Safe levels of chems

[Helium_Junkie]

What levels in parts per million are considered safe, or expected for Ammonia, Nitrite and nitrate?

What levels are expected in a new tank?
What levels are expected once the tank has cycled (i.e. when is safe for fish)?

Thanks!

 

[Cheese Specialist]

I am not sure about when a tank is cycling but in a cycled, properly stocked and filtered tank the amonia and nitrite should always be 0. The nitrate does not get removed by the biological filtration and can be removed only by water changes and live plants. The amount of nitrate can depends on how often you change water and also the levels of the tap water.

Any amonia can have bad effects on fish, which is why fishles cycling is prefferable or cycling with very hardy fish.

HTH

 

[tstenback]

When a tank is cycling (fishless) at first you can expect the ammonia levels to increase as you add the ammonia to the tank. Do this gradually and shoot for a level of about 5ppm. Note how much ammonia you added and add that amount until the nitrites spike. Initially, if your tap water has 0 nitrites, 0 nitrates and 0 ammonia, you will have no nitrite no nitrates. As the ammonia is consumed by the bacteria you will start to see the ammonia drop gradually to 0 and your nitrite readings will gradually increase sometiime right off the scale of you test. The nitrites tend to stay very high for a couple of weeks and sometimes longer but when they come down they do so within hours. During the time when you nitrites are high your ammonia will get to 0 and your nitrate reading will climb as the bacteria convert the nitrites to nitrate.

As Cheese Specialist said the important thing is that before you add fish the ammonia and nitrite must be at 0 and you should have a positive nitrate reading. HTH

 

[ger87410]

I can't remember my source, but I read somewhere that .5 ppm is safe. U should always try to keep it at 0 though.

 

[Helium_Junkie]

I have 0ppm Ammonia, 0ppm Nitrite, 5ppm Nitrate, and NO ammonia source... safe to add fishies for cycling?

 

[tstenback]

Yes. make sure you use a hardy fish and be prepared to do many water changes to keep the ammonia and nitrite levels below 1 ppm. As mentioned in another thread zebra danios and platies are very hardy fish. Also use no more than 1 fish per 5 gals of tank water for your cycle. Good Luck

 

[Helium_Junkie]

I thought you shouldn't do water changes while cycling?

 

[tstenback]

if you are cycling without fish you dont do water changes but with fish you must do water changes or all your fish will die as both ammonia and nitrites are quite toxic to fish. If your fish die there goes your ammonia source and any future fish you add to the pollution will surely die very quickly. So to keep everything going and your fish alive you must do water changes once the levels of ammonia and nitrite rise. HTH

 

[Jae1525]

Before adding fish make sure your nitrites have spiked, some ppl get confused when the amonia drops to 0 and add fish. This is the calm before the nitrite storm!!! Then the nitrites build and build until they kill all of their fish!

 

[Helium_Junkie]

I'm skeeeeered
Wish i'd been able to get Ammonia

 

[tstenback]

No need to be scared now. Just buy 1 zebra danio for each five gals in the tank. Put them in the tank. Monitor your ammonia levels daily until you get a reading (should take long). then keep the level below 1 ppm by doing water changes (20-25% will usually do the trick). Once you get ammonia readings then keep doing the ammonia tests daily and every other day do a nitrite test. Once you get nitrites same thing, keep the level below 1 ppm if possible. Once the nitrites spike then start doing nitrate tests as well as the ammonia and nitrite tests. Test for nitrates every other day. You will find that the ammonia level will come back to zero as the nitrites spike and that the nitrites will stay high for weeks then come down in a few hours and that the nitrate level will build as the nitrites arte consumed. End result...0 ammonia, 0 Nitrite and a small level of nitrates and live zebra danios. After this add fish a couple at a time every couple of weeks, painful but necessary .

And there you have it. Now that is not anything to be afraid of.....is it?

 

[Helium_Junkie]

And there you have it. Now that is not anything to be afraid of.....is it?

YES!!!

What if my fishies die!

 

[tstenback]

Yes that would be sad but if you have no choice but to use fish to cycle then its just as well to get on with it and use this group to help you along. It has been done many times with success. But do realize that in a cycle with fish there is a very real possibility that fish will die but if you use a very hardy fish and not too many of them then the chances that they will pull through this is much better.

 

[clutterydrawer]

A whole lot of people have cycled with fish and had no ill-effects. If you have no other option, and you do it carefully, it should be fine.

When I started keeping fish the only "cycling" advice I got was to add fish slowly. So I very slowly added fish, some of them quite delicate ones, and I had no deaths.

If you use hardy fish, not too many of them, and keep a very close eye on those water parameters, you'll be reet.

 

[Sylvia27]

And there you have it. Now that is not anything to be afraid of.....is it?

YES!!!

What if my fishies die!

Hi everyone:

I'm also very overwhelmed by this whole cycling process.

I've seen two fishes die. Now that I have more experience, when my pineapple swordtail started hanging in the plants, hiding, and gasping for air, I knew what was coming up....

I quickly treated some water and found a 2 gallon salad bowl.
I put the fish in there and this is his "emergency QT tank" right now.
He has a airstone and a little plant in there.
Still not enough space for a sword tail, but it was that or letting him die...

He seems to be happy for now. Hopefully, I'll get my nitrites down soon so he can move back to the tank with his other friends.

Sylvia