Is this really cycling???

[holbritter]

This is the history of readings:

12/1
ph 8.0
am 1.0
na 5.0
ni 0.0

12/3
ph 8.0
am 1.0
ni 5.0
na .25

12/5
ph 8.0
am 1.0 - 2.0
na 5.0
ni .25

12/7
ph 7.2 (think I did that one wrong)
am .5
na 5.0
ni .25

12/9 - added 6 zebra danios
12/10
ph 7.6
am .5 - 1.0
na 5.0
ni .25

12/13
ph 8.0
am 1.0
na 5.0
ni .25

12/16
ph 8.0
am 1.0-2.0
na 5.0 - 10
ni .25

12/17
ph 8.0
am 1.0-2.0
na 5.0 - 10
ni .25

12/20
ph 8.2
am 1.0-2.0
na 5.0
ni .5

I started using fish flakes to cycle.
I did about a 10% water change back on 12/16, when the ammonia was going towards 2.0
Nothing seems to be changing much, except my PH, which I don't understand. My ph out of my tap is 8.0.

Can someone please tell me if I'm on the right track, or what I'm doing wrong.(besides using fish to help cycle)
Thanks :)

[Nautilus29]

first of all what are you using to test your water with. If its the test strips they can be inaccurate.

[holbritter]

No, not strips. I have the master kit.

[holbritter]

Oh, and I have a fluval 305, regular heater, bubbles, mostly fake plants, with one small live plant, and sand as my substrate.

[Danny M]

and sand as my substrate.
What kind of sand? Could be the sand that's containing some carbonates - this raises the ph.
And you need a bit more pacience; the flakes need time to decay, that's why you don't get so soon the expected spike (if you were using plain ammonia could have been quicker).

[holbritter]

Silica sand that they use in pool filters.

Patience? What's that :hmm3grin2orange:

[cocoa_pleco]

just wait awhile. Cycling takes time. add cycle bacteria or a handful of someone else's gravel in a already cycled tank to speed it up some more. it taks 2 weeks to 4 months for the tank to fully cycle

[Lady Hobbs]

Well, it's supposed to be first ammonia then nitrites then nitrates.

Your pH is very high. That's the pH people would dream of for cichlids but too high for most community fish. That level could likely be causing you some problem. Hard water cycles slower than softer water. Also, rotting food takes longer to grow bacteria than ammonia from the fish. So between the hard water the food that is still rotting, your cycle is slowed down.

Aerating the water helps as bacteria grows faster with oxygen. Trying to lower the pH will not help as it will only rise again. You are not cleaning the gravel, the filters or anything are you? Also, using de-clorinated water?

[jeffs99dime]

my ph is 8.0 out of the tap. that's why is got an r.o. filter!

[f1oored]

You aren't doing anything wrong. You added the zebra danios on the 9th, that is your first day of sure fire ammonia being added to the water. Start counting from there and you will probably take at least six weeks. That puts you at Jan 13th. If your number aren't changing by then, we may have a problem. Even doing a cycle with pure ammonia it took me 2 full weeks to see my nitrite spike. Using fish is slower and using food can be very slow. I don't think you have anything to worry about. Just be patient.

[jman]

I thought it would be a lil longer than 6 weeks but with the filter it should be fine.

[holbritter]

Ok...patience is the key here. The hard water is definately not helping either. I don't have any chlorine, I'm on a well, and it's not treated at all.

I *was* planning on a community tank, but I take it I should just go with what my water dictates.

When the cycling gets near the end, I'll be asking for stocking suggestions! I had everything planned for community.

Thanks everyone for your help :)

BTW...what's a RO filter?

[jeffs99dime]

oh yeah. sorry about that. i should have wrote it out. r.o. stands for reverse osmosis. what this does, depending on how many stages the filter has (membranes) it purifies the water completely, including minerals. the minerals removed need to be replenished after the process for aquarium life. basically, it takes out all the chemicals and impurities that the water company adds to your source water (tap). it will also lower the ph to about 5. this is unsafe for aquatic life which is why i mix r.o. water 50/50 with tap water. i also have a big problem with high phosphates in my tap water, this will also alleviate this symptom.:thumb:

[Lady Hobbs]

Altho you are on well water and have no chlorine, you still have heavy metals from the ground source. Chlorine with chloramine should be used. The Chloramine removes the metals from the water. Who knows, it might even help soften the water with some of these metals neutralized.

[holbritter]

Wow...I definately need to check into that filter and the chloramine. First time living off a well. I'm used to city water :)

Thanks!

[jeffs99dime]

Altho you are on well water and have no chlorine, you still have heavy metals from the ground source. Chlorine with chloramine should be used. The Chloramine removes the metals from the water. Who knows, it might even help soften the water with some of these metals neutralized.

also, i can almost guarantee your phosphate levels are off the chart! well water almost always has high phosphates, even higher than mine. my brother and my cousin both have tanks and they have well water. they both live in completely different areas and have super high phosphate levels. an r.o. will eliminate this all together.

[holbritter]

Just checked my water and my ammonia is at 2.0 and the nitrites are 1.0
Nitrates are stuck at the same 5.0

I have to do a water change.

Also, I just found someone at work who has a tank, and is into fish. I'm going to ask her for some of her gravel.
It's not too late to do that, is it?

[f1oored]

A water change is only going to slow thing down at this point and it's not too late to add the gravel though it is most helpful if done right at the start.

[Lady Hobbs]

I agree. Having fish in the tank and doing water changes will slow things down but it's also the only way to cycle and keep the fish alive at the same time. Feed sparingly.

Nitrates are fine. Fish are fine unless nitrates are very high. Yours are normal.

40 is high.

[jman]

Just... good luck to you it'll be fine.

[holbritter]

Oh how I wish I could start over!

I did a 25% water change. I guess I'll have to be even more patient, since it will slow it down some, but I kinda panicked.

Thanks so much for your help so far. :)

[holbritter]

hobbs...I'm assuming you like angels. Is it true they can't have too much water movement, like from a strong filter?

I was thinking of them because my tank is tall, rather than long.

[holbritter]

*sigh* did the water change and added the handful of gravel from a friends tank. Waited a couple of hours and all the readings are the same except the Nitrates, which went to 10.

I'm hoping those bacterias will start eating the bad stuff :)

[holbritter]

My readings today are

ph 8.0
amm 2.0
Nitrates 10
and the nitrites are up to 5.0!!

I did a water change yesterday...about 25%

Should I do a bigger one? Or is the normal spike I'm supposed to see? I'm worried about the danio, even though they seem their normal selves.

[Danny M]

holbritter, you're half way through! You will see the light on the end of the tunnel when both ammonia and nitrites drop to 0.
About water changes, I wouldn't do over 40-50% at a time. Better to make several changes of 25%, at a shorter interval of time.

[holbritter]

Thanks Danny. The nitrites went down to 2.0 this morning, and the ammonia is dropping too. I'll keep doing the smaller water changes. I'm really glad I'm almost there!!
Sorry I panicked :)