my 10 gal. tank for 3 years now ignorantly, and never knew about cycling, and never went through any process, so I all of a sudden have a whole lot of questions.  This is a betta tank, 10 gal, heated, in the process of being planted. 
 
I was getting ready to get a handful of shrimp and 2 snails to add in with my betta, because I want a community tank but don't have a community fish, I like having a few things at when I look in the tank and after asking a forum I was a part of about suitable tankmates, I was introduced to the idea of the nitrogen cycle.  For the first time ever I got a test kit, freshwater API master kit, instead of strips I got and barely used.  I knew in the past I had always had ammonia problems with my goldfish, I just assumed that was in part to their mass production of waste.  But I tested yesterday and the ammonia turned bright green: BAD!! and no nitrites or nitrates.  So I added some ammonia detoxifier but its not a permanent solution... I need to get my tank cycling! I'm doing a water change tonight (we have arsenic in our well water so we have a special filter or drinking water but it only filters 2 gal. about every 2 hours, and only has a 2 gal. capacity, so filling water for changes can be a pain when we use the water for cooking that night) I can't take my betta out since all I have are 1 gal tanks which he would probably die in, so i'm trying to cycle with him in the tank (I guess i'm using the fish in method since I have no choice, I had thought it was a well established tank since it had been running for so long.  The only time I ever cleaned the bio filter was in between goldfish and betta, since the goldfish died of a horrible fungus that NOTHING was treating, so I didn't want it anywhere near new fish! I have a tetra Whisper filter for 20 gals (since with my goldfish that filter power was needed), so the bio-filter is a little insert with spines that the bacteria stick to, is this an adequate bio-filter? I know the ammonia was extra elevated because due to personal matters I missed changing the filter for 2 months (bad bad I know, but my  life literally did have a falling apart moment and one of the most important things was forgotten) I'm writing it in my planner large when carbon filter changes are required so that never happens again, I was relying on the red timer strips that come with the cartridges but they're just as easy to forget about as the filter.  I read somewhere the bio-filter is necessary in all aquariums (weird because the tanks original filter had no bio insert...) but that chemical (carbon) filtration wasn't required, I currently have my activated carbon out but is it important? I can put a new one in, I just don't know if they're actually important after reading that. 
 
I put in so bioenzyme, I've read people have successes and failures with it but I had it because a petco employee told me to get it when I had my goldfish water testing high ammonia, I only now know why he said to get it.  But due to its age (probably around 2 years) it probably wont have effect, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to at least try to introduce it. 
 
I just need some advice on what exactly to do next.  I'll test it again either tonight or tomorrow and see if anything is changing, but I am beginning to doubt my tank ever had nitrates or nitrites, and that's a little alarming that I've been caring this poor for so long...
 
Also my PH was around 6, so I'm not sure if the water change will help that (can I test both the aquarium water and water straight from my filtered faucet to compare? or will that not matter?)
 
Basically I know cycling requires a lot of time and not too much additions on my part with a fish producing the ammonia, so do I just sit and wait for it to cycle? If theres no Nitrites (or Nitrates) this long having the tank established are there more problems I need to focus on? Should I clean out the bio-filter and start over at this point? I mean I've had betta in this tank for over a year at this point.  Or should I start looking closer at the care I've been giving and my filter and water change lapses, and while working to adjust those to proper maintenance watch and see if anything changes?
 
If there's any information I haven't provided that is needed just let me know.  Because i'm new to this stuff and not being a horrible ignorant aquarium keeper.
 
~Sarah
 
 

 

[Ninjouzata]

You don't need to run carbon at all, it's mainly used for removing medications. You should not be changing your filter at all as that is where majority of your bacteria live.
If you change it out then you are having to re-cycle the tank all over again. I'dd add some foam/sponge media to the filter as well.
 
You can test your tap water, usually best to leave it out for 24 hours though. If your pH is at 6 then it could be lower.
 
You're using a liquid test kit and not the strips now right? What is your tank's water parameters? (pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate) You have to keep a close eye on these as they can kill your fish, so when they get to a certain point (someone more experienced will have to say when this point is as it depends on your pH and some other things) you may need to water change or add salt (salt is used for binding nitrites). 
 
What is your water change schedule? How often and how much?
What do you feed your betta? How often and how much?
 
Have a read of THIS if you havn't already. You can't follow it as adding ammonia would kill your betta but it should give you a better idea of the nitrogen cycle.

