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You waited 1 month before adding fish. Without fish, there is no ammonia for the nitrifying bacteria to live off of, and so your tank/biofiltration did not 'cycle' (grow adequate numbers of nitrifying bacteria to convert all the ammonia into nitrite and then nitrate.) You need to keep a...

Beautiful tank!! Love the plants - both terrestrial and aquatic!

If you've taken the tank down and no water is running through the media in your filter(s) then you will have to start over. Nitrifying bacteria die if they dry out.

Although I disagree their use ... the reason for using a product which removes ammonia would be to decrease the amount of nitrate (less ammonia = less nitrate). However, these products are a waste of time and money IMO as they are more trouble than they are worth. Additionally, they remove other...

pH isn't significant now. During cycling it can rise and fall. Adding ammonia will increase pH. NitrIte at 0 ppm? Are you sure you don't mean nitrAte? Ammonia is converted into nitrIte. 1 ppm Ammonia is converted into roughly 2.4 ppm NitrIte. So, if ammonia has decreased from 4 ppm to 0.5 - 1...

Don't worry about the bacterial bloom for now. When your tank/filter has fully cycled/established enough of the correct bacteria, the water will be clear and have no bad smell. It will go away in time.

This is great advice. This is what you need to do. In 6-8 weeks you will see, with the proper test kit, 0 ppm ammonia, 0 ppm nitrite, and a good amount of nitrate. Then you add fish which result in ammonia and will keep your bacteria alive. It's a symbiotic relationship - fish need the bacteria...

You've got it! You really must have a test kit like the API Master Test Kit which tests pH, Total Ammonia, Nitrite, & Nitrate in order to keep fish and enjoy doing so (IMO). GH & KH kits are also good to have but testing for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate is essential.

I've seen reports which showed some nitrate in the water but in most places, tap water will contain zero or virtually zero nitrate.

Regarding spring water ... I understand you decided against using it ... Based on tests I made a few years ago, gallon jugs from grocery stores labeled as 'Spring Water' contained around 10 ppm Nitrate.

Don't release into natural waters.

You might expect a reading like that if/when the cycle is nearly complete. What size tank and how long has it been established with the current filtration?

Hey Magnus919. I'm in Durham/Chapel Hill. It's always good to hear from experienced fishkeepers like you but it's great knowing you're local. The LFS in Durham closed several years ago and I believe the closest LFS is probably 'The Fish Room' in Raleigh. I've kept different tanks since around...

The nitrite-oxidizing bacteria aren't keeping up with the bioload. It's difficult to say why without more information? What kind of filtration are you running? What size tank do you have? What and how many fish do you have and what size are they?

Phosguard removes both silicate and phosphate as you've pointed out. Plants don't need silicate but they do need phosphate. It's one of the primary plant fertilizers: N-P-K. Although there's no set level, the PPS-PRO and EI dosing systems are based on ratios of nitrate : phosphate : potassium...

Take your meter and a plastic cup and measure the TDS at the lfs before buying the fish. E.g. Some stores around here keep some freshwater tanks' TDS around 2,800 ppm. These particular stores aren't using ro/di and building it up. It's the same very soft water that I have (118 ppm TDS). I...

How are you performing this fishless cycle? Are you adding ammonia? Or are you letting food sit in the water? If you're adding ammonia, how long did it take before the ammonia level began to fall?

Dimilin-X Koi & Goldfish Treatment: Anchor Worm Fish Lice Flukes A search will turn it up. The active incredient is diflubenzuron. It's supposed to be non toxic to fish, plants and the biofilter and ends the life cycle of anchor worms and fish lice. One teaspoon treats 500 gallons. The entire...