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Someone correct me if I'm wrong here, but after using amquel you'll still have an ammonia reading if I remember correctly. Using it simply neutralizes it for the fish but they cycling and the ammonia test will still go as per usual. So you can dose live bacteria per the directions (dont overdose on bacteria as it's been known in the past to make the cycle process take AAGGEEESSSS.

Since you treated with amquel the ammonia shouldnt bother the fish, the nitrIte may, only do the water change if they're showing signs of stress.

Tetras should be okay with an addition of aquarium salt, that does help reduce the effects that nitrItes have on the fish, I'd suggest a post over in tetra talk to be sure.

^_^

Yeah I've heard a lot of people tell me that amquel won't affect the nitrite and nitrate production..because its supposed to just neutralize its toxicity to the fish.. I sure hope it doesn't affect the cycling at least, because I just want it to be successful! My fish are acting pretty normal..swimming around and eating when fed, plus my water is clearing up (before it was cloudish)..the amquel lowered the readings down, but the nitrite is still at 0-0.25 and nitrate at 0.. ammonia I think is reading at like .5 right now, so I hope that is enough to continue with production of bacteria and nitrites? Also, I add live bacteria once a week to help the aquarium cycle apparently as well..do I sound like I'm doing everything okay?

Are you adding Cycle or some other product, sorry if I missed that in an earlier post .
The directions on Cycle say to add it once then add smaller ammounts when doing the scheduled changes.

The cloudy look you saw appear then go away is your tanks way of saying the cycle is occuring . That cloudy is the nitrItes going to battle with the ammonia, you should start seeing the nitrIte numbers going up now.

Personally I'd just leave the tank alone for now. Dose amquel if necessary, but dont do water changes (unless you see the fish stressing of course ). It'll take a few more weeks but it seems you're well on your way!

^_^

Yay!!! Thats great news!! Yes, my tank is starting to look a lot more clearer now.. it was about a week ago, it was very cloudy, but I guess its the beginning stages of the cycle?
The product I have is called Stress Zyme..it contains live bacteria and says to add once a week to help maintain the tank..its also suggested to help with the cycling process.
I will only use Amquel when I need to, but I don't think its going to mess with the nitrite or nitrate levels so I think I'm doing everything okay!
I will let everyone know in a few days how things are going..
Anyone have any comments/suggestions about my progress, it would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks everyone

Hi there! Its just me with an update/question:
I've let the fish be for the past few days, monitoring the progress..2 days ago, I did a small water change as its been roughly a week since I did so, and added the live bacteria..
Well, the levels are as follows:
Ammonia: 3 maybe a bit higher still!
Nitrite 0-0.25 still
PH 6.0-6.5

Just wondering..any suggestions opn what I should do with the water readings? I used the test kit liquid with all of them..should I use the amquel to lower a bit? I did the past few times but it just goes back up shortly after..I'm thinking its the part of the cyclying that spikes in ammonia to create nitrites? My only worry is the PH.. never had it at that reading..will it be alright?
Thanks!

just hold out, no water changes unless the fish look stressed,

your nitrite should now rise,

what your nitrates at?

Nitrate levels are at 0-5.0 right now.
What symptoms would you say would show signs of stress on the fish? They seem to be acting pretty normal so far. Does it sound like my aquarium is cycling properly, and how much longer do you suggest it will take before it is finished?

It usually takes around 21-28 days without the use of additional bacterial aids to cycle a tank normally, so youve got a couple of weeks left to go, give or take. It depends on tank conditions and the amount of available waste, oxygen and the efficiency of your filter media as biological growth medium to some degree. You cant really predict it to be finished on a particular day. when it tests ammonia and nitrite 0 and gets readable nitrate then its just about done.

The quickest I ever managed with fishless cycling was about 12 days and a lot of expensive chemicals and bacteria,lots of plants and a little bit of old substrate and a huge eheim filter.Thats not usual though, and even then I had to keep monitoring it for weeks. Funny thing is though, even though id managed it quickly, I didnt put fish in for quite a while because I was a bit mistrustful of my own results! Its not one of things you can really rush.

