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Im into my third week of cycling my 20g tank that is currently stocked with 6 cories and 4 danios and is running a cannister filter.
I did a water change yesterday and added some Cycle. Today i tested the water and got the following readings
are these normal?

nitrate 5 ppm
nitrate 80ppm
ph 6.8
ammonia 0ppm

Should i be worried about the high level of nitrate? ive never had nitrate at that reading

---

Truth doesn't always win friends but it influences them

Hi,
As you said, your tank is cycling. The ammonia dropping
to 0 and the nitrite rising is normal. Soon, very soon,
you should begin to see nitrate readings appear.
In a new, cycling, tank it is normal for the nitrite to
rise to ten or over. How much over, I'm not sure and
yes, 80 seems exorbitant. Personally, I would key on
the fish. How are they reacting to the water? If they
seem fine and happily eating and swimming about, then
I would not worry and only do a 10-20% weekly water
change.
If they are puny, not eating, laying about, then I would
do a 50% water change and wait a day and do another every
other day.
Keep an eye on things and I think you will be fine.

Frank



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

i just realised i wrote nitrate for both!

ok the nitrate is 80ppm and the nitrite is 5ppm...

i figured the nitrite and ammonia readings were fine but its the 80ppm nitrate im worried about.

the danios seem to be fairly active all of the time.. occassionly the cories.. which i realise arent hardy fish .. seem to be lazing around alot and only active when i put food in the tank..

ill do another reading tonite with a different test kit to make sure its not the kit and also do a water change without adding the cycle....

thanks for your advice frank!

---

Truth doesn't always win friends but it influences them

Hi,
I'm glad to hear that its the nitrates and not nitrites
that are that elevated. 80 for nitrates is very high also.
I suggest that along with water changes you should vacuum
the gravel, in sections. Divide the unplanted parts of
the tank into say four sections. With each week, when you
do a water change, vacuum a different section. That way
in a month, you will have vacuumed the entire unplanted
tank.
High nitrates are the result of over crowding, over
feeding, poor tank maintenance (lack of vacuuming) and
few or not enough water changes.

The nitrite level of 5 indicates that the tank is still
cycling, and not yet fully cycled.

Frank


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

While those readings are correct for a cycling tank that nitrate is far too high. It will eventually kill at least the cories if not lowered soon and may have already done some damage to their longterm health. Danios are about as hardy of fish as you can get so they are probably still zipping around the tank like usual. I would go ahead and do a 50% water change today and again tomorrow. You want the nitrates at least below 40ppm and preferably closer to 20 or less for the fish to stay healthy longterm.

ill do a 50% change tonite..

the thing is i did a water change a couple of days ago.. 25% of the water.. which is done with a gravel vac.. the water was quite clean just a few food scraps.. the plants are all but gone just a couple left which arent looking great and ill prob get rid of...

i was just wondering would it have anything to do with the amount of gravel in the tank as i took some out when i stripped it...
also when i stripping it i bleached EVERYTHING ... rinsed it all out really well before replacing it ,,,, would it be leftover bleach by any chance?

*fingers are crossed its not!*

ill do the water change tonite and retest the water....

---

Truth doesn't always win friends but it influences them

ok retested my water with both my new JBL test kit and my old kit of a different brand and my nitrates now come out at 40ppm on my new test kit but the old kit still comes out at 80ppm.. weird!

by the look of the tank and fish i think the JBL is more accurate .. i think the cories would be in really bad shape at levels that high! .

my nitrite is still at 5ppm and ammonia at 0....

---

Truth doesn't always win friends but it influences them

Hi,
Yes, nitrate of 40 is much better and according to my test
kit, is the upper limit that you should allow it to go.
Less food, vacuuming the gravel in sections as I mentioned,
and your continued regular water changes of about 20%
should hold everything just fine.

As far as the plants are concerned, tell us a bit about
the substrate (is it regular gravel, how deep is the
gravel). What type of light and how strong is it (20 watts
40 watts etc) what does the bulb say on it (the writing on
the glass near the end of the bulb) How long are you
leaving the light on?

