Advice - Bad or Good?

[James0816]

FWIW: There is a good sticky at the top which goes through the cycling process.

 

[Captnslapy]

Well, it looks like I know how far I can trust my LFS.

One question that I am not sure if we covered, can I change the water during cycling without delaying the cycle? My LFS says the tank will never cycle if I change the water. I would like to do a couple of 33% changes to get the water chemistry back in line.

As long as you have amm. in the water, you will need to do small water changes. Say like 20% ,maybe twice a week. This will slow down the cycling process alittle but will also keep your fish alive. Cycling with fish can be a long drawn out process, specially if you are trying ot keep them alive. Don't add anymore fish and feed a small amount once a day, You can't wait til the amm. and nitrites are 0. The fish would be dead by then. Good luck and take your time. Just live and learn, that's what most of us have had to do in this hobby. As you will see with every question you ask there will be something different that has worked for everybody. It's always a good idea to get as much info as you can from your local store, from here and figure out works best for you.

 

[Star_Rider]

if you are cycling with live fish ..do change water. the impact it has on the cycle is nill.

if you are cycling with no fish(aka fishless) then you only need to watch ammonia to keep it 4-5 ppm. you generally do not need to change water until the cycle is completed.. then change 50% and add fish.

 

[colinsk]

Thank you. I'll try a small water change. Even though I have only had my platies for a couple of weeks I am getting attached to them and I would hate to see them go.

 

[KarlTh]

Do big water changes. Keep the ammonia as low as you can. It will not slow the cycle at all. It's an enduring myth.

 

[colinsk]

Do big water changes. Keep the ammonia as low as you can. It will not slow the cycle at all. It's an enduring myth.

Thank you, I have read that the nitrospira etc. will attach to surfaces and not be effected by the water change but I wanted to check. I did not want to starve them of their nutrients.

Where do the initial cells arrive from? Airborne? Fish-borne?

 

[centralharbor]

That's totally false. When you do water changes while cycling with fish, you have to keep ammonia and nitrites down. You ARE delaying the cycle, but it's not a bad thing. If you were to do no water changes, the cycle would go by faster due to the amount of ammonium and nitrites in the tank, which would give the bacteria more food to feed on, BUT it would stress your fish, possibly to death.

So, yes, you are delaying the cycle, but you have to if you are to keep your fish alive. Read my post on the first page of this thread.

 

[Zaffy]

I have been given a lot of advice in the last few weeks. Some from reading on the net and some from the LFS. I want to make a list to see what others think.

The only way to cycle a tank is to add fish. No, there are several ways.

You should not change water for 6 weeks during cycling. That all depends on your cycling method.

Dip strips are as good as titrations. In my experience there is no difference other than the user.

.5 ppm ammonia at pH 7.5 is OK for platies. They'll most likely live through it, but no amount of ammonia is good in the long term for any fish.

Biospira is the only cycling aid that ever worked. I have some beach property in Utah you may be interested it.

To acclimate a fish before adding it to your water, dilute the fish store water with your tank water a little at a time over a few hours. a few hours is a long time, but that's the idea.

Only feed fish when ammonia levels are 0 during cycling. Short answer: "No." Long answer: "Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo."


I am cycling a 29 gallon tank with two platies. I tried to add a third twice but I have had no luck getting it to work.

Here is todays readings (Day 12) with dip strips:

Ammonia .5
Nitrite .5
Nitrate 10
Total Hardness 75 (much of this is magnesium hardness in my tap water)
Chlorine 0
Alkalinity 120
pH 7.5

With titrations:

Ca++ 17 ppm
Mg++ 20 ppm
Na+ 16 ppm
Cl- 9 ppm
SO4-- 110

Thank you in advance for any comments.

Nothing is black and white, fishkeeping is more of an art than a science. There are many perfectly valid ways to do everything.

 

[colinsk]

That's totally false. When you do water changes while cycling with fish, you have to keep ammonia and nitrites down. You ARE delaying the cycle, but it's not a bad thing. If you were to do no water changes, the cycle would go by faster due to the amount of ammonium and nitrites in the tank, which would give the bacteria more food to feed on, BUT it would stress your fish, possibly to death.

So, yes, you are delaying the cycle, but you have to if you are to keep your fish alive. Read my post on the first page of this thread.

Thank you CentralHarbor. I re-read your post.

Dip strips are as good as titrations. Don't know what trirations are

You guys call titrations the drip method. In our lab we have digital titrators that measure more accurately than a drip but it is the same thing. I can drip titrate to +-5ppm and digital titrate to +-.1ppm. I don't think that kind of accuracy is needed for my platies and I don't really want to set up to measure things I don't have to. My LFS says that the accuracy of Dip Strips are fine for fish keeping. I was looking for other opinions.

I am cycling a 29 gallon tank with two platies. I tried to add a third twice but I have had no luck getting it to work. Since you've already started a fish cycle, test for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. Change the water frequently, then when you have 0 ammonia and nitrite, and low nitrates before you do the water change, that means the bacteria that uses those chemicals are built up. You can then add a few more fish. Repeat the frequent water changes and testing until you fully stock your tank.

This sounds like reasonable advice. It slows down my plans but I keep reading that patience is the key to fish keeping.

 

[fishdaze]

I was under the impression that most of the bacteria live within the substrate, on surfaces, and within the filter/media.... To me that sounds like changing the water would not strongly inhibit the cycling process except for the fact that you're getting rid of the ammonia that the bacteria are feeding off of... but if you have fish it is being replenished anyway and if you don't... you're adding ammonia anyway so... I fail to see how it would slow down the process. I could be wrong though, just my observation from what I've read and experienced.