 

[Elena]

Yeah I wouldn't touch your filter right now you need to build up the good bacteria worst thing you can do is wash it all away or change it. I don't even replace mine if its really bad I just give it a squeeze out in some old tank water and that's it.
 
Make sure your not over feeding him too, that will just make the build up of toxins worse, bettas never seem to say no to food so it can be easy to feed them too much.
 
I did the same as you bought a betta and other fish I didn't know anything about cycling a tank, this forum has really helped! I only started reading up about the cycle when I had just got my fish so it was too late. After that I made sure I did 40% daily water changes to keep all the toxins down and I haven't lost a fish yet. It can take between 6-8 weeks for a tank to cycle fully so make sure you keep on top of the water changes until then and leave the filter alone to do its stuff! Good luck

 

[smarch93]

You don't need to run carbon at all, it's mainly used for removing medications. You should not be changing your filter at all as that is where majority of your bacteria live.
If you change it out then you are having to re-cycle the tank all over again. I'dd add some foam/sponge media to the filter as well.
 
You can test your tap water, usually best to leave it out for 24 hours though. If your pH is at 6 then it could be lower.
 
You're using a liquid test kit and not the strips now right? What is your tank's water parameters? (pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate) You have to keep a close eye on these as they can kill your fish, so when they get to a certain point (someone more experienced will have to say when this point is as it depends on your pH and some other things) you may need to water change or add salt (salt is used for binding nitrites). 
 
What is your water change schedule? How often and how much?
What do you feed your betta? How often and how much?
 
Have a read of THIS if you havn't already. You can't follow it as adding ammonia would kill your betta but it should give you a better idea of the nitrogen cycle.

I've only ever replaced carbon filter cartridges, only once cleaned the bio filter, between my goldfish and my betta since there was a fungus nothing treated and I didn't want it to contaminate so I started completely over.  I've always understood carbon was very important, I've always run the carbon cartridges because that's just what I've always known until literally yesterday when I read you actually don't need them.  I'll take pictures of my filter and my bio cartridge because i'm beginning to think its weird.  But when you say add foam, would I put that where the carbon cartridge would normally go in my tank? does that then make it a part of the bio filter and cant be removed? if so what happens when I need to remove medications with carbon? The filter would be full.  I have my old stock filter I got with the tank, 10 gal capacity, no bio filter slot, and could run dual filters until medication is out. 
 
My "tap water" isn't really "Tap" we have a well and specially filtered drinking water due to arsenic so I've never treated the water ummm yeah i'm going to look into that too, what type things should I look for in a conditioner, since I know 100% theres no chlorine/chloramine, are there other things I need to look for? or is it honestly ok to not treat it and just allow it to sit a little before?
Its a reverse osmosis filter if that helps, because arsenic is practically impossible to filter out otherwise so pretty much anything harmful is gone, we've never pre-treated fish water.  Would stress coat alone be ok as a treater?
 
Yes liquid tests.  So much better than strips! the strips were so annoying I never ended up using them!
 
Yesterdays tests:
PH: 6, you said it could be lower, but I read it should be a little higher?
Ammonia:~3-4ppm: added detoxifier and am doing a large water change tonight
Nitrites: 0ppm
Nitrates:0ppm
 
a little alarming since this bio filter has been established and untouched for a year and its apparently not cycled at all. 
 
Heres the part you're allowed to yell and judge, I've been a horrible aquarium keeper and I know it now. 
Water changes: initially  did them once a month, but then it got easy to slip and forget for longer times and by the time I got rid of goldfish and switched to betta my water changing took a severe downturn.  I honestly cant tell you how often I used to do them... when I remembered, which wasn't very often.  I'm setting up dates in my planner once I get everything established to do it every 2 weeks, and until then i'll do it as often as the levels make me, potentially daily 20% ones for a little unless that's too much. 
I'm well aware my past care for the tank sucked, so you don't really need to tell me that much (judge if you may, I judge myself!) Im focusing now on what I need to do, so I cant really speak much for my current care since these past few days have been my switching in care. 
 
Feeding I feed (a little more than I should but I'm working that part out in the betta forum) on weekdays and fast on the weekend days, the question I asked there that no one could really answer was will the fast days each week effect the nitrogen cycle and my plants any(once they're both established that is)? because I know each "day" with the UVs on it has a little mini cycle of fish eating and making waste and all that stuff, would not feeding create less waste and effect it?
 
and yeah I reads the thread its helpful in understanding, i'm just a little confused as to why my year established and running tank hasn't gone through the process...

