Major tests PLEASE GIVE ME FEED BACK. :)

Ok I have been cycling my tank for the past 7 days with LR and a yellow tail dam. What I am wanting to know is how I am doing in the N cycle? (almost done, lots of time left, ect by my tests)

ph. 8.7
ammonia- 0.0
nitrite- 0.4
calcium-560
nitrate- 5-10
kh-120
phosphate- .5-.25

Thank you very much.

 

Hey! Hello!

1. You should check your pH! 8.7 seems to high!
2. Try to bring phosphates to 0.0! Use some good anti-phos medium!

Go through your notes and check the ammonia trend! If you observed a spike it means your denitrification bacteria started developing properly! However, I think one week is not enough! If I were you I would definitely wait at least 2 weeks before I add anything!

Good luck!

 

The third day of my cycle my ammonia was at 6.1 so I think that is a spike but it also is so close to the start of my cycle im not sure if it counts.

Ya the ph is high I think it was scued by the fact that I took a little to long to check the results and it kept maturing.

 

If you add another fish at such an early stage - the chances are you will have another spike.

 

Its not that I want to add a fish anytime soon I am just wondering if my cycle is coming along faster then normal. And as well what the sign is that says I am finally out of the cycle.(Even tho I know a tank isn't really cycled for like 6 months)

 

I would say you are in the early middle stage of your cycle.

 

Hi kanook, There are some who would tell you that once "the numbers" are all good the cycle is over and you are ready to go, I am not one of those. What many beginner (even some advanced) aquarium keepers are not (fully) aware of is that the full cycle takes at least 6-8 weeks. The reason being, mainly, is this is the time required to fully cultivate a total beneficial bacterial base and achieve a saturation of such. Also, allowing the tank to "season" and go through the inevitable mini-cycles and diatom blooms and get fully established is the key to a healthy and stable tank in the future. Since you have one fish in already, let the tank get established by light feeding and going through a moderate light cycle (6-8 hours) for the next 3 weeks. After that, add a few clean up critters (crabs and/or snails) and allow the tank to "catch up" to the added load (you may at this time add some live bacteria to help in this process) and give it another 2 weeks doing all your tests on a regular (weekly) basis and determine if the tank is stable.
Too many don't exercise the proper patience and discipline at this early stage of getting their tank going only to have problems and head aches down the road. Once the tank has gone through this full cycle period and the tank is stable, then and only then, should you do your first water change. I always employed a bit of advice I got when I was starting out to add bacteria after each water change for the first and subsequent next 4-5 changes. After the first water change then and only then add to the tank and minimally at that.
Another good tactic I learned is to add (whatever you are adding) a couple days after a water change. This gives the new creature fresh minerals and trace elements and a good 3-4 weeks (I adhere to 4-5 week intervals between changes) to adjust to the new water parameters, light, temp etc. before disrupting the tank for the next water change.

 

So you think that I shouldn't do a water change for 4 weeks? This seams a little long to me. What does everyone else think?

But I do thank you for your help and it did remind me to take it slow because I really don't want problems in the future.