Nitrates Vs. Ph?

[Musho3210]

oh guppies will breed in that water lol, dont you worry about that.... More specifically, dont you worry about them NOT breeding.......

Just cycle normally, with fish, dont let ammonia and/or nitrites go over .25. When there both at 0 and you have nitrate, then you are cycled.
What size tank is it again?

 

[shockshockshad]

I would STILL like to get the elodea if anyone else can tell me we don't need lights for it. Natural's best, right?

Natural is not best. Actually, it is the worst of all. All it does is promote algae growth. Artificial light is best. Elodea is not a very demanding plant, so if it has at least .5 watts per gallon (the lighting that comes with the tank when you buy it is usually enough), fertilizer, gravel (about 1mm), you should be good to go! Just make sure you have no plant-eating fish.

 

[chase18]

Actually based on my reading, algae also helps with the nitrogen cycle. At the moment our aquarium is on the kitchen table, which is near a window. In about three weeks we'll be moving it (during water change) to the kitchen. It will be against a wall with indirect sunlight, controlled by sun shades. While algae is ugly and makes the tank look dirty, it is also a living plant that works just like elodea. (Only it's free.) In my established tank I don't want algae, and I don't even necessarily want elodea. I just wanted something to help the cycle go easier, and faster, for my fish.

I have a 10 gallon tank. I currently have two filters - hoping I can get rid of one when things even out. (It doesn't fit in the lid, so I have the lid partially off the tank.)

My newest fish, she's bigger, she's just a little you-know-what. She's just gotten mean, and luckily I got tons of silk plants, because that's where my original female hangs out all day. The second she comes out, the new female chases and nips at her. Meanie. She apparently doesn't need company.

Testing today showed that my ammonia is at an all-time low of 0.25 which is super (I've been doing two gallon water changes, twice a day), but my nitrite is going up. I guess that's the way it's supposed to go with the cycle, but is the only "cure" for nitrites also water changes, or is there something else I should be doing? MAN I wish I'd known this water-changing thing all along. I wonder how many more of my fish would still be alive. Nitrate levels are still very very low. PH is stable - I haven't been using drops.

 

[Kay1123]

I've been told that if you use dechlorinator that you should have a specific kind of test kit for Ammonia or you won't get accurate readings. Hopefully someone else can confirm this.

I use a kit called Aquatru by Kordon it's a Salicylate Method. Maybe you can find that online.

 

[chase18]

Thanks for the tip, Kay, I'll do some checking and see what I can find out. My ammonia has been down around or below 0.25 which makes me happy. Readings are staying about level and I only did one water change yesterday.

My newest problem is the mean guppy problem. I'm going to do some checking on that too, today, but if anyone has any tips? I'm thinking once I get more fish it won't be such a big problem but pretty much the instant she sees the smaller female come out she chases her back into the plants. Anyone thinking that getting a male might put her in her place? She's actually abnormally large for a guppy I think, she's got a bigger top fin, it's beautiful, but...she's just mean.

 

[arvlyn]

I've been told that if you use dechlorinator that you should have a specific kind of test kit for Ammonia or you won't get accurate readings. Hopefully someone else can confirm this.

I use a kit called Aquatru by Kordon it's a Salicylate Method. Maybe you can find that online.

It's ammonia removing type products that can cause ammonia tests to be inaccurate unless you're using the salicylate (uses two bottles) method.

 

[chase18]

I AM using the "two bottles" method for determining levels of ammonia (I am currently waiting the suggested five minutes for test results). So, what does it mean if I am using the two bottles method

NEW QUESTION.

My guppies colors are changing. The one female I had from my original batch of fish (all the others have died), both original females had this like irridescent blue color on their tail and top fins. The younger female, the one who ended up dying, was developing this really pretty black base to her tail, as well as black spotting on her tail. Well she died. Now my remaining female is also developing the black base to her tail, and the spots she's always had are darkening. Is that normal? She appears fully grown, so why is her color still changing, or coming and going? My male was a yellow cobra type I guess, really pretty, and his color in the black areas faded in and out, too. Course he died, too. So kinda for me, black signals death.

Suggestions?

 

[chase18]

PS: It's hard to tell because the color is very faint, but it APPEARS as though my ammonia has reached zero (YAY) By the way, I added fish to my tank (for the first time ever) just over two weeks ago. Does that fit with my ammonia being zero? I think it does. Nitrite is still 1 - not bad, but not good, I guess. I kind of expected it to be higher if my ammonia is zero...

 

[ibbledibble]

Here's one though. I did have a male in my tank for just over a week (before he died...) and he managed to impregnante both females - who subsequently lost or reabsorbed their pregnancies. Now my NEW female appears pregnant. She's rounded overnight, and her "gravid" spot is dark. She's actually a bigger guppy than my female I had and the dark spot seems to extend almost to the top of her back. Is this a reaction to the water, or did he leave something there that might have knocked her up already?

guppies become sexually mature at a very early age, sometimes as young as 3 weeks, and once they are mature they will start to reproduce. also female livebearers can store sperm inside them for up to 5 batches of eggs. almost every time you buy a female livebearer she will already be pregnant and will continue to become pregnant even without a male. seeing as your water level seems to be sorting itself out, fingers crossed you will get some successful pregnancies soon, so might be worth waiting a little while before adding more fish.

also if you plan on adding more tetras its unlikely that many babies if any will survive. tetras are a relative of piranas and will devour any babies or eggs they find (even their own) while guppies may eat occasional young it won't happen on such a large scale.

my guppies almost never survived to adulthood until my last neon tetra died and now i have hundreds of the *"$% things. i keep giving them away but still have loads!

 

[chase18]

Thanks to everyone who supported me during my time of distress. It's been only a week since my ammonia hit zero and my nitrites are also at zero - YAY!!! I feel so grown up. I will now try and add a few more fish, a few at a time. And hopefully soon, babies!!