Water Parameters in new tank? UPDATE with API Master Kit

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

Once the plants are growing well (after about 2 weeks), it is safe to add fish. The plants should then process the fish waste.
In Padogman's tank the ammonia is present without fish due to it leaching from the soil substrate.

This I understand. It was your suggestion that the plants 'by-pass' the Nitrogen Cycle. I'd suggest that they don't and actually facilitate it.

 

[Naughts]

This I understand. It was your suggestion that the plants 'by-pass' the Nitrogen Cycle. I'd suggest that they don't and actually facilitate it.

The nitrogen cycle starts with ammonia. If the ammonia has been used up by the plants there is nothing to cycle so the Nitrogen cycle does not occur and the beneficial bacteria don't establish as they have no 'food' source. It is an alternative process but that is not to say that both processes can't exist simultaneously in the same tank.

 

[Byron]

This I understand. It was your suggestion that the plants 'by-pass' the Nitrogen Cycle. I'd suggest that they don't and actually facilitate it.

As I understand it, the "cycle" which is the colonization of surfaces by the nitrifying bacteria (or archaea) is going to occur in any aquarium, unless of course something is being done to poison/kill the bacteria and system. The benefit of fast growing plants is that the cycle occurs in the background, and nitrite is not going to be sufficient to harm fish. It will be slower because the assimilation of ammonia/ammonium by plants (fast growers again) is faster than the ammonia-oxidization bacteria.

In her book, Diana Walstad cautions that encouraging biological filtration can harm plants, so this would suggest that the ammonia-oxidizing bacteria do manage to establish themselves.

 

[PADogman]

Here are my results after a few days with plants in the tank.

pH--- 7.2ppm
Am--- 0.25ppm
Trites--- 0.50ppm
Trates--- 20ppm

So my pH dropped just a little.
The Ammonia went up a little.
And the Trites and Trates both decreased.

Thoughts?

 

[PADogman]

I guess what I'm wondering is:
At this early stage, do I wait and see if the tank will naturally reduce the ammonia?
Or do I do a water change?

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

I guess what I'm wondering is:
At this early stage, do I wait and see if the tank will naturally reduce the ammonia?
Or do I do a water change?

Assuming your water source isn't stuffed with 'trites and 'trates, a water change can't do any harm, as long as it's treated with an appropriate conditioner.
(Trying not to teach you to suck eggs).

 

[PADogman]

Assuming your water source isn't stuffed with 'trites and 'trates, a water change can't do any harm, as long as it's treated with an appropriate conditioner.
(Trying not to teach you to suck eggs).

Well, my water source does have Nitrates. Supposedly at an acceptable level.

I wasn't sure if this was all part of cycling. That is why I wondered if I should remove water or let it play out. Seeing as how there is nothing in the tank but plants. I didn't want to interrupt the cycle. If that's possible.

 

[Byron]

Well, my water source does have Nitrates. Supposedly at an acceptable level.

I wasn't sure if this was all part of cycling. That is why I wondered if I should remove water or let it play out. Seeing as how there is nothing in the tank but plants. I didn't want to interrupt the cycle. If that's possible.

Test the source water on its own for nitrates. You need to know this. Use your aquarium nitrate test, as this will be in a unit we can use. Water authorities have a different unit and the two can get confused.

 

[PADogman]

Test the source water on its own for nitrates. You need to know this. Use your aquarium nitrate test, as this will be in a unit we can use. Water authorities have a different unit and the two can get confused.

Post #25

 

[Byron]

Post #25

OK, so source water has 5 ppm nitrate, certainly not 10 ppm or higher, according to that post. If you can keep nitrates that occur within the tank from the biological process very low, so you do not have total nitrate in the tank water above 10 ppm, that's OK. You could deal with the nitrate in the source water if you want, but 5 ppm is not as bad as some aquarists face.

 

[PADogman]

I was happy just to see the Nitrates go down to 20ppm.
At least that is moving in the right direction, even though the Ammonia increased.

 

[Byron]

I was happy just to see the Nitrates go down to 20ppm.
At least that is moving in the right direction, even though the Ammonia increased.

You are still dealing with cycling levels (I assume). Once the tank is cycled, and begins to establish, the permanent nitrate level will be the result of the nitrate in the source water and what occurs within the system.

The ammonia increase mentioned in post #34 is most likely from the soil substrate, as I mentioned previously.

 

[PADogman]

Thanks, Byron.

 

[PADogman]

This is interesting.
I was searching ammonia in aquariums and came across a thread discussing ammonia spikes after adding plant fertilizer.
According to the discussion, the Aqueon plant food he was using did not contain any ammonias, but when adding some drops to water in an API test tube and testing, the water went from 0 to 4ppm.

I have been using SeaChem Flourish Advance since adding the plants.

I just did an ammonia test to the tank I have with nothing but water and plants in it... and the plant food.
Same reading as my other tank with the substrate and plants, 0.25ppm ammonia.

So I guess we know where the slight increase came from.
I'm going to stop dosing the tank I'm trying to cycle and see if it goes back to zero.