 

[Ninjouzata]

Please do post pics of the filter. I am not very familiar with the kind you're talking about I think. Do you not have room to do the carbon and foam?
 
I use Prime for dechlorinator as it is really concentrated so more for my money. It also detoxifies ammonia for up to 48 hours I think. Usually that is long enough for the ammonia to get processed.
You shouldn't have any in a cycled tank of course but it's good for emergencies and such.
 
Not sure on the RO filter, sorry.
 
When I said it could be lower than 6 I meant because 6 is the lowest on our test kit you don't know if it's 6 or lower. At this pH your cycle will be stalled so definitely do a water change to hopefully bring the pH up.
 
It'll depend on your levels how often you'll need to change the water. Unfortunately I don't recall how pH affects ammonia. I think it is less deadly at a lower pH but you still don't want it to go over a certain amount. Nitrite is toxic at all levels which is why I mentioned aquarium salt. Here are the directions for that for when/if you need it in the future:
 
"To add 10 ppm of chloride for every ppm of nitrite in the water, use the following steps:
 
1. Multiply your nitrite reading by 10. This will give you the needed mg/l of chloride to will need to add.
2. Calculate the actual volume in liters of water in your tank. If your volume is in gallons you must convert this into liters. (As a rule, using the advertised volume of the tank at about 85% will put you in the right ballpark.)
3. Multiply the number in #1 above by the number of liters of water in #2 above to get the total mg of  chloride you will need to add.
4. Because salt is roughly 2/3 chloride, you must multiply the number calculated in #3 by 1.5.  You now know how many mg of salt you should add to the water. Dividing this number by 1,000 will convert this amount to grams which are easier to weigh for most people.
5. Do not add salt directly to the tank. Remove some tank water to a container and mix the salt in that, then add the salt water to the tank spreading it around the surface.
6. The amount of salt needed is not very much compared to a brackish or salt water tank. So don't worry about the salt harming things, especially for the short time you would need it in the water.
 
You will need to continue testing for nitrite because any rise may mean that further salt additions are needed. Once the cycle is done, or even as nitrite drops, you can reduce or eliminate the salt from the tank via water changes."
 
And I found some info on the toxicity of ammonia and pH, here it is:
 
"At 2.0 ppm of total ammonia (TA) on an API kit in a tank with a pH of 7.0 and a water temp. of 80F there is .0131 ppm of NH3 in your tank. NH3 is the toxic form of ammonia. Under .02 ppm is considered not to be dangerous for aquatic life. A level of .05 ppm of NH3 is considered the red danger line, but some sensitive species like salomonids and many inverts will suffer at over .02 ppm. Here is a link to a calculator you can use to calculate the HN3 in any tank- set the salinity to 0 for fw tanks. http/www.hamzasreef.com/Contents/Calculators/FreeAmmonia.php
 
1. Choose NH (NH3 + NH4)
2. Enter in the ammonia reading from your test, choose ppm.
3. For a fresh water tank, enter 0 for the salinity.
4. Enter your tank’s current pH.
5. Enter your tank temperature- choose F or C, whichever applies.
6. Click Calculate."
 
Once your tank is cycled I'd recommend doing at least 25% weekly water changes.
 
It's perfectly fine to fast your betta and is actually a good thing to do. Some would recommend feeding less during a fish-in cycle so waste doesn't rise too high.
I'm sorry what do you mean by this? "because I know each "day" with the UVs on it has a little mini cycle of fish eating and making waste and all that stuff" Sorry if it's really obvious, I have a head ache and slightly tired

 
Has there been fish in the tank this entire time? Sorry for all the questions just trying to see the full picture.

 

[smarch93]

The first pic shows the clip where carbon inserts are held, there's no insert currently in it though. The second shows what the bio filter is, the other side is just flat with holes. And the third shows how they sit into each other. There is definately no way to fit carbon and a foam piece in, although maybe if i took out the clip i could cram both in... but would this be bad for the foam or sponge? I mean the clip is only there to make carbon imsert removal easy.

 

[smarch93]

Please do post pics of the filter. I am not very familiar with the kind you're talking about I think. Do you not have room to do the carbon and foam?
 
