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Psshh
I still think the lfs is lying about thee zero water parameters
fishygirl did you find out how long those ammo-rid filters lasted, and if they still might be working?

Strips are good for a quick test. I have ones with KH, GH, pH, Nitrite, and Nitrate. It's nice for when I am not look ing for accuracy and just checking that nothing has changed for the worst.

Good thing to get your own tests.. See my post earlier about the strips I used, I would say that brand is reliable.. BUT BUT BUT !!! The liquid test does almost 4 times the amount of tests so it's better bang for your buck. Also most of the members in here will say liquid tests have more reliable results and they're prob right. My strips are out now so I'm sticking to the liquid one. Good luck !

The Amazon Nut...

The only thing is about your PH is that your tap water PH is quite high but that is it.

It's a very common practice, at least by every LFS I've ever been to, to take in fish that need a home, ESPECIALLY if they're fish that the particular LFS sold in the first place...

The ammonia-rid might be causing the readings to be a little weird and removal of it may cause a mini-cycle to occur. This would also occur once the product's lifespan was worn out too...which I want to say is after approximately 6 weeks...

I'd remove the ammo-rid to make sure the tank has fully cycled, keep an eye on the numbers, and then you should be fine...

PM/email/msg me if you have any questions/comments regarding me or my knowledge or if you want me to read a thread.

I have an AquaClear filter, in which I have been using the charcoal and ammonia-rid filters

This ammonia-rid filter could be doing the same as the amquel+ mentioned by tgildea.

I do have lids on my tanks, I have added about about 4 litres into the 10 gallon maybe once a week. My water doesn't seem to evaporate very quickly though.

[span class="edited"][Edited by 2004-07-12 00:30][/span]

well i would definately throw out the expired water conditioner and get a new bottle. and i would also get a master test kit that way you can test the levels of ammonia, nitrite, nitrate as well as ph its more convinient then going to you lfs and if somethings up with your fishes you can test your water at a moments notice. if you test for nitrate you should be done with the cycle. i would say your tank has cycled by now your water should have some nitrate levels by now but only the nitrate test will be able to tell you. how much water have you added since you set up the tank. you mentioned that you added water to compensate for the evaporation.. does your water evaporate fairly quickly? do you have a lid on the tank? im just wondering how much water you have replaced since the start of the cycle. if your straped for cash right now just get the nitrate test kit. i prefer the liquid test kits but thats just me.

[span class="edited"][Edited by 2004-07-12 00:28][/span]

Is it pretty common practice for lfs to take fish back that you've purchased from them, in trade for a different fish? (I know each lfs will be different just wondering if many people do this)

Good job about the goldfish, glad to see that you care for the fish enough to. Some people just ignore such advice and keep the situation anyway, so I'm very glad to have helped.

Also, I'm not sure if the conditioner would be bad, but I'd invest in a new bottle of it if I were you anyways. It's not like you're not gonna need it

PM/email/msg me if you have any questions/comments regarding me or my knowledge or if you want me to read a thread.

Oh, I forgot to mention...I was told my the lfs that Siamese Dolls wouldn't get much bigger than they are now, but nevertheless I have been making plans to find a different home for them. I don't know if my lfs will take them back, but I'm going to find out.

I have been using Aqua Plus tap conditioner by Hagen. It is supposed to remove Chlorine and Chloramine, + neutralizes heavy metals. I've just noticed an expiry date on it though, of 09/2003. Would it still be any good? I got it with the tank in the garage sale.

By any chance, do you use Amquel+ for dechlorination? This can cause readings of 0 for ammonia, nitrites and nitrate if there is sufficient Amquel+ in the tank to bond with all of the waste chemicals and thus prevent test kits from detecting it.

Well, to begin with, I'd recommend you find a Nitrate test kit that uses liquid tests. I wouldn't go with strips if I were you...

