Fish in cycling

[Fernando]

Hi everyone!! Just started a new 29 gallon  tank about week and a half ago which i added, poly filter pad from other tank. Its a planted tank. Today i added 6 monk tetras cause someone was giving them away. Since i read that they are good cycling fish

I decide to get them. Here's my parameters:

Lava Rock / Parameters

 

2021/03/01 ~ 2021/03/10

Date	Temperature	pH	Ammonia	Nitrite	Nitrate	Notes
2021/03/10 03:30 p.m.	26	7.6	0.25	0.5	5.0	Added 25 ml nutrafin cycle
2021/03/09 06:30 p.m.	26	7.6	0.5	0.3	20
2021/03/08 02:30 p.m.	26	7.4	0.25	0.1	10
2021/03/07 05:30 p.m.	26	7.6	0.25	0.8	20	15% water change Added nutrafin cycle
2021/03/06 04:00 p.m.			0.5	0.3	20	Added nutrafin cycle
2021/03/01 03:00 p.m.	26		0.5	0	5	1 day Added nutrafin cycle

1- is my tank cycling or cycled?

2- should i do a water change and if so how often and how much please.

Thank you 

 

[Will Billy]

Your nitrate levels are showing that your tank is cycling, however your ammonia and nitrite levels tells me that your bacterial colony isnt quite mature enough yet to handle its current bioload. I would give your fledgling bacteria more time to grow. If you are showing 0.25 ammonia and 0.5 nitrite and you have those 6 monk tetras in the tank already i would do at least a 25% water change and retest. That can dilute the ammonia and nitrite for the fish while your bacteria continue to grow. 

[CT_]

I'm a little curious how nitrate went from 5 to 20 on day 2.  and then 20 to 5 on the last day without a water change.  the 20->10 after only a 15% water change I can explain away by 20 and 10 being adjacent colors on the chart but 5->20->5 seems suspicious. 

[Fernando]

Thank you very much for your help. Actually i've done a 30% water on march 7. So i should do a  25% water change  and then when should i test the water??

 So tank will be cycled when no signs of ammonium and nitrite correct!!??

Also when should i take off the old poly pad, from other tank, that i have actually in my cycling tank?

Thanks so much

Edited March 11, 2021 by Fernando

[gardenman]

The poly filter material could be interfering with your results. The poly filter pads made by Poly Bio Marine (and others) are designed to remove organic and chemical waste from the water. They're not a bio filter in that they're designed to accommodate live bacteria, though live bacteria can still colonize them. I'd be very surprised if your tank was fully cycled in just ten days. I suspect your poly filter material is doing much of the work in your tank and not the bacteria. I have a suspicion that if you took that poly filter material out, you would get a better feel for how things truly stand. Taking out the poly filter could be bad for the fish though. I would largely ignore the numbers right now and just watch your fish and not make any huge changes. If the fish health starts to suffer, go back to testing, but you can drive yourself crazy with too frequent testing. Six smallish tetras in a 29 gallon planted tank won't create a huge bio load and should eventually get a nice bacterial colony established. Just be advised that using the poly filter material can give you some less than accurate answers. If the poly filter is absorbing 90% of the ammonia and the bacteria only get 10% and you remove the poly filter, the bacteria won't be able to keep up with that extra 90% of ammonia suddenly dumped on them. 

[Sal]

Nothing really productive to add, I just came here to laugh at the thumbnail of a lady riding a peloton, and the visual of fish in cycling, as if biking is a side hobby for them.  😂

Good Luck Fernando!  

 

[Fernando]

I have a fluval C3 filter which i add lava rock instead of the carbon in the carbon compartment and added two piece of the SeaPora poly pad from a cycled tank. At this point should i do a 25% water change, since water test yesterday  gave me : Ammonia=0.25ppm, Nitrite =0.5ppm and nitrate=5.0ppm ?? And should i remove one or both pieces of polypad from the filter?? Should then test everyday or every 2 days ?? (Cause i want to make sure not to harm the fishes) And lastly so my fish tank will be cycled when ammonia and nitrite results will be at 0ppm for at least 2 days??

Thank you very much once again!!

 

[gardenman]

Personally, I'd just leave everything alone for a while.  Keep an eye on the fish and if they start acting weird, retest and maybe intervene if need be, but by and large you and they will probably be better off if you just sit back, relax, and chill out for a bit. You've got a relatively small volume of fish in a relatively large aquarium. Any water quality swings from those few fish in that much water are likely to be slow and gradual. You've got a lot of plants that should help stabilize things. I'd just sit back and watch things without stressing out too much for a bit. 

[Fernando]

So no water change yet and testing every 2 days ?? And tank will be cycled when ammonia and nitrite at 0ppm correct!?? Also i added yesterday 25ml of nutrafin cycle since i added the fish in the tank. 

[Will Billy]

Yeah, im going with @gardenman man on this one. It takes time for your bacterial colony to mature. To answer your question, yes your goal is to achieve 0 ammonia, and 0 nitrite. Your nitrate readings is just showing that you do have bacteria and that they are doing there job. Again coat tailing off of @gardenman’s above answers your plants, and poly pad will assist your bacteria in reducing ammonia and nitrite. Continue testing like normal, but yes the answer here is to just wait it out for your bacteria colony to mature. 