Frank


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

What test kits are you using? If your relying on those strips you dip in the water just trash them. They are completely inaccurate but most liquid kits will come out at least close. Aquarium pharmaceuticals is usually the favorite for both accuracy and cost.

The dying plants could definitely add alot to the nitrates. When you say bleached everything do you mean you removed the gravel and bleached it? That would kill all the bacteria and make your tank cycle all over again. Very bad idea. Uneaten food, fish waste, and plant matter can be in your gravel and breakdown to cause nitrates but you also need the bacteria in the gravel to keep the tank cycled. Just do gravel vacs to remove these things while leaving the bacteria alone.

Leftover bleach does not cause nitrates but I believe can cause high levels of chlorine and kill your fish. It was always recommended to me to leave bleached items in a bucket of water with dechlorinator/water conditioner overnight before using them in the tank to neutralize the bleach.

i had an attack of weird leech things that were great when they first appeared as they ate all the algae and the tank was sparkling! however they soon multiplied and not matter how often i removed them they came back in 1000s!!! so defeated i stripped the tank and bleached everything which was a major job.. i rinsed everything really well and also baked the gravel.. nothing smelt chlorine like so it was safe to put it all back together!
i did have to cycle it again hence the danios i did have the cories in another tank but they really werent doing very well in there so moved them back early and they seemed to have taken well even though they arent hardy fish...

the plants didnt survive the bleaching (as well as copper sulfate) so they've all been thrown out now.. im planning on replanting the tank soon.. not sure with what as yet..


i will find out the wattage tonite on the light its one for plants though..its on for 2 hours in the morning and 4 hours at nite..

substrate is regular natural gravel its about 1/4inch thick i think...

the test kit i was using before was an aquasonic one which ive probably had for around 2-3 years i use JBL ones now which i find much more accurate they are a bit expensive though!

thanks again for all your help!

---

Truth doesn't always win friends but it influences them

ok the gravel is an inch thick and the light it a Biolux
20watt...

i always wonder with these forums.. sometimes you tend to need to change forums within a post!

what plants can you recommend for that light wattage or should i replace it with something different?
im looking for the nice low maintainence plants that require fertilisers but not co2 i did have asian ambulia growing beautifully before i killed it

---

Truth doesn't always win friends but it influences them

Hi,
A 20 watt bulb on a 20G tank is considered one watt per
gallon and generally speaking, only low light plants
will thrive under those marginal conditions.
When you have plants in the tank you want to have the
light(s) on for around 10 hours. The idea is that these
are tropical plants, and you want them to have the lights
on as if you were in the summer time with the longer days.

Frank


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

Thanks for your reply Frank...

If i got a stronger light would those 6 hours suffice? or should i just keep the light on for longer?

what light wattage would you suggest?

---

Truth doesn't always win friends but it influences them

Hi,
First, the duration of the light. The idea is to
simulate the photo period (the daylight time) in the
tropics at the Equator. So, the light should be on
for 10-12 hours a day. Most of us use 10 hours on as
our "day." Plants need about 10 hours to "wake up" and
start processing the nutrients in the tank. Then they need
a "normal" period of time to switch from producing CO2 to
producing O2 and grow, that is what they do at "night.

As far as the intensity of the light is concerned, that
depends upon you. If you choose to run the bulb that
came with the tank, and it is 20 watts, on a 20G tank,
then you should stick with low light plants. Plants
are divided into three light demand categories:
Low, medium, and high.

For simplicity:
Low demand plants need light that is roughly 1 - 1.5 watts
per gallon.
Medium demand plants need light around 2-3 watts per
gallon.
High demand plants need light that is 3+ watts per gallon.

Nearly any on line plant store will have a low light plant
category or, list the light demands of the plant along with
its description.

You may be able to find a bulb for the 20G tank that is
40watts. Or, you could purchase a bulb that is marked
DAYLIGHT or SUNLIGHT from the local hardware store and
use it. The day or sun LIGHT bulbs are all around 6700K
and are perfect for growing plants and viewing fish.

Frank


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