Few Questions

[spuddly0014]

I hate asking questions about things I have seen in other posts but nothing answers exactly my situation. Please bear with me if you have answered this more times than you can count.

First is a lighting question.

I have a 29 Gal. kit from Petco. It came with all Aqueon stuff, I know not the greatest. The light is a 17 Watt T8 fixture housed in a removable plastic piece. The light in my eyes isn't bright enough. There are no live plants in this tank and I think I will keep it this way, for a while at least, as it is my first aquarium.

What I want to achieve is a brighter tank without growing unnecessary algae. Also to have the ability to swap out a bulb in the event I go with some plants.

Now I have read here and also seen some T8 to T5 conversion kits but with the amount of options out there I don't want to buy one and have to alter my hood/light fixture so much that it doesn't look stock. This tank is in my living room and would like to be as ascetically pleasing as possible.

Second is a water question.

I am currently cycling my tank. Yes, I am cycling with 4 Zebra Danios. I am doing 25% water changes everyday and I am a little over a week into it. I check the levels all the time to ensure I am doing this safely, but I digress.

I either have micro bubbles or a bacteria bloom. I am leaning towards micro bubbles because I can seem them and It has been pretty constant now for 2 days. I do not have an air stone only the stock HOB filter(Aqueon 20) and I added a Fluval 206 Can.

Is there an off chance this is bacteria? I highly doubt this because as stated before I can see them. If not, why do I have micro bubbles? The Fluval doesn't spit air and the HOB looks normal enough. Could it be the frequent water changes? My Tap Water?

I don't know, I will let the advice from everyone here guide me because I am racking my brain trying to figure it out.

OK, one more thing. Every Ammonia reading I have taken has read 0 or maybe .25 PPM. Can I still cycle if I never see and ammonia reading?

Alright I'm done. Thanks for listening. All advice is appreciated.

Thanks,

Matt

[Cliff]

That’s a lot of questions.

As for the cycling with fish, you can not follow a rule of thumb, like 25% water changes every other day. Let your test results tell you when to change the water. Test daily and when either nitrite or ammonia gets above or at 0.5ppm, do a water change to lower it to around 0.25ppm. For example, if your ammonia gets to 1ppm, change 75% of the water to lower it to 0.25ppm.

With 4 Zebra Danios in a 29 gallon tank, it will take a while for them to cycle the tank for you. I would suggest to add two more, or return all 4 and do a fishless cycle

There are two links below in my sig that can also help explain a few more details about cycling with fish and the fishless cycle if you would like some more info

[dbosman]

I have a 29 Gal. kit from Petco. It came with all Aqueon stuff, I know not the greatest. The light is a 17 Watt T8 fixture housed in a removable plastic ...
What I want to achieve is a brighter tank without growing unnecessary algae. Also to have the ability to swap out a bulb in the event I go with some plants.
...
Now I have read here and also seen some T8 to T5 conversion kits but with the amount of options out there I don't want to buy one and have to alter my hood/light fixture so much that it doesn't look stock. This tank is in my living room and would like to be as ascetically pleasing as possible.

There are retro fit kits that will allow you to keep your plastic hood.
Here is one. http://www.ahsupply.com/36-55w.htm
Go with the 55 watt kit, but put a 36 watt lamp in it.
DIY LED with a dimming driver would be a great way to give yourself the light you want now and have what you need later.

I am currently cycling my tank. Yes, I am cycling with 4 Zebra Danios. I am doing 25% water changes everyday and I am a little over a week into it. I check the levels all the time to ensure I am doing this safely, but I digress.
I either have micro bubbles or a bacteria bloom.

Bubbles will go away over time. Swishing the water or gravel around will make them go away faster. Lots of bubbles is usually a case of water temperature and air in the water. Frequent water changes can keep making more bubbles.

A bacterial bloom in a newish tank, or an over cleaned established tank, makes all the water look cloudy. Like someone poured some milk in the water.

OK, one more thing. Every Ammonia reading I have taken has read 0 or maybe .25 PPM. Can I still cycle if I never see and ammonia reading?

Four danios in a 29g tank make take a couple of weeks to start cycling.

Your specific ammonia reading may or may not matter depending on your test kit. There are two basic aquarium Ammonia test kits. Nessler and Salicylate.

Nessler test kits often (almost always) give a positive of .25 to .5 Ammonia due to ammonium. Nessler kits check for only total ammonia and ammonium, shows, but for the most part, isn't an issue in aquariums. *
Nessler method kits have color charts in shades of amber or brown.

Salicylate method kits have color charts in shades of green. They test for free ammonia or they have you do further tests to differentiate free ammonia and ammonia bound as ammonium compounds.

[Strider199]

Both great answers to the question gentlemen.

If your intent on a cycle with fish I too would add to the Danio school. 2 -3 more would not hurt in that size a tank and would speed up your cycle.

You said you did a partial water change every day?

"I am doing 25% water changes everyday and I am a little over a week into it."

I waited until my ammonia reading was 0.5ppm on my API liquid test kit before I did a 25-30% water change. I felt it helped feed the beneficial Bactria with a slightly higher ammonia count.
A picture of your bubbles would help but I agree with the others, it's probably just air bubbles from your water changes. These will go away by themselves or as dbosman said, stir them and they will go to the top of the tank and disappear.

As far as lighting goes, it's been a few years and I'm still looking for the light I think I want.

[spuddly0014]

I must have been mistaken when I read somewhere that water changes do not matter as the fish will produce a steady stream of ammonia for the bacteria.

I will be adding a few more fish.

I have been on AH Supply and this only solidifies where I will be getting a kit.

Thanks Guys