[Fernando]

Thanks so much!! My plan is to get male/female german blue ram and i know to kind of sensitive to add to my  tank. Should i leave bubbler on all-time ?? I read that helps to speed the cycling? 

Edited March 11, 2021 by Fernando

[Fernando]

So tested today same as yesterday. For the last couple of days there,s bubbles on top that won't pop. Also i decided to out one piece of the poly pad since i had 2 and see what happen. Here,s a pic of the bubbles. Should i do a 25% water change?? The fishes seem fine.

 

[Will Billy]

If you want to replace the poly pad, i see no harm. Removing poly pad with no replacement could ramp up your ammonia and nitrites. The bubbles will go away with surface agitation as it is proteins that collect on the surface of the water. Eventually your filtration should remove them, especially if you replace the poly pads with new ones. 

[Fernando]

Ok!! So replace the old poly pads from old tank with new poly pads and leave the one that came with the Fluval C3 filter or just take the old poly pad and just leave the pad that came with filter?? 

Thanks

 

Edited March 11, 2021 by Fernando

[Fernando]

And lots a little bubbles :

 

[Trish]

7 hours ago, Will Billy said:

 

 

[Trish]

8 hours ago, Fernando said:

Thanks so much!! My plan is to get male/female german blue ram and i know to kind of sensitive to add to my  tank. Should i leave bubbler on all-time ?? I read that helps to speed the cycling? 

Your tank will need to be well established to make GBR's happy.  They are more sensitive than Bolivian Rams.   Either way you want to be truly cycled and add new fish slowly until the bio load is enough to support them.  

[Fernando]

Thanks!! Yes i know and i will for sure!!🙂

[Jungle Fan]

I'm with @Trish on the subject of GBRs they are a lot more sensitive than Bolivian Rams. They need a fully cycled tank, they are more finicky with water parameters, they don't like changes in it, and they do better at high temperatures around 84 degrees Fahrenheit. I used to keep some in my Discus tank years ago because of their similarity in temperature requirements.

[Trish]

19 minutes ago, Trish said:

 

Sorry I seem to be having problems with hitting the wrong button.

My first cycle I was anxious and did water changes galore!  I learned soon after it was ok to check the water every 2 days or so and watch the fish for signs of distress.  If they aren't swimming or eating, rapid breathing or gasping or have colour loss, these are signs to check your water parameters.  If the ammonia ranges .5 or higher do a water change.  If a 30% water change doesn't bring it down, you might go to 50%.  Fish can tolerate .25 ammonia easily while in cycle but not higher.  The next phase is seeing the Nitrites spike, that means you are getting close to half way in your cycle.. Nitrites are toxic to fish, so if the ammonia were at .25 but you had nitrites you want to do a water change to bring them to 0.. again you can start with 30%.    Don't get hung up on how much to change unless you aren't seeing a decrease.  

Your goal is to see 0 (A)-0 (N)- 5ppm to 20ppm Nitrates.  It will take 6-8 weeks to do it properly.  Adding Nutrifin Cycle as per label will help, also if you have a cycled tank you can squeeze your established filter media or sponge filter into the water.  You don't have to dip it into the tank for this, just squeeze from above.  It'll be murky for a short time but your filter will clear it.  Then return borrowed filter media to your established tank. 

Keep in mind that once cycled it is not unusual to get an ammonia reading of .25 in an established tank using the API master test kit.  They call that a false positive.  My tanks always ring in at .25 ammonia 0 Nitrite and 20 Nitrates.. if you have too many fish, or overfeed you will go higher without water changes.  

When you hit cycled parameters, add new fish only a few at a time,  your tank has to grow more bacteria as you add fish to keep up with converting their feces, uneaten fish food etc to good Nitrates.   

Hope this helps.  

[Trish]

37 minutes ago, Jungle Fan said:

I'm with @Trish on the subject of GBRs they are a lot more sensitive than Bolivian Rams. They need a fully cycled tank, they are more finicky with water parameters, they don't like changes in it, and they do better at high temperatures around 84 degrees Fahrenheit. I used to keep some in my Discus tank years ago because of their similarity in temperature requirements.

Grateful to @Jungle Fanfor being more specific about the GBR's.  Wish someone had shared this with me when I tried them in a mixed community, 

[Fernando]

Bubbles on surface what are they !?? Are they armful foe the fishes??

[Will Billy]

The bubbles will go away with good filtration. It it caused by oils and proteins in the water. Anything that separates in water normally makes a sheen on the surface. Good surface agitation from an airstone will break it up and eventually find its way through your filter. Alternatively the Tidal hang on back filters have a surface skimmer to pull that stuff out directly. All aquariums have oils and proteins that can cause a sheen that can make a skin that traps pockets of air in the bubbles that you see. Most people never notice because of surface agitation from air stones and various filter flows that break up the sheen then filter it out. Totally normal, however if you are seeing it it may be a sign that you need more water movement. Water flow helps move nutrients and toxins move around your tank. I know moving toxins sounds bad, but ammonia may be a toxin for fish but is a nutrient for plants and bacteria. Good water flow goes a long way in establishing your tank. 

Edited March 12, 2021 by Will Billy