Ammonia Levels?

[Kelly]

Hi All, me again! :D

I have been cycling my 29 gallon for around a week and half now...fishless and adding ammonia. The last few days my ammonia levels have been 0 the next day and I add a little to bring it up to 2.4ppm, then the next morning it is gone again. The nitrites are slowly coming down, they went down to 1.6ppm from 3.3ppm or off the charts. Today I tested the ammonia level in the am, added more ammonia and then tested again this afternoon, it is 0 allready!! Is that normal for the ammonia to dissapear so quickly?

AND, after all of this babbling, my question is this, how long does it normally take for the nitrites to get to zero after the ammonia levels are hitting 0?? I am trying sooooo hard to be patient, but it is TOUGH. :D LOL

Also, I do need to wait until the cycle is complete to add my live plants right?

Thanks! Just needed some support in this loooooong wait!

[JSchmidt]

Sounds like your cycle is progressing nicely. If I understand, you're seeing a drop in nitrites, not to zero, but a measurable drop, over a day's time. If that's correct you're nearing the end. When you can dose the tank to a certain level (e.g., 2-4 ppm) and register zero ammonia and nitrite after 24 hours, you're done.

I'm no plant keeper, but I recall reading you should wait for the cycle to complete before adding the plants.

Your nearly there, I think...

Jim

[TKOS]

Can't give an exact time but sounds like you are doing great. It should happen soon. Make sure to do a water change before adding any fish to get those nitrate levels down.

Also do a nitrate test if you can because as I have learned if those nitrate levels get too high it will slow things down (you aren't going slow though!!).

And yes, add plants at the same time as fish. Plants will start to use the nitrites and ammonia before the bacteria gets a chance to.

Any ideas on stocking yet?

[Kelly]

Thanks so much for your help!
I checked my levels this morning and this is what they are...
ammonia 0 (I'll add more ammonia soon)
nitrite 1.6ppm
nitrate off the chart

Should I go ahead and do a 20% or so water change to get the nitrate level down a bit??

I have decided what to stock with too.... :D

2 Neon Blue Dwarf Gourami's (one male and one female, or should I do more then 2?)
7-8 White Cloud Minnows
4 Cory Cats (probably the panda's or the Shwartz)
1-2 snails

I might also add a pair of German Blue Rams later when I can find them. My LFS store isn't carrying any right now. And does anyone know where I could get some amano shrimp?

I have some plants coming sometime next week, I got some java moss, a sword plant, and two other easy care plants that I can't remember what they are now. LOL And I have some nice driftwood and rock to put in too....I did have all fake stuff and am going to change it around when my plants arrive. :)

Thanks!!
Kelly

[TKOS]

Don't know how the rams will do in that tank. I would get 2 females or 2 males for gouramis probably as 1 male and 1 female might mean death for the girl. The male might want to mate quite a lot and if she isn't ready, yikes!!!

I finally just found amano shrimp myself. They aren't easy to find at all.

[JSchmidt]

Kelly, you can change as much water as you like. I'd do 25-50% just to see if you can get nitrates low enough to register on your test. That should leave enough food for the growing population of nitrite-eaters, too. Just be sure to re-dose with ammonia right after the water change.

If you have high nitrates you're surely nearing the end.

Good luck and let us know how you're progressing!

Jim

[carpguy]

Sounds like things are moving along at a good clip. My fishless cycle took 30 days to get to double zeros two days in a row. You'll definitely be watching fish by then.

The bit with plants is this: there are bacteria that "eat" nitrogen compounds. Plants also use them as food, including plants we may not want, like algae. If you add plants (which need a settling in period) in the middle of a fishless cycle it also means you need to use plant level lighting while there is a lot of ammonia and nitrates in the water. Odds are you're going to get an unpleasant algae bloom under those conditions. I'd wait.

Algae blooms are pretty common in the early stages of planted tanks under the best of circumstances until the plants are going full tilt and you've got your fertilizer regimen sorted out. The folks over in the plant forum can guide you through that and, IMHO, its completely worth the trouble.

A male/female pair of dwarfs (or a male and two females) in a 29 should have plenty of room. Spawning behavior in labyrinths can be on the violent side of the coin, but its natural and its interesting. Provided she can hide out behind some plants or driftwood you shouldn't have any trouble. I have a pair of pearls in a 30 and, while it occassionally gets a little wild, they're both fine a year later. They spawn occasionally — its not a constant behavior.

Rams are also small territorial breeders that form pairs and have longish and ornate finnage and bright colors. Sort of like the gouramis. That could be an issue. The gouramis are bubble nesters and tend towards the top while the rams are going to nest in small caves or shelters and tend towards the bottom. I'd definitely check it out with some folks in the cichlid forum before I tried mixing the two…

But it sounds like you're on the verge of a great tank… enjoy :D

[Kelly]

Wow Carpguy, thanks much for the great information, I really appreciate it. :)

I am glad to hear that things seem to be moving along quickly with my cycling. I have 0 ammonia readings for about 4 days now, and am waiting patiently for the nitrites to go down. So far no luck, although they did go down a little.

I will check in the cichlid forum for advice on the Gourami's and Blue Rams, thanks! I dont want lots of fighting or unhappy fish so will try to get lots of advice before I put them in together. It may come down to picking one or the other, and that will be a hard decision. I haven't 'seen' any Blue Rams in person, only in pictures, and they sure are gorgeous.

Thanks!
Kelly

[carpguy]

Rams are more beautiful live. The photos don't really get the colors. Too weird and intense.

I set up my 30g last year. Like you I went with some bottom guys (small loaches), some schooling fish (rasbora and dwarf barbs) and a centerpiece fish… the pearls.

So now I've been plotting the Ram tank for the last few months. In January, after the move…

Be careful… this gets addictive :p