I am currently cycling my 2.5 gallon tank with two little fish in it. It has been about 8-10 hours since i first put the fish in, and so far the ammonia reads 0.25 nitrite 0.3 and nitrate 12.5.
When should i change the water, at what levels? and what levels should i not let the water reach?
When changing water or siphoning it out should i keep the fish in the tank or place them somewhere else?
How should i prepare the water i will be adding to the tank?
Also i have some java moss in the tank, how will that affect the cycling process?
2007-05-30 05:38:02 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Fish
Thanks for the quick replies. I am using tetratest to read nitrate and nitrite and aquarium pharmaceuticals to test for ammonia. maybe i am just reading them wrong..
2007-05-30 06:19:13 · update #1
Wow on those readings. Only 1 day? I'd say you don't need a change at this point, HOWEVER, what is the current ph? At higher ph's, an ammonia reading of .25 could be considered in a danger zone. Ammonia in lower ph is much less lethal. DO NOT ADJUST your ph because of this though. You are already populated and more likely to do more stress to your fish adjusting your ph then letting it be. Your nitrate levels want a water change at 40 ppm or higher. If that ammonia rises to about a .5 - 1.0 take some action. Nitrates going toward 2.0 take some action. Small tank like that you're talking about cup fulls here. A siphon is liable to suck out alot of water in one shot. Keep fish in tank yes. Java moss should not be effecting the cycle in any way excpet for one. It would be helping you keep a lower nitrate reading. Nitrates are good for plants as it's fertilizer in most commerical uses. Again immediate action on your ammonia is going to really be influenced by the PH. Still if you start going above 1.0 you're going to want to take some action. Nitrite can go a little bit higher. Are you sure this cycle has been going on only one day? Thats very odd to get a nitrate reading that soon and nitrite also.
JV
2007-05-30 05:50:58 · answer #1 · answered by I am Legend 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
You shouldn't let the tests get above 0.5 on the ammonia or nitrite or above 40 on the nitrate. With such a small tank and two fish, you'll be doing some frequent water changes.
It would be better to leave the fish in the tank and only remove part of the water - 25-35% at a time. You can either prepare the new water by letting it sit for 24 hrs (but only if the water has chlorine as an additive, not chloramine. You can check with your public water provider to see what they use.) The other option is to use a chemical additive to remove the chlorine/chloramine (to get the proper product and dose, you'll still need to know which is used). Then the only issue is the temperature, which should be as close to the temperature of the water in the tank as you can get it.
Plants in the tank will use some of the nitrate produced by cycling as a "fertilizer". They really only want the end product, so they won't really affect the cycling process, other than they may give bacteria some additional surface area on which to attach. That is, unless the plants die, then they'll become an additional source of ammonia!
2007-05-30 12:50:16 · answer #2 · answered by copperhead 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Personally I've gone no smaller than 5 gallons, but you'll probably want to change once a week until you have nothing but nitrates. Bi-weekly changes would probably be sufficient after that. Keep the fish in your tank when changing water and make sure you've got a small vacuum attachment to your tube to pull up fish waste from the bottom. Moss should actually be helpful in disolving nitrates but won't do anything for ammonia and nitrites.
Get yourself a bottle of prime for dechlorination and stress coat. That should be just fine. Good luck!
2007-05-30 12:46:55 · answer #3 · answered by cruentus23 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm not sure of the exact measurements of when you should change your water, but I would recommend doing it in a few days and then again, so it's about twice in one week. After that it should be fine. I would just siphon some out and leave the fish in. Taking them out and putting them back in the tank stresses them more than just having some water sucked out of the tank.
I'm guessing you're doing a freshwater tank. I would just prepare the water in a bucket or a pot with water conditioner and then put it in the tank. I wouldn't change more than 10%. The java moss should hae any effect.
2007-05-30 12:44:06 · answer #4 · answered by jdecorse25 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
25% water change once a week(1/2 a gallon)! Keep the fish in the tank. Make sure you add water conditioner with every water change(follow instructions on bottle). Plants are a great addition to any tank! Good luck!
2007-05-30 12:45:08 · answer #5 · answered by jra60411 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'd say a partial water change will be in order about 3-4 days. I'm shocked to see nitrite and nitrate come up in such a short time. What are you using to test? Sounds like there's testing issues.
2007-05-30 12:51:34 · answer #6 · answered by something_fishy 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
http://www.aquariumcorner.com/cycling.htm
2007-05-30 12:43:25 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