Test results

[Sunny.C]

i know ammonia is deadly, which is the other 1 nitrite or nitrate
My readings are Ammonia 0, Nitrate 5.0, Nitrite 0.25 does this mean my tank is
cycled Are these readings normal?? or dangerous???

 

[B75]

Do you have any fish in this tank as having nitrites this high is not good for the fish, do a 20% water change and keep an eye on the nitrite levels. You will tell when your tank is cycled because you will get readings of 0 for ammonia and nitrite and your nitrate sounds ok.

On the other hand if you are doing a fishless cycle then don't need to do a water change, just keep an eye on all levels and the nitrite will eventually drop.

 

[Sunny.C]

i have fish in there.(Cichlid) What is the normal level of ammonia,nitrite,nitrate that is considered normal??

 

[Raechal]

i have fish in there.(Cichlid) What is the normal level of ammonia,nitrite,nitrate that is considered normal??

I am not sure about nitrAte but NitrItes and ammonia should always be at 0.

 

[Sunny.C]

anyone else know?

 

[Susielyd]

Ammonia and NitrIte shoudl be 0, NitrAte can be (generally) up to around 40. NitrAtes can generally be kept at this level wiht weekly water changes, unless your tap water is very high in NitrAtes.

 

[nshockeyplaya]

Okay your nitrite and ammonia levels should always be at 0 in a cycled tank. Your nitrate levels should be between 0-40ppm in a cycled tank. In your case i wouldnt have cycled with cichlids there is a pinned post in the beginner section about cycling with fish. Read that and please do research before putting fish at risk. Also your readings do not indicate your tank is cycled. If your ammonia has already spiked and gone down and now your nitrites are spiked, this means that you have to wait for your nitrites to go down and then your tank is cycled. But again please read the pinned topic in the beginner section.

 

[Sunny.C]

I have lost 1 electric yellow it looked sick last night so i did a 30% water change thinking one of my levels were high, but it was to late. I tested my water today, the readings after water change is ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 0 ph is on 7.8 does this mean my tank is finished the cycle???are they readings normal?Why do you guys think it might have died?

 

[jrd77]

I don't know but the cycling process itself could have stressed your fish to the point they died.

I know that fishless cycling is the most highly recommended (and humane) way to cycle a tank but I have read that if you choose to do a cycle using fish it should be very hardy fish, like a zebra danio or something.

Do you have any fish remaining? If not, try to test your water for a week in order to see if you are cycled..even with fish maybe you should do this anyway? As already said, Ammonia and Nitrites should be at 0...

Good luck!

 

[rdd1952]

Both nitrite and nitrate can be deadly if they are too high but nitrite is definitely the most dangerous. Your ammonia and nitrIte should always be 0 but a nitrite level of .25 isn't going to kill your fish unless they are very delicate. NitrAte at 5 isn't a problem either. Anything below 40 is ok. My nitrAte runs between 5 and 10 all the time. If you are doing a cycle with fish, water changes are always the best way to lower dangerous levels. Don't use chemicals unless you absolutely have to as they generally only turn it into some less toxic form.