Cycling question

A

aili8447

AC Members
Apr 23, 2007
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When I first tested my aquarium with the Aquarium starter test strips from Mardel and the numbers read as this:
Chlorine 0
Nitrite 10.0
Hardness 425
Ph 8.4
I changed out about a third of the water after I tested waited two days and the numbers were the same.
I added Wardley 3 in 1 water conditioner that is supposed to buffer the ph to 7.0 and neutralize ammonia.
Now my test numbers are:
Chlorine 0
Nitrite 3.0
Hardness 425
Ph 8.4

I can't seem to bring the hardness and the ph down. Any suggestions? Have I screwed anything up?

Brenda
 
You don't need to change the pH or the hardness for 99% of the fish out there. What kind of a cycle are you doing to get your tank ready?
 
rbishop said:
You don't need to change the pH or the hardness for 99% of the fish out there. What kind of a cycle are you doing to get your tank ready?
Click to expand...
Dido, unless you're a breeder. I assume a fishless cycle given the readings?
 
You'll probably want to hurt me but I'm using goldfish to cycle my tank. They are from my father's large livestock tank and when I'm done cycling I'll put them back in the livestock tank. They are very hardy fish. I was told by LFS to put no more than 3 small ones in the tank.
 
Okay, you have opted to do a fishy cycle. Do you have a good liquid test kit for testing ammonia, nitrites and nitrates?

What fish do you plan on keeping after the tank is ready?

What size tank is it and what kind of filtration?

When doing a fishy cycle, you will need to test frequently and do whatever water changes are needed to keep ammonia and nitrites below .25
 
I have a Mardel test strip that tests for chlorine, nitrites, hardness, and ph. It doesn't test ammonia or nitrates. I have a 10 gallon tank with a 3-way top fin filter. Is that what you mean by what kind of filtration? As for what fish I'm not really sure yet-was thinking of some tetras, and maybe a dwarf gourami, some ghost shrimp and a snail.
 
It will be better if you get a liquid kit, they are much more reliable than the dip test strips. The API Master kit works wonder. Print their on line price and most big box stores will match it for about $14.

You will also be needing a water conditioner like Prime to remove chlorine and chloramine from your tap water, unless you have your own private well.

Can you get any established media from your Dad's tank?
 
I have my own private well so chlorine is not a problem. A liquid kit huh? I didn't even see those at my local pet smart but there is another fish store in town that I talked to who gave me the advice of doing a fishy cycle. I know he uses a liquid test kit. He was testing water when I talked to him. My dad's livestock tank has gunk in the bottom is that what you're talking about? He also has a lot of algae in his tank-after all it's a stock tank. I could get some of it sure.
 
What kind of filtration is he running, or is he doing constant auto change over?
 
No filtration, he just changes the water in the stock tank when he thinks it's time. I couldn't tell you how big the tank is but it takes more than two hours to fill. I hope I haven't confused you, but the tank I'm talking about is a tank that horses and cattle drink out of, it's not a fish tank. I just wanted to make that clear. It's pretty common practice around here to use gold fish to keep your tank clean. It sits out in the open so the sun beats on it until sunset so I think that's where all the algae is coming from.
 
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