Water chemistry during cycling

[Doug Corsa]

Ok here we go with a LONG thread lol
Right i got a 40l tank and set it up and added doeses of stress coat and stress zyme.
Then after 3 days i added 4 silver tipped tetras to start off the cycle. I have been testing my water for the last three days. Here are the results:

day 1:
PH - 7.4
Ammonia - 1.0
GH - 8 dGH
Nitrite - 0.25

Day 2:
PH - 7.5
Ammonia - 2.0
GH - 9
Nitrite - 0.50

day 3:
PH - 7.4
Ammonia - 1.0
GH - 8
Nitrite - 0.50
After todays test i did a 10% water change. Should i be doing one of those every day? I need help here people lol!!!

 

[thecichlidaddict]

Yes, for the sake of the fishes health do water changes as often as it takes to keep ammonia below 1 (.5 if you can).

 

[Doug Corsa]

So should i do a 10% water change twice a day?
Beacuse i did a 10% change about 2 hours ago. Should i do another one now?

 

[thecichlidaddict]

Yes you can do another 10% water change. You can do 20% or 30 % water changes, whatever it takes.

 

[Doug Corsa]

*strolls off to do another 10% water change*

How long should i leave it untill i test the water after the water change?

 

[thecichlidaddict]

Only need as long as it takes for the water to disperse through the tank, so how long depends on the water movement in your tank - a half hour at most I would venture to guess.

 

[Doug Corsa]

ok i will go do the water change now and then 30 mins later i will do a full water test. What should i expect with the results?
Will certain bits go down and certain bits go up?

 

[Doug Corsa]

Ok just waited half hour after that last water change, so that is 20% water change since the last posted test results.
The results are as follows:
PH - 7.4
Nitrite - 0.50
Ammonia - 1.0

So i assume that i should do a 20% water change every day?
Or should i stick to a 10% water change each day?

 

[Bol]

In my opinion, the more water changes you do, the more chance you have of slowing or crashing your cycle.

What should i expect with the results?

As far as I know, everything is basically a straight proportion. So, if you do a 10% water change, then for example...

NewTankpH = (9*OldpH + 1*NewWaterpH)/10

Same for nitrites. Assuming your new water has zero nitrites, then you should expect your nitrite levels to go down by 10% (or, to 90% of the original level).

 

[thecichlidaddict]

In my opinion, the more water changes you do, the more chance you have of slowing or crashing your cycle.

Water changes will not crash a cycle, but it can slow it. Slowing it is intentional - we're looking out for the fishes health here, and as far as I'm concerned it's better for the cycle to take longer and the fish to survive.

 

[Doug Corsa]

Ok well i have just bought a small peice of bog wood and what i think is flint. How long should i soak them for? and i also bought some java fern to attach to the bog wood. So shall i plant it in the tank untill the bog wood is ready? I am also about to go do another water change and then test it again. So in about 45 mins i will make another reply showing the next set of results

 

[modernhamlet]

You shouldn't plant java fern in the substrate. The rhizome has to stay above the substrate. Just tie it temporarily to a rock or other decoration. I have a bunch of java fern on my driftwood. Looks cool.

 

[Doug Corsa]

Ok i will tie it up for a few days. Just about to go dot hat water change i was on about in the last post

 

[Bol]

Water changes will not crash a cycle, but it can slow it. Slowing it is intentional - we're looking out for the fishes health here, and as far as I'm concerned it's better for the cycle to take longer and the fish to survive.

I agree with the fish health thing, and slower is not necessarily bad.

But, it would seem that with each water change, you run the risk of adding some chlorine into the water for a short period of time (especially if your dechlor method isn't optimal), which could kill off some of the beneficial bacteria. Enough bacteria dies, and you crash.

Is this risk significant? Probably not. But it does seem possible, and more possible as you increase the number of water changes.

 

[Doug Corsa]

I am going to leave it to a 10% water change every other day.
Just been about enough time since the alst water change so i am going to test the water and then i will be post the results. So expect a post in 10 mins!