Quick Question!

[Fisher_Zeb]

I woke up today to see i think my cycle complete..abit of ammonia, no nitrites (was some) and alot of trates 60-80ppm. I would be resolving the issue now but i need to make a half hour journey to get de-chlorination..i believe i have to do a 50% water change..is this correct? also when doing the wc should i siphon from the gravel or just empty the tank..thankyou!

Also what effects does this amount of trates have on the fish??

[Cliff]

If you have a bit of ammonia, then you are not finished.

Is this a fish-in cycle

[Wild Turkey]

+1 You are not finished, but getting there.

High nitrates can kill fish just like ammonia. If its less than 20ppm nitrate thats generally accepted as safe. Less is better.

If this is a fish in cycle I would reduce the nitrates with some water changes, and give it a few days to see if your ammonia levels rise again.

Otherwise, you can just wait until the cycling process is complete to reduce the nitrate before adding fish.

[Fisher_Zeb]

Its a fish_in cycle with my matured tanks filter, they've been in there for a few weeks now and have been fine with my frequent water changes, can anyone answer the reccomended waater change??

[Honey Badger 1]

You need to bring the nitrates down to under 20ppm. If they are at 80ppm now you need to do a pretty large water change, 80%. Or you could do two 50% changes, which should have the same results.

[Wild Turkey]

When you do water changes you can figure out what effects it will have by doing the math. A 50% waterchange will reduce your nitrates by 50%, so if your nitrate is 80ppm, it should be around 40ppm after a 50% wc. Two 50% would bring it to 20ppm.

For ammonia, if its no higher than .5ppm most hardy fish that would be used to cycling will be okay imo, of course there are no guarantees. Any higher than that and I would do a water change. Again, do the math to figure out how much water you need to change.


EDIT: +1 to mommys post

[Fisher_Zeb]

Ah okay, thankyou! And using my siphon to get out the water should I skim the gravel or does it matter as I don't know if nitrates sink to the bottom or lurk around the water?

[Wild Turkey]

Dont mess with the gravel yet imo, you could set back your cycle by disturbing the bacteria. Just get the water out, leave everything else.

[Fisher_Zeb]

Okays, the ammonia is alright in the tank..I have made sure the ammonia never gets much higher than the amount to feed the BB..just wondering if the water needs to be taken from the bottom of the tank to get the trates out

[Wild Turkey]

Negative. The stuff on the bottom can produce nitrates(by producing ammonia), but its not worth it to mess with that until you have had 0 ammonia and nitrite for a while imo.

Because you have a filter, the water is mixed constantly so nitrates arent located in one part of the tank in a higher concentration.

[Honey Badger 1]

I agree that you don't want to start digging in the gravel with the siphon just yet, but if there is any uneaten food or other debris on the gravel you do want to get that out.