I use Prime for dechlorinator as it is really concentrated so more for my money. It also detoxifies ammonia for up to 48 hours I think. Usually that is long enough for the ammonia to get processed.
You shouldn't have any in a cycled tank of course but it's good for emergencies and such.
 
Not sure on the RO filter, sorry.
 
When I said it could be lower than 6 I meant because 6 is the lowest on our test kit you don't know if it's 6 or lower. At this pH your cycle will be stalled so definitely do a water change to hopefully bring the pH up.
 
It'll depend on your levels how often you'll need to change the water. Unfortunately I don't recall how pH affects ammonia. I think it is less deadly at a lower pH but you still don't want it to go over a certain amount. Nitrite is toxic at all levels which is why I mentioned aquarium salt. Here are the directions for that for when/if you need it in the future:
 
"To add 10 ppm of chloride for every ppm of nitrite in the water, use the following steps:
 
1. Multiply your nitrite reading by 10. This will give you the needed mg/l of chloride to will need to add.
2. Calculate the actual volume in liters of water in your tank. If your volume is in gallons you must convert this into liters. (As a rule, using the advertised volume of the tank at about 85% will put you in the right ballpark.)
3. Multiply the number in #1 above by the number of liters of water in #2 above to get the total mg of  chloride you will need to add.
4. Because salt is roughly 2/3 chloride, you must multiply the number calculated in #3 by 1.5.  You now know how many mg of salt you should add to the water. Dividing this number by 1,000 will convert this amount to grams which are easier to weigh for most people.
5. Do not add salt directly to the tank. Remove some tank water to a container and mix the salt in that, then add the salt water to the tank spreading it around the surface.
6. The amount of salt needed is not very much compared to a brackish or salt water tank. So don't worry about the salt harming things, especially for the short time you would need it in the water.
 
You will need to continue testing for nitrite because any rise may mean that further salt additions are needed. Once the cycle is done, or even as nitrite drops, you can reduce or eliminate the salt from the tank via water changes."
 
And I found some info on the toxicity of ammonia and pH, here it is:
 
"At 2.0 ppm of total ammonia (TA) on an API kit in a tank with a pH of 7.0 and a water temp. of 80F there is .0131 ppm of NH3 in your tank. NH3 is the toxic form of ammonia. Under .02 ppm is considered not to be dangerous for aquatic life. A level of .05 ppm of NH3 is considered the red danger line, but some sensitive species like salomonids and many inverts will suffer at over .02 ppm. Here is a link to a calculator you can use to calculate the HN3 in any tank- set the salinity to 0 for fw tanks. http/www.hamzasreef.com/Contents/Calculators/FreeAmmonia.php
 
1. Choose NH (NH3 + NH4)
2. Enter in the ammonia reading from your test, choose ppm.
3. For a fresh water tank, enter 0 for the salinity.
4. Enter your tank’s current pH.
5. Enter your tank temperature- choose F or C, whichever applies.
6. Click Calculate."
 
Once your tank is cycled I'd recommend doing at least 25% weekly water changes.
 
It's perfectly fine to fast your betta and is actually a good thing to do. Some would recommend feeding less during a fish-in cycle so waste doesn't rise too high.
I'm sorry what do you mean by this? "because I know each "day" with the UVs on it has a little mini cycle of fish eating and making waste and all that stuff" Sorry if it's really obvious, I have a head ache and slightly tired

 
Has there been fish in the tank this entire time? Sorry for all the questions just trying to see the full picture.

About the ph, it had a tiny tiny bit of green tint to the test, I'd say about 6.2. But I'm just going to retest the tank and straight water I'd add in and see what it'll do to. the ph before doing my change.  I'm hoping it'll raise it since I know this ph is slowing the nitrogen cycle to practically a vault.
 
For the salt it's good I have some, although earlier today I learned the pre dissolving thing... I really don't know how I kept any fish  alive at all in my ignorance! Will each time I do. the salt lower the nitrites and it'll test as lowered? I know the ammonia detoxing only detoxifies the ammonia but the test still read  it there.  Do I do the equations for salt additions each day? Water changes per day at that time?
 
Weekly water changes is probably good for me since doin  it more often will make it easier to remember.
And I'm definitely to start feeding less  because I've continued to overestimate the amount needed because  he always wants food (I have that topic up in. the Betta section to work on)
 
The mini cycle statement I can't really explain because I don't really understand it and was hoping it would just make sense lol.  I read somewhere that with plants in my aquarium the lights make day/night for them and they photosynthisise during the day taking out waste particles and cleaning them producing oxygen.  I suppose though that amounts of waste will be in the water even not fed each day.  
 
