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hi, my tank is bin cycling for 3 weeks now my ammonia levels are zero for 2 days my nitrite is 2 and the nitrate is like 40 for 2 days now is that nitrate level part of the cycling or do i overfeed my fish i feed my fish 2 times a day but only what the can eat in a couple minutes


thanks kaboke

OK, first of all are you sure of your results? My 29 gal took twice as long to cycle, six full weeks. When your nitrites drop off and your nitrates rise your cycle is nearing completion. The whole point is to get to the nitrates. I think now you should start with your regular water change and gravel vacuuming schedule. If those levels are indeed accurate then certainly do a water change right away. I'd reccomend a 30% change today followed by another in two days time and then yet another two days later. After that about 30% weekly. Keep testing the water so you get a feel for what is going on. You would want your nitrates below 20 if possible, 40 is fairly high. Most of us prefer keeping nitrates below 20. The reason for partial water changes is to gradually change the water's chemistry, as opposed to a massive change from 40 down to say 10 which could stress your fish badly.
I only feed mine once every day except water change day, and skip a day once in a while. They can go at least a week without food so don't worry about that. Fish are opportunistic feeders, meaning they will eat as long as there is food available, not neccesarily till they're full.

Divertran is right, 40 is a bit high for nitrAtes, but depending on the type of fish you have it may not be all that serioius. Some can handle higher nitrAtes some can hardly handle any.

How long has the ammonia been at zero?
How long have the nitrItes been at 2, what have they been doing the past week?

As was mentioned fish dont need to be feed every day so you should be just fine with what you've already been doing.
BTW...what type of fish and what sized tank do you have?

^_^

I have a 29g tank with 3 tiger barbsand 1 red tail shark the still act very playfull so I did not do anny water changes so far the ammonia is bin zero for 2 days now the nitrite is 2 for about 4 days and the Nitrates is 40 for 2 days now

Kaboke

Umm yeah...we read that the first time around .

"what have they {the numbers} been doing the past week?"

We have no idea exactly where you are in the cycling process if you don't provide us with any more data past 2 days previous.

FYI tiger barbs should be kept in schools of 6 or more (no do NOT add any more fish right now) and I personally don't feel comfortable with a RTBS in a 29 gallon, especially one that is cycling.

^_^

Hi,
You are part way through the cycling process. Only when
the ammonia and nitrite read "0" is the tank cycled.
With the ammonia gone, and the nitrite down to 2, you are
well on the way. Nitrate readings around 40 are normal
for a newly cycled tank. I would cut back on the feedings
in both times and quantity. Remember, few fish ever are
fully fed in the wild and most spend their lives looking
for food. A fish's stomach is about the size of their
eye. It only takes a few flakes to fill them.
Cutting back will help keep the nitrate in check until you
are fully cycled and can do a 10% water change, vacuuming
a quarter of the tank at that time.

Frank


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

this are my readings from monday 12-11-06 until monday 12-18-06
Mon./Ammonia 2,nitrite 0,nitrate 0
Tues./Ammo 2, nitrite 0.25, nitrate 0
Wensd./Ammo 4,nitrite 0.50,nitrate 0.50
Thur./Ammo 2,nitrite 1, nitrate 0.50
Frid./Ammo 1, nitrite 2, nitrate 10
zat./ Ammo 1, nitrite 2, nitrate 20
zond./Ammo 0, nitrite 2, nitrate 40
mon./Ammo 0, nitrite 2, nitrate 40
the reason that i still now all of this is because i am keeping a log of my tank
and when my tank is done cycling i am going to add 3 more tiger barbs and about my rtbs i now that was wrong but he is still playfull so i think he is going to make it

Thanks for the reply so far

It sounds to me like the cycle's not done yet. Are you sure nitrates are at 40, seems kinda odd to me that nitrite is going up at the same time as nitrate. usually you have a nitrite spike and then it starts dropping as the nitrates rise. what kind of testing kit do you have?

i am using freshwater master test kit from API my reading today was
temp./78
ph./7.6
Amm./ 0
Nitrite./ 2
Nitrate./ 20
so i think the Nitrates are coming down again is it possible that it goes up with the fertilizer for my plants

Kaboke

Hi,
The answer to your question is "Yes," the nitrate reading
will increase with the fertilization of the water for your
plants.

You actually may be overdoing it with the fertilization
idea. Unless your tank is really heavily planted the fish
and cycling bacteria should be supplying plenty of
nutrients for the plants. I don't see anything about the
plants or the lighting for them, but as long as you are
staying around 2 watts or less per gallon, and are not
injecting CO2, you probably don't need to do anything about
providing additional fertilization.

Always wait, for the plants to tell you that something is
wrong before you dive into that problem. You can very
easily over do it and cause a really bad algae outbreak.

Here is one of many sites that will describe what your
plants are telling you:
http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_nutrient.htm

Frank


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

Thanks for the advice Frank I do have lowlicht plants in my tank but i.m going to stop with the fertilizer so i think everything is going alright and i'm halve way true the cycling

Thanks for all the reply's and i keep you updatet

kaboke

Keeping a log of you tanks WQ is one of the best things you can do IMO now we know exactly where you are and not that your tank is doing something odd.

Yep your tank numbers look just about right, I seem to remember the last time I cycled (about three years before the wheel was invented ) my nitrItes took the longer than the ammonia to come down.

Don't stress over it for a few more weeks, you should be just fine.

^_^