Even though your aquarium has been set up for three weeks, I think you're really only about 10 days into the Nitrogen Cycle. Until 11 days ago when you began posting here, you were changing too much water to even let the bacteria begin to form.

I would guess that you still have at least 3 weeks to go, especially if you continue to do water changes. The Nitrate levels need to get much higher, and your Ammonia and Nitrite will need to be at zero; then the tank will have cycled.

I see that you want to know how many more days it will take, but that's impossible to say, especially when factoring in the water changes and such. You just need to keep testing and go off of that. The time it takes to cycle an aquarium varies greatly, and depends on many variables.....

Just keep testing, and post your results so that we can help you along.

Okay thanks I did want to mention though.. I tested the PH levels today and it was at like 5.0-6.0 and I am wondering if this is normal to have a lower ph level with ammonia is high? Its around 1.5-3 right now..nitrites still 0.-0.25 and nitrates are at between 5-10mg/L. Any suggestions?

PH levels are obviously something to keep regulated, depending on what levels your fish prefer, but for right now, I'd advise you not to worry tremendously about it, and to focus on cycling your aquarium first. When an aquarium is going through the Nitrogen Cycle, the test readings (for nearly everything) will likely go into dangerous zones for a period of time.....this is how the process works.

Right now you need to continue to test the Ammonia, Nitrites, and Nitrates daily. You will be looking for the Ammonia to begin falling, and for the Nitrites and Nitrates to continue to rise.
Just continue to monitor the water, and try not to do anything to disturb the cycle.

And to comment about your other topic, don't change the filter media while the aquarium is cycling. Try not to do water changes. Yes, weekly water changes are part of good aquarium maintenance, but not during the Nitrogen Cycle. If you're experiencing evaporation, add a little bit of water every two or three days, and not a bunch every two weeks.

Hi Reneeandpauly1,
You have been posting questions about your new tank in
different forums, and have been getting excellent advice
from our members. In an effort to prevent responders from
having to "reinvent the wheel" with each new, or continued
question, and to prevent confusion on your part, I have
moved each thread that I found to one place,
GETING STARTED.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Okay thanx..I didn't know whether or not to add them all together or in the specific parts of the forum because I know that some forums on other sites are picky about where the topics go..
So far so good with the tank..no water changes, no filter changes, just adding a little bit of water for when it evaporates..just waiting on the ammonia levels to lower and the nitrites and nitrates to rise..
Only one question though.. I know the ammonia is meant to go to 0 and the nitrite eventually to 0 but how far will the nitrite and nitrate rise to mark the end of the cycle?
I will be so thankful for the day it is fully cycled for both myself and my new fish!

It's hard to say exactly what type of peak levels you'll get for any of your test readings, since, like I said before, the cycling process differs (in time, method, etc.) for every tank.

I am cycling an aquarium right now, and the Nitrite levels recently peaked at 5 ppm before they began to fall. Your Nitrite levels will rise as your Ammonia levels fall, showing that the bacteria which convert Ammonia to Nitrite have "set up shop" in your aquarium. Your Nitrates should continue to rise, and could peak somewhere in the 40-80 ppm range. They will stay there, and you'll do a hefty (around 50%, I think) water change to lower them to the 10-20 ppm range. You'll only do that water change after your Ammonia and Nitrites read zero.

What are the readings of your recent test results?

Hi there,
the readings are:
PH 5.0
Nitrite: 0-0.25
Nitrate: 0-5
Ammonia: around 3
I also have these posted on the ph topic within the same forum area..but anyhow, I have let off water changes, and am just waiting for the nitrites to rise... I know recently now the ammonia has went up again pretty high.. the fish are swimming pretty normal still which is good too..so I just hope soon something will finally happen!

What are the fish that you got? That can really make a big difference, and if pH is above 6.5, you might consider buying some of that Proper pH stuff... or a brand that you really trust.