Micro pellets or flakes for Neon Tetras staple?

[stuhyde]

Makes sense fella.
The bacteria never turned up today, so a very disappointed 6yr old needed consoling.
The bacteria should be good for 48hrs from harvest (in fact they said it should be good for 5 days at room temp and 10 days in the fridge).
They did a test for a few weeks out of a filter/tank and was still effective.
Got food tonight, getting the plants and 10 NT tomorrow all being well.
Just tested the stats, 7.4 / 0 / 0 / 0 and water is crystal clear now so see how we go.

 

[sharkweek178]

Makes sense fella.
The bacteria never turned up today, so a very disappointed 6yr old needed consoling.
The bacteria should be good for 48hrs from harvest (in fact they said it should be good for 5 days at room temp and 10 days in the fridge).
They did a test for a few weeks out of a filter/tank and was still effective.
Got food tonight, getting the plants and 10 NT tomorrow all being well.
Just tested the stats, 7.4 / 0 / 0 / 0 and water is crystal clear now so see how we go.

If there are 0 nitrates in your tank then it's not cycled.

 

[stuhyde]

If there are 0 nitrates in your tank then it's not cycled.

Correct.

 

[Country joe]

If there are 0 nitrates in your tank then it's not cycled.

So if your ammonia, and nitrite, and nitrates are nil, should you not add fish ?

 

[stuhyde]

Nitrico goop turned up today - I ordered more than I need plus will be under stocking the tank for the first 3 months.

 

[Ichthys]

You'll need to cycle the tank's filter before you add fish. Usually takes a few weeks, although the added bacteria may shorten that time.

 

[stuhyde]

You'll need to cycle the tank's filter before you add fish. Usually takes a few weeks, although the added bacteria may shorten that time.

Nitrico negates the need to cycle the filter. It's a live bacteria that you add to your filter and fish can be added straight away.

There are a lot of good reports on using this stuff on an uncycled tank - there is scepticism, but the people that have tried it have had great results.

 

[Essjay]

So if your ammonia, and nitrite, and nitrates are nil, should you not add fish ?

Ammonia and nitrite should be zero before adding fish. With a fishless cycle with ammonia, they should be zero 24 hours after adding ammonia.

Nitrate does depend on the source water. If the source water has zero nitrate then the tank will have zero nitrate before adding fish - and while nitrate is made during fishless cycling, the huge water change at the end resets it back to source water level.

If there are 0 nitrates in your tank then it's not cycled.

Just to be awkward, my tanks have been running for years and nitrate is zero in both of them - or as close to zero as I can make out with the tester. My tap water nitrate is between the 0 and 5 ppm colours and my water provider gives my nitrate as 3 ppm. Both my tanks also have a lot of plants.

 

[sharkweek178]

So if your ammonia, and nitrite, and nitrates are nil, should you not add fish ?

No. Because they won't stay that way. Nitrates are the end result of the nitrogen cycle. If there aren't any nitrates, then the tank is not cycled. Something that happens to beginners sometimes is that they'll take their water to a pet store for testing. The pet store tests 0's across the board and tells them the tank is ready for fish. But it's not. The water is initially safe, but it won't stay that way after fish are added. The ammonia and nitrites will quickly build up and poison the fish. The way you know a nitrogen cycle is complete is when you can add 2-3 ppm of ammonia and your tank processes that into 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites and some nitrates.
There is an exception to this that @Essjay mentioned. And that's if a tank is heavily planted with enough plants that can process nutrients fully and fast enough to draw ammonia, nitrites and nitrates out of the water. But since the OP said they were getting the plants at the same time as the fish, we can't assume the tank will be planted enough to do that.

 

[stuhyde]

My tap water nitrate is between the 0 and 5 ppm colours and my water provider gives my nitrate as 3 ppm.

Well that is just so unfair lol - Mine is at least 35 out the tap... At least it's now 0 after running it through the Pozzani. Hopefully doesn't work out too expensive, although I do have a spare filter.

 

[Essjay]

I should have mentioned that Country joe is doing a fishless cycle, so I understand his question to refer to results at the end of fishless cycle.
At the end of a fishless cycle, ammonia and nitrite should be zero, and before the huge water change is done the water will have nitrate. After this huge water change it is possible to have zero nitrate if the water used for this huge water change has zero nitrate. In this scenario only it is safe to add fish.

By source water I mean tap water, rainwater, RO water, tap water that's had nitrate removed like stuhyde is doing and so on

 

[Country joe]

No. Because they won't stay that way. Nitrates are the end result of the nitrogen cycle. If there aren't any nitrates, then the tank is not cycled. Something that happens to beginners sometimes is that they'll take their water to a pet store for testing. The pet store tests 0's across the board and tells them the tank is ready for fish. But it's not. The water is initially safe, but it won't stay that way after fish are added. The ammonia and nitrites will quickly build up and poison the fish. The way you know a nitrogen cycle is complete is when you can add 2-3 ppm of ammonia and your tank processes that into 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites and some nitrates.
There is an exception to this that @Essjay mentioned. And that's if a tank is heavily planted with enough plants that can process nutrients fully and fast enough to draw ammonia, nitrites and nitrates out of the water. But since the OP said they were getting the plants at the same time as the fish, we can't assume the tank will be planted enough to do that.

 

[Essjay]

I should have mentioned that Country joe is doing a fishless cycle, so I understand his question to refer to results at the end of fishless cycle.
At the end of a fishless cycle, ammonia and nitrite should be zero, and before the huge water change is done the water will have nitrate. After this huge water change it is possible to have zero nitrate if the source water used for this huge water change has zero nitrate. In this scenario only it is safe to add fish.

When someone says their water readings in a new tank include zero nitrate, it makes members suspicious. It usually means their source water has zero nitrate and they have not done a cycle, either because they don't know the tank needs to be cycled or because they think letting a tank run for a couple of days is cycling. That's why when someone posts that they've cycled the tank and give their results as all zeros members will ask how they cycled their tank.

By source water I mean tap water, rainwater, RO water, tap water that's had nitrate removed like stuhyde is doing and so on

 

[Ichthys]

Nitrico negates the need to cycle the filter. It's a live bacteria that you add to your filter and fish can be added straight away.

There are a lot of good reports on using this stuff on an uncycled tank - there is scepticism, but the people that have tried it have had great results.

I know what it is, but none of these products work 100% every time as there are so many variables, so adding fish without first testing it with ammonia would be foolhardy. You need to make sure the tank is cycled, rather than put fishes' lives in the hands of an inaccurate claim made by the manufacturer. That's what I meant.

 

[stuhyde]

inaccurate claim made by the manufacturer. That's what I meant.

What do you mean by inaccurate claim? It either works or it doesn't. Granted that water variables and tank quality will play a big part in this - but for the most part, it should be a great solution, and it is.

My situation will be different, The 11 NT are in the tank but have no other fish and have put plants in there.