Ok, Work Tank Progress.

[NonstickRon]

Ok, tap water numbers from RHI master kit:
PH 8.8 or higher
Ammonia 1.0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate .5

7-10 gallon bow front (I lost count when filling it! Aaahh!!)
Washed play sand substrate
Added half a bottle of Tetra Safestart
Added Tetra Aquasafe
Marineland Biowheel 100
15? inch bubble wall
Temp avgs in the lower 80s (its hot here)

24 hours later added 3 assorted corys and 6 harlequin rasboras

Tested throughout the week, ammonia never dropped below 1.0
Have been doing 20% (2 gallons) water changes, with 1/2 tsp of Neutral regulator per gallon, every day. 1/2 tsp of salt per gallon.

End of week numbers:
PH 7.8
Ammonia 1.0
Nitrite 0 (was up to .25 midweek then went back down)
Nitrate .5 (was up to 5ppm midweek)

Um...what now...does this look on track? Fish all seem fine.

 

[matt20687]

looks ok i would of said. Just keeping repeating what you have been doing for a few more days

 

[BigC]

Seems fin as long as the fish look in good health. A little unorthodox of a startup from my standpoint but as everything seem to be checking out to the good so far then there is no reason for alarm.
I would have waited a bit longer to cycle the tank properly via more natural methods but alas it seems the norm today to use additives (of which I'm not a great lover of).
I would resist using too much additives as I feel that it will bring problems in the long run. By all means stick to a good alrounder such as Aquasafe or Stresscoat from here on in when doing your water changes. I wouldn't keep adding salt everytime.
Be observant, watch your fish for any signs of trouble, feed a varied diet including some live. Keep thing clean and perform regular waterchanges.
Should be fine
Regards
BigC

 

[Corleone]

Looks on track for the time it's been running... but you're in about the worst case scenario for a fish-in cycle. 1 ppm ammonia is far beyond the panic level. I think Aquasafe does the same thing Prime, converting ammonia to ammonium, so that might be helping protect the fish.

Even after the cycle, your ammonia is pretty high. In a mature tank, more frequent but smaller water changes is usually the answer, but that's for dealing with .25 or sometimes .5 ppm ammonia. I'd contact your local water department about those readings. The EPA hasn't given federal guidelines with ammonia levels, but Michigan has a limit, maybe Florida does as well.

I suggest you stop using the salt. The rasboras don't need it and the corys won't like it. Aside from brackish fish that need sea salt, its use is a relic. Most of its functions are reaplaced by water changes. The neutral regulator's a risk, make sure you keep the pH of your tank stable, as a steady high pH is better than a fluctuating neutral one.

 

[NonstickRon]

Seems fin as long as the fish look in good health. A little unorthodox of a startup from my standpoint but as everything seem to be checking out to the good so far then there is no reason for alarm.
I would have waited a bit longer to cycle the tank properly via more natural methods but alas it seems the norm today to use additives (of which I'm not a great lover of).
I would resist using too much additives as I feel that it will bring problems in the long run. By all means stick to a good alrounder such as Aquasafe or Stresscoat from here on in when doing your water changes. I wouldn't keep adding salt everytime.
Be observant, watch your fish for any signs of trouble, feed a varied diet including some live. Keep thing clean and perform regular waterchanges.
Should be fine
Regards
BigC

I've been using the neutral regulator because of the insane tap water ph and have to use somethign to condition the chlorine/chlorimine/ammonia anyway. I read on the seachem website that Neutral Regulator is PRIME dry, with a ph buffer. I was under the impression that I'd be having to use neutral regulator ...well, forever... with my tap PH being what it is.

And yes, the fishies all seem to be happy and in good health. Matter of fact, I feel sad for my cory at home cause it has gravel and these here seem to love the sand so much.

 

[tyyrlym]

8.8? Holy hell, I thought my 8.0 tap water was a PITA.

The benefits of a limestone aquifer.

 

[NonstickRon]

8.8? Holy hell, I thought my 8.0 tap water was a PITA.

The benefits of a limestone aquifer.

Yeah, florida is a really really big peninsula of sand basically. Elevation of where i live not far from the coastline is like 12 feet. If you hold up a glass of tap water to a light and look at it you can see calcium specs floating around in it.

I could use the office watercooler, but thats distilled and refrigerated...so water would have to acclimate to room temp and I'd have to add even more crap to the water. Might get in trouble for doing that as well. Guess I could start buying 2 gallons of bottled spring water on my way to work every day.