2 Part ? Where are NitrAtes? Is this a good setup?

Question

1st part: I have been fishless cycling my 120 gallon tank for 5 weeks. I checked today and finally there are no Nitrites and very little ammonia. I checked the NitrAtes (which were 160+ 10 days ago) and it was zero! I will check to confirm this tomorrow, but what happened to all the NitrAtes?

2nd part: I want to wait one more week to start adding fish. Over a couple months I want to end up with these fish:
6 cory cats
6 Angels
3 Bala Sharks
6 Saerpe Tetra (spelling?)
3 Pictus Catfish
2 Rope Fish

Does any of that sound like it really wont work? And do the rope fish have to be fed live feeder fish?

To add a couple more details. I have been feeding the bacteria 3 Tablespoons of clear ammonia hydroxide every day and have not done any water changes. There are a couple plants but not that many that I think would account for all the nitrates disapearing. There are white and black spots on a lot of things in the tank like filter head, real/fake plants, hosings that I am not sure what they are. I have asked a question about that before. Hope that gives enough extra details.

I did another Nitrate test today... using the bottle I tested it twice making sure to shake everything properly and still got zero. I used a dip stick also and it read 80.. I guess I'll go with that one but still seems low after reading 160 so recently.

Answer 1

Do you have plants? Or did you do a large water change? Is your testing kit accurate? Nitrates don't usually just disapear! ;)
If the levels did drop on their own, I don't know that I can explain why, unless you stopped adding ammonia for the bacteria to convert into nitrates. I'm guessing you're feeding your tank, right? Either fish food, ammonia, a piece of fish, etc... You need to feed it 3-4 times a week, or the bacteria will starve. If you are doing that, then I have no bloody idea where the nitrates went! :S

Most of those fish are fine, but there are a few things I would tweak.
Cory cats - you can get more than 6. I mean, 6 is fine, but you can go nuts. They like being in groups. Get 8 ;).
Angels - 6 is fine, but you *might* have to cut back when they start pairing off. Or not, wait and see when they grow up.
Bala sharks - definitely. You could get away with it if that's ALL you had in the tank, but with the other fish, you just don't have room. If you really want sharks, get red-tailed sharks. They're much smaller.
Sterbai tetra? Yup, 6 is fine.
Pictus catfish are fine too.
I'd omit the rope fish. They really do like to be in larger groups, and they need something like 50 gallons apeice. You might be able top get away with it, but it's playing with fire. If you do for them, they can be fed a large variety of items: beefheart, bloodworms, earthworms, frogs, crabs, shrimp, feeder fish, etc...anything meaty


Oh, in regards to the nitrate comment by the person above me. Nitrates will almost never be at 0. A healthy nitrate reading is about 20-40ppm, and 0 is almost impossible. The nitrifying bacteria do not eat the nitrates - they only produce them, Nitrates can be lessened with plants but the bulk of them are removed through weekly water changes.

Answer 2

Good job for the fish less cycling. You added way too much ammonia,(5 ppm, one time is enough). There are two possibilities concerning the low nitrate numbers,I think that the ammonium hydroxide is causing a false reading,try to find a Nitrate test kit that uses "The Nestler Method" and you should get a true reading. The only other way to lower Nitrates is through the actions of anaerobic bacteria that will convert Nitrates into Sulphates and cause a sort of rotten egg smell in the water(I doubt if the aquarium has been running long enough to have these anaerobic colonies established). There is a way to manage Nitrates using these bacteria ,but it requires almost constant tinkering,or creating an anaerobic layer under the gravel in a thing called a plenum. I think the Pictus Catfish will eat the Corys and Serpae Tetras before the Rope fish do,but it will be close.---------PeeTee

Answer 3

A good reading for nitrates should be around 20 to 40 ppm. In all my years owning fish (both salt and fresh) I have never had a 0 reading on the nitrates.
Nitrates come from a number of things. Live plants if they begin to rot will throw off nitrates. Dead fish and old food contribute to the nitrate levels. The biggest factor for nitrates, which most people overlook, it is in your tap water naturally.
I would highly suggest a really good test kit.

Your choice of fish seems ok, however watch your angles. you may want to go with more females and only one male. Also, is there a reason for so many catfish? or do you just like them? Watch your sharks with so many cats. They will eventually compete for space. Be sure you have lots of hiding places for them. Just remember when adding your fish, don't add them all at one time.

your rope fish don't have to be fed live fish. If you really want get two female black mollies and one male. They will produce live young to take care of the "live" feeding requirements for your ropes. What ends up growing up, trade back to the pet store for supplies.

Lots of luck

Answer 4

Unless you did a massive water change. There isn't any way that the you could gone from 160 ppm to 0. Plants, and algae simply don't use that much nitrates. More likely the levels of nitrates has exceeded what your kit can test. (Or you messed up.) Note that 160 ppm of nitrates is a lethal amount. You should have no more than 40 ppm, or ideally less than 10 ppm.

Answer 5

nitrAtes are the end product of the nitrogen cycle and can really only be removed through water changes. in the test for nitrAtes it is necessary to shake the second bottle very vigorously for at least thirty seconds and also shake the test tube for one full minute in order to get an accurate reading. (unless there is a dip stick test) In a fully cycled tank ammonia should be 0ppm nitrites should be 0ppm and for a healthy tank the nitrAtes should be kept under 40 ppm. 160 is extemely high, my test kit stops reading at 140ppm. I would re-test the nitrAtes & do small water changes untill they get down to 20 ppm, the stock sounds compatible check here to make sure http://www.liveaquaria.com/general/fwcompatibility_chart.cfm
I am unfamiliar with ropefish, so I can't help there, ask at the fish store, where you will be purchasing them... if anyone will have an answer for you ... they will. good luck!