This fish has not been in the tank the whole time, I've gone through 3 males 1 alone then 2 divided, and when one of those 2 died he moved from the 1 gal tank to the spot once nothing effected the other, but then the other passed, but he actually was 3 years old so it could have been the apparent ammonia or could have been age, or more fragile due to age... either way he's been in the tank for a few months now, and actually seems happier lately! but I'd like to make that a safe happy.
 
No need to apologize for all the questions, some info I don't realize is important is, I mean for the most part I understand my tank but am just learning what's actually important.  Hope the head and tiredness feel better I'm getting to that point too, but I just ran a 5k on a treadmill, exercise headaches are the worst!!

 

[smarch93]

Just some test updates.  Tank ph definitely not above 6, not even a hint of green in my test.  Ph of the fresh tap was 6.6, good news in that meaning the tank lowered the ph not a low ph tap, so water changes will fix it.
 
Ammonia was about .75, cut in half from yesterday!!! All I did since was add ammoquel detoxifier... however I read the back and it detoxifies ammonia nitrites and nitrates, that's ok? Won't effect my nitrite and nitrate readings right? I added less than the full dosing tonight to not overwhelm the fish with chemicals trying to help.  
 
Nitrite still 0,
 
20% water change no gravel vac today tho.  I keep it about 2 inches below full for when I get my snails, and empty as much as the filters 'don't run below this line' line.  So that'll be th  most I can change out at one time but it's about a gallon and a half and with the lower water line and gravel and decor I estimate it close to 20%.
 
Added more of my bioenzyme to the filter in chance that it's still effective.   
 
Only plan to test ammonia and ph tomorrow, but depending on ammonia I'll test nitrite too…who am I kidding I'll probably test nitrites no matter what, no point for the nitrates now though since its the last step.command I doubt I'll be near  it soon.
 
Tomorrow I plan to look into a sponge/foam for the tank.  Does it need to be like a kitchen sponge type thing? Or go to my pet store and get filter foam stuff?

 

[TwoTankAmin]

No, the salt wont change the nitrite readings. What the salt does is out compete the nitrite thereby preventing it from entering into the fish. The amount of salt it takes to combat nitrite it very small which makes it safe for almost all fish for a short time period.
 
No kitchen sponges.
 
Adding Amquel is not a good idea. it will throw off all the test results meaning you wont really know what is going on. It will slow the cycle as well. the same applies to prime etc. These should only be used when new water goes in. But you are using Amquel Plus as the original Amqel doesn't do anything re nitrite or nitrate (I have both).
 
You need to stop putting junk in the tank or changing water needlessly. You need to be measuring NH3 to know when a water change might be needed and using salt for nitrite if necessary. You also need to keep an eye on the fish to make sure it appears not to be in any distress. No matter what the test kit might say, of the fish shows signs of ammonia poisoning, always think water change.
 
You need to test the pH of your tap after either aerating the water for a couple of ours or letting it stand for 24. If it really is 6 or lower you will need to get it up safely and then be able to hold it there. Think 6.5-7.0 pH. Tanks will cycle for pH 6.0 and lower but it takes a very long time and often different strains of bacteria. To control the pH you will need to test your KH. Your store should be able to do this for you if you do not have the kit. KH is what helps keep one's pH up.

 

[smarch93]

I ordered aquarium sponge, it's by aquaclear and not meant for my whisper filter but it's the only thing I found that wasn't chemical filtration as well, so I'll be trimming it. 
 
It is ammoquel plus, I didn't know there were others until I was searching for a conditioner last night.  I'll stop with the ammoquel and just focus on water changes when it gets high again.  And my ammonia was high, very high step.command I put it in, so was it not needed? I'm just worried because none of my fish seemed bothered in the past but I'm pretty sure ammonia got them.  
 
