Help with cycle !!!

[Paddy W]

I have a 50 gal tank Fluval 306 filter (brand new) cycle seemed to be going ok ( I thought)
Using API quick start and Tap water conditioner added 6 tetras first week. LPS said it was ok to add like 8 more fish(3 angel fish 5 platys) after two weeks. At the end of week 3 had water tested at LPS:
Ammonia 1.5
PH 7.8
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0
30% water change that day(Fri) Sunday PH better 7.5. Ammonia no change so another 30% Monday 30% PH 7.5 Ammonia .5
Tuesday 30% PH 7.3 Ammonia .5
Thursday PH 7.0
Ammonia .5
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0
Using API master test Kit

 

[tanker]

1) I would never go to that LFS again.
2) The cycle would take about 6-8 weeks, so best to do a fishless cycle.
3) You have already started a fish-in cycle, you must do daily WC of at least 40-50% till Ammonia and Nitrite is at zero.
4) Again, #3 will take 6+ weeks.

 

[Paddy W]

Thank you for the advice. After completing the daily WC what should be added to the water?
More quick start, Tap water conditioner anything else ? Bacteria ?

 

[LesbianChap]

Thank you for the advice. After completing the daily WC what should be added to the water?
More quick start, Tap water conditioner anything else ? Bacteria ?

When you do your water change, you don't need to add anything but conditioner to dechlorinate the water (assuming you're using municipal tap water). If you're adding water from a bucket, you can treat the bucket for the volume of the bucket before adding it to the tank. If you're adding it straight to the tank from the faucet (with a hose), it's recommended you treat for the full volume of your tank. Your nitrogen cycle bacteria don't really exist/live in your water column, and you won't notice any loss even if you did a 95% water change.

It gets slightly more complicated if you're using a "complicated" RO system (having to reconstitute water), or trying to adjust your water's chemistry (hardness, pH, etc)...but for the general tank for someone starting in the hobby, this goes beyond what you'll need to do. At this point, I doubt this is anything you have to think about, as I see this most often talked about with breeding or keeping particularly sensitive fish/plants in freshwater tanks.

 

[Rbishop]

What does your tap water test at, on a sample that set out over night in a shallow dish? I'd shoot for a consistent pH rather than a specific one that requires you to be adding stuff.

 

[FreshyFresh]

Paddy, welcome to the site!

Keep in mind angels will grow saucer sized. Those and the tetras will probably handle the platy babies if you have a mix of male/female platys. Like said above, this is a fairly heavily stocked tank for not having established a nitrogen cycle yet. I'd feed lightly and no more than 5x/week and do a 50% water change every other day until you see nothing but nitrates. This should happen in 4-6 weeks. You'll need to monitor for ammonia and nitrate often and be ready to do emergency WCs.