To reiterate, your pH has nothing to do with your water cycle in any way, shape, or form. Your pH is merely a result of your tap water. The pH in my area holds around 8.5 naturally, so I combine tap water with Drinking Water from Wal-Mart to keep my pH around 7.0. (If you want to try such a method, the bottled water you want comes in gallon jugs with a green cap and green label)

Another thing that such high pH water normally has is an outlandish General Hardness. This is another thing you can test for, and under some circumstances, it doesn't hurt much of anything. Just realize that when researching new fish you want to get, if it says they like "soft" water, they probably won't do well in your setup.

Now then, back to your original question about whether your tank has cycled or not. I don't know what a Siamese Doll is either (EDIT DURING TYPING: A little research told me that a Siamese Doll is a goldfish), but overall, I can't think of any possible way that your tank HASN'T cycled. The amount of ammonia provided by those inhabitors should be MORE than enough to cycle such a small system in 5 weeks. If your ammonia level had still been high, then I might think that something had delayed the cycle, but if the numbers you provided are true, then your cycle's completed.

Now for a little bad news. A ten gallon tank is too small for a goldfish. According to my research, a Siamese Doll can reach 10" in length, which means it really needs approximately a 75 gallon tank. If you leave it in the 10 gallon tank, it probly won't die for a while, but its growth will be stunted. This means that while its organs and insides continue to grow, its outside won't. As you can imagine, this would be a rather painful process reminiscient of when Chinese women used to bind their feet in order to keep them small. The best recommendation for such a situation is to either return the goldfish, or invest in a 75 gallon+ tank in the VERY near future. Sorry.

Other than handling the aforementioned goldfish situation, your tank should be ready to go. Remember to research anything you want to add, add slowly, and don't get discouraged. Your LFS's may not be great, but the combination of all of us on here can help you out a lot...

PM/email/msg me if you have any questions/comments regarding me or my knowledge or if you want me to read a thread.

hi Fishygirl

its a good idea to buy your own test kit, that way you dont have to rely on someone else.

No, I didn't find out...I will try to tomorrow. I just tested my water ph and I would say it's around 8.0. I am also going to try and buy a Nitrite/trate test tomorrow so I can test the water myself. The instructions in the ph test kit say that I should change tank water when the ph gets to be about 8.5.

Here are some stats on my tank first:

10 gallon
running for 5 weeks
5 neons, 1 Siamese Doll, 1 African Dwarf frog
ammonia- 0
NitrItes-0
NitrAtes-?
Ph-over 7.6

My lfs says because my ph is high, this means my tank isn't cycled. I'm getting very frustrated! I thought the NitrAte was what mattered, not PH! Can someone please explain this to me? I am itching to buy a beautiful Powder blue Dwarf gourami I saw in the lfs (we're in a very small town, only 2 lfs, I havent' seen such a nice gourami since I've started looking!)any help would be SO appreciated. I don't think I can listen to my lfs anymore, they have both given me such conflicting advice that I am now thouroughly confused and almost ready to give up!

I have an AquaClear filter, in which I have been using the charcoal and ammonia-rid filters. I have not cleaned the filter at all since starting the tank. I also have not vaccuumed any waste matter out of the gravel. The only water changes I have done were to add water to compensate for evaporation.
Also, according to the lfs my nitrItes/trAtes are both at 0. ???

[span class="edited"][Edited by 2004-07-11 00:38][/span]

yes, if she has been keeping it too clean, I wonder if it would cycle at all. She may damage the bacteria colony if she cleans the filter too much. And if she uses ammo lock, it may alter her tests. Many people use it during a cycle to keep ammonia and nitrite down.

Dragonfish, her tank has only been running 5 weeks...

I'd say even though a 10 gal isn't big, you are not packed with fish.. Let it be, and stop worrying.. After 5 weeks your tank is starting to build up some good bacteria.. Keep a close eye on your fishes behavior, if ammonia starts to rise, your fish will give you a clue that something is off. Also watch for cloudy water, odor change in the water. Don't do water changes for the next couple weeks.

The Amazon Nut...