I did research behind my 'tap' waters parameters, turns out reverse osmosis which is our water filtration, takes out EVERYTHING.  No ph buffer and no kh at all (didn't test the kh read that info).  I bought a conditioner that adds buffer to the water before adding, seachem Betts basics.  I plan to have shrimp and snails once my tank cycles so I don't yet have the KH test kit but planned to get it so I can get that earlier.  As I said my homes water filter removes any and all KH so I already know the answer is I need to supplement it in.  Crushed coal in nylons in the substrate.  I'm actually going to go out today and get play sand to swap out gravel.  I don't change any water out when I swap gravel for sand but my betta will be moved to a gallon tank where I'll do daily half water changes until the sand settles and levels appear stable.  So eventually I'll be able to think of adding the coral in once the levels get stable.  But I won't know for sure how I'll be on ph until I get my conditioner in and get used to its effects.

 

[smarch93]

Please do post pics of the filter. I am not very familiar with the kind you're talking about I think. Do you not have room to do the carbon and foam?
 
I use Prime for dechlorinator as it is really concentrated so more for my money. It also detoxifies ammonia for up to 48 hours I think. Usually that is long enough for the ammonia to get processed.
You shouldn't have any in a cycled tank of course but it's good for emergencies and such.
 
Not sure on the RO filter, sorry.
 
When I said it could be lower than 6 I meant because 6 is the lowest on our test kit you don't know if it's 6 or lower. At this pH your cycle will be stalled so definitely do a water change to hopefully bring the pH up.
 
It'll depend on your levels how often you'll need to change the water. Unfortunately I don't recall how pH affects ammonia. I think it is less deadly at a lower pH but you still don't want it to go over a certain amount. Nitrite is toxic at all levels which is why I mentioned aquarium salt. Here are the directions for that for when/if you need it in the future:
 
"To add 10 ppm of chloride for every ppm of nitrite in the water, use the following steps:
 
1. Multiply your nitrite reading by 10. This will give you the needed mg/l of chloride to will need to add.
2. Calculate the actual volume in liters of water in your tank. If your volume is in gallons you must convert this into liters. (As a rule, using the advertised volume of the tank at about 85% will put you in the right ballpark.)
3. Multiply the number in #1 above by the number of liters of water in #2 above to get the total mg of  chloride you will need to add.
4. Because salt is roughly 2/3 chloride, you must multiply the number calculated in #3 by 1.5.  You now know how many mg of salt you should add to the water. Dividing this number by 1,000 will convert this amount to grams which are easier to weigh for most people.
5. Do not add salt directly to the tank. Remove some tank water to a container and mix the salt in that, then add the salt water to the tank spreading it around the surface.
6. The amount of salt needed is not very much compared to a brackish or salt water tank. So don't worry about the salt harming things, especially for the short time you would need it in the water.
 
You will need to continue testing for nitrite because any rise may mean that further salt additions are needed. Once the cycle is done, or even as nitrite drops, you can reduce or eliminate the salt from the tank via water changes."
 
And I found some info on the toxicity of ammonia and pH, here it is:
 
"At 2.0 ppm of total ammonia (TA) on an API kit in a tank with a pH of 7.0 and a water temp. of 80F there is .0131 ppm of NH3 in your tank. NH3 is the toxic form of ammonia. Under .02 ppm is considered not to be dangerous for aquatic life. A level of .05 ppm of NH3 is considered the red danger line, but some sensitive species like salomonids and many inverts will suffer at over .02 ppm. Here is a link to a calculator you can use to calculate the HN3 in any tank- set the salinity to 0 for fw tanks. http/www.hamzasreef.com/Contents/Calculators/FreeAmmonia.php
 
1. Choose NH (NH3 + NH4)
2. Enter in the ammonia reading from your test, choose ppm.
3. For a fresh water tank, enter 0 for the salinity.
4. Enter your tank’s current pH.
5. Enter your tank temperature- choose F or C, whichever applies.
6. Click Calculate."
 
Once your tank is cycled I'd recommend doing at least 25% weekly water changes.
 
It's perfectly fine to fast your betta and is actually a good thing to do. Some would recommend feeding less during a fish-in cycle so waste doesn't rise too high.
I'm sorry what do you mean by this? "because I know each "day" with the UVs on it has a little mini cycle of fish eating and making waste and all that stuff" Sorry if it's really obvious, I have a head ache and slightly tired

 
Has there been fish in the tank this entire time? Sorry for all the questions just trying to see the full picture.

Got nitrites today!!! May be a Little too excited about that, but I'm glad  I know my aquarium salt will combat it,thank you!! Test spiked at 5 ppm!!! So I'm adding salt tonight and doing a partial water change tomorrow night, ammonia was  at 2ppm and no nitrates yet.