Hi again everyone,
First of all, thanks for the help w/ my Betta. He is doing much better now that I've taken the tree stump out & put a couple of plastic plants in the tank.
Second, I've put 3 little (< 1 inch each) Neon Tetras in the 5 gal tank w/ him & am now having water problems, I think. (I know, I shouldn't have gotten the Tetras, but it's a long story...) I've had the tank up & the Betta in there since March 22nd. I started measuring water chemistry on the 26th & the measurements have been as follows:
3/26 -
pH: 7.8 (tap pH = 8.8 after adding water conditioner & sitting for 24 hours)
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: didn't measure
kH: ~89.5 ppm (5 dH)
GH: ~125.3 ppm (7 dH)
3/29 -
pH: 7.8
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 5.0 ppm (tap = 0 ppm)
3/30 -
pH: 7.8
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 10 ppm
3/31 -
pH: 7.8
Ammonia: 0.5 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 10 ppm
*did 1 gallon water change w/ conditioned tap water
4/2 -
pH: 7.8
Ammonia: 0.5 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 5 ppm
4/3 -
Thought the tank was cycled, so added the Neon Tetras
4/5 -
pH: 7.8
Ammonia: 0.5 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 5 ppm
*did 1 & 1/2 gallon water change w/ bottled water (1 gal) & tap water
4/6 -
pH: 7.8
Ammonia: 0.5 ppm
Nitrite 0.25 ppm
Nitrate 5 ppm
*did another 1 & 1/2 gallon water change (all tap)
4/7 -
pH: 7.8
Ammonia: 0.5 ppm
Nitrite: 0.25 ppm
Nitrate 5 ppm
*did another 1 & 1/2 gallon water change (1 gal bottled & 1/2 gal tap)
4/8 -
pH: 7.8
Ammonia: 0.5 ppm
Nitrite: 0.25 ppm
Nitrate 5.0 ppm
4/9 -
pH: 7.8
Ammonia: 0.25 ppm
Nitrite: 0.5 ppm
Nitrate 5 ppm
* did 1 & 1/2 gallon water change (all tap)
4/10 -
pH: 7.8
Ammonia: 0.5 ppm
Nitrite: 0.5 ppm
Nitrate: 5 ppm
* Went to LFS & had them measure water - they measured the Ammonia at 1 ppm & told me that was more of a concern than the Nitrite levels, so I went home & did a 2 gallon water change (all tap) and added 1/2 teaspoon AmQuel to neutralize the Ammonia.
4/11 -
pH: 7.6
Ammonia: 0.25 ppm
Nitrite: 0.5 ppm
Nitrate: 10 ppm
*did 1 & 1/2 gallon water change
4/12 -
pH: 7.6
Ammonia: 0.25 ppm
Nitrite: 0.25 ppm
Nitrate: 10 ppm
And that's where I'm at. I can't figure out what's going on & have been told adding an air stone will reduce the Nitrite levels (by the LFS). I now think that the tank didn't really start cycling until I put the Tetras in it. But how long should it take for a 5 gallon tank to cycle? I keep doing the water changes b/c everything I read says that if you can measure the Ammonia & Nitrite levels, they're too high for the fish. But I can't seem to get the levels down. Any ideas?
Thanks for reading such a long post.
First of all, thanks for the help w/ my Betta. He is doing much better now that I've taken the tree stump out & put a couple of plastic plants in the tank.
Second, I've put 3 little (< 1 inch each) Neon Tetras in the 5 gal tank w/ him & am now having water problems, I think. (I know, I shouldn't have gotten the Tetras, but it's a long story...) I've had the tank up & the Betta in there since March 22nd. I started measuring water chemistry on the 26th & the measurements have been as follows:
3/26 -
pH: 7.8 (tap pH = 8.8 after adding water conditioner & sitting for 24 hours)
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: didn't measure
kH: ~89.5 ppm (5 dH)
GH: ~125.3 ppm (7 dH)
3/29 -
pH: 7.8
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 5.0 ppm (tap = 0 ppm)
3/30 -
pH: 7.8
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 10 ppm
3/31 -
pH: 7.8
Ammonia: 0.5 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 10 ppm
*did 1 gallon water change w/ conditioned tap water
4/2 -
pH: 7.8
Ammonia: 0.5 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 5 ppm
4/3 -
Thought the tank was cycled, so added the Neon Tetras
4/5 -
pH: 7.8
Ammonia: 0.5 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 5 ppm
*did 1 & 1/2 gallon water change w/ bottled water (1 gal) & tap water
4/6 -
pH: 7.8
Ammonia: 0.5 ppm
Nitrite 0.25 ppm
Nitrate 5 ppm
*did another 1 & 1/2 gallon water change (all tap)
4/7 -
pH: 7.8
Ammonia: 0.5 ppm
Nitrite: 0.25 ppm
Nitrate 5 ppm
*did another 1 & 1/2 gallon water change (1 gal bottled & 1/2 gal tap)
4/8 -
pH: 7.8
Ammonia: 0.5 ppm
Nitrite: 0.25 ppm
Nitrate 5.0 ppm
4/9 -
pH: 7.8
Ammonia: 0.25 ppm
Nitrite: 0.5 ppm
Nitrate 5 ppm
* did 1 & 1/2 gallon water change (all tap)
4/10 -
pH: 7.8
Ammonia: 0.5 ppm
Nitrite: 0.5 ppm
Nitrate: 5 ppm
* Went to LFS & had them measure water - they measured the Ammonia at 1 ppm & told me that was more of a concern than the Nitrite levels, so I went home & did a 2 gallon water change (all tap) and added 1/2 teaspoon AmQuel to neutralize the Ammonia.
4/11 -
pH: 7.6
Ammonia: 0.25 ppm
Nitrite: 0.5 ppm
Nitrate: 10 ppm
*did 1 & 1/2 gallon water change
4/12 -
pH: 7.6
Ammonia: 0.25 ppm
Nitrite: 0.25 ppm
Nitrate: 10 ppm
And that's where I'm at. I can't figure out what's going on & have been told adding an air stone will reduce the Nitrite levels (by the LFS). I now think that the tank didn't really start cycling until I put the Tetras in it. But how long should it take for a 5 gallon tank to cycle? I keep doing the water changes b/c everything I read says that if you can measure the Ammonia & Nitrite levels, they're too high for the fish. But I can't seem to get the levels down. Any ideas?
Thanks for reading such a long post.
Last edited: