water results

[laurasmithuk]

hi all. have been cycling my tank for 2 weeks now wit 6 neons (yes i know now not best fish to cycle with)

water results today are

ammonia - 0.25
nitrIte - 0.50
nitrAte - 10

water parimeters have been good up to now so why r they all high now? i added tetra bactozyme 2 days ago could this have caused it? what do i need to do to get em at 0? cheers guys

 

[laurasmithuk]

someone must be able to help me......

 

[houndour]

I thought that was the point of a cycle...you will end up with a nitrite spike. When the nitrites return to zero and ammonia zero thats when the cycle is complete. And hence why when you cycle with fish you end up losing some or all.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong. Thanks.

The whole process of cycling can take as long as 4-6 weeks, Sometimes quicker.

//edit
Your nitrates are fine btw.
I'm not familiar with cycling with fish, but I believe people do small water changes on a daily basis...like 15% or something.

 

[laurasmithuk]

sorry is everything ok? do i need to do a water change?

 

[laurasmithuk]

is nitrIte spike part of process then? pls someone help

 

[pseud]

When cycling with fish the ammonia will rise while the bacteria in the tank grows. When enough bacteria has grown in the tank to convert the ammonia to nitrites, then the ammonia levels will decrease. The nitrite levels will then start to increase. When enough bacteria has grown in the tank to convert the nitrites to nitrates, then the nitrite levels will decrease. Once the ammonia and nitrite levels are at 0 and the nitrates are high then your tank is cycled.

If your tank isn't cycled, the ammonia and nitrites will kill your fish . This is why you want them at 0.

Like houndour said, you should do 15% water changes every day, especially because you have neons in there.

(p.s. try to be a bit more patient when asking for help)

 

[laurasmithuk]

thats a bit rude aint it? i only asked for your help cuz am seriously stuck!thought this forum was the friendliest one around!

 

[Joviella]

Laura, As suggested the best thing you can do is to do daily water changes(at least 10% per day)....making sure you add stress coat to your new water. Test your water daily too, and you should see a decrease in ammonia and nitrite. A nitrite "spike" nearly always occurs whilst cycling a tank and the answer is just patience.
The water changes will help to lower these levels and before long your tank will have matured enough(i.e.0ppm ammonia,0ppm nitrite and some nitrate....20ppm is an acceptable level depending on your tap water)to enable you to get some more fish.
Good Luck,and feel free to ask any more questions.

 

[qwikimpss]

Any time I cycle with fish (everytime since all my tanks have been set up before i learned of fishless cycling) I have never lost a fish and it's never taken more than 2 weeks....maybe I'm special. Just remember to stock SLOWLY or risk mini-cycles every time u add fish and remember those water changes!!

 

[laurasmithuk]

thanks for the people taht helped and weren't sarcastic with it