Question: Cycling tank test results

[daremo]

ok, test results after a little over 24 hrs with 5 guppies in the tank

ammonia 0 mg /l

nitrites 0.3 mg/l YAY!! this is a good sign right???

nitrates 12.5 mg /l (my tap water tests this too)

Could it be that the bacteria in charge of consuming ammonia is already present??

Also the water is a lot less cloudy today!!

 

[MereB]

Possible but highly unlikely but hey stranger things have happened

OK lets start from the beginning.
What is in your tank that is new and what came from an established tank.
I know you have some ornaments from another tank but I wouldn't have thought that alone would be enough to cycle a tank that size that quickly.
When did you take your first tests and did you test every day of that first week? IF you didn't it's possible you missed your ammonia cycle and are now waiting the the nitrite bacteria to grow. I've never cycled with those pellets so have NO idea how rapidly they would produce ammonia.
Your original results had a little nitrite as well which could quite possibly be in your water as well. If it continues to rise and ammonia stays at zero then I will have to say YES your ammonia munching bacteria is in place. It would be really odd to have that bacteria present this soon but heck the time for cycling a tank is anywhere from 2-6 (or more) weeks just remember the bacteria on the ornaments will be producing small amounts of Nitrite and nitrate. You could very well be 1/2 way there already.
You will see a steady increase in the level of Nitrate when your cycle is set and the others will be 0 or very close to it.


I have a little 14.5 inch cube that has been running for almost a week now with just under 10 gallons of water in it. New sand, plants, rocks and filter. 3 days ago I took the filter out and ran it in the base of my husbands big canister filter for an hour while he was cleaning it. This water was chock FULL of dislodged bacteria so I seeded the filter with it. Then I put 1L if the bacteria filled water straight into the tank and put the filter back in again and it still wasn't enough to avoid the cycle process completely I had an ammonia spike yesterday (0.5) so It's still cycling.
I have all the bacteria present, every thing being produced, but they are not present in high enough numbers yet to neutralize all the ammonia being produced by the one 10cm axolotl that has been in there for 2 days now.

If you're anything like me you are anxious to get your new pet. You can cycle with an axie in there using them as your ammonia source. If your comfortable that you can keep on top of your water quality there is no reason you can't put an axolotl in there now. I wouldn't worry about the guppies if you get one big enough to eat them. They don't tend to be fin/gill nippers so should be find for the time it takes for him or her to eat them.

I'd LOVE to see dome pictures of this monster sized tank when you get a chance :happy:

 

[daremo]

it was like this

I set up the tank, added sand, since the water was very cloudy I left it for about a week, during which I did water changes to clear the water and I think I also added reptomin pellets on the last days, for about 3-4 days but I don't remember if I tested for ammonia at the same time, id I did, I didn't get any reading

After a week I started with the fish flakes and two days ago I added the guppies...

I am uploading pics of the new tank, what's new is the sand and the ornaments (buda, moai, the fake log
What was in another tank is all the plants and the rocks they are attached too, I also passed a few litres of water from my tanks and two almond leaves, added two new ones.

The filter was used but was dried, what I did to reduce the water flow was adding that yellow sponge and then added two new pads into the filter and used another two that was used to put them in the holes where the water passes to divert it to fall into the yellow sponge and from there to the water so it makes almost no noise and the flow is slow... I thought I was also giving the bacteria a lot more place to live by adding sponge like things...

the divider was about between the fake log and the budda and plants

When I transfer the axies I will be transferring the plants and hideouts they have in their tanks (three anubias, elodeas, java moss and two terracota pots)

Here's the pictures:

 

[daremo]

oh by the way, I have a 18 cm golden that I think it's a she already, since last december and a 9 cm wild type, they're both going to live in this big tank (with the divider until the little one catches up)

has anyone used the tetra drops testers? I am starting to think they're not as accurate... but they're the only ones available here ...

I guess that if the guppies are doing well then the tank is doing alright... I will keep testing and posting the results, I got more plants to add too

thanks so much for your patience and help!

 

[daremo]

new test results:

ammonia 0 mg/L

nitrites between 0.3 and 0.8 mg /L (the test shows a darker orange than last test but not as red as 0.8)

nitrates: 12.5 mg /L

I added plants...

I guess still cycling...

 

[daremo]

nitrite raising!!

0.8 mg/l now

should I do water changes now??

 

[Opacum]

Hang in there... the nitrite should start to drop as the new bacteria converts it... you're doing OK. Don't touch the water yet...

 

[MereB]

not sure why I didn't get an email for this thread any way....

YAY I'm so glad the nitrite is rising. I'm starting to seriously wonder about that ammonia test kit though. It should be reading ammonia or at least have been reading it since there is clearly some there being converted and I am CERTAIN the guppies are producing it. It shouldn't be too much longer now and your will see the nitrites drop as the nitrate rises. So exciting, you're half way there!

Hang in there... the nitrite should start to drop as the new bacteria converts it... you're doing OK. Don't touch the water yet...

now ordinarily if you were doing a straight non-fish cycle I would agree BUT 0.5-1mg/L of Nitrite is in the unsafe zone for fish and since you have fish in there I would indeed do a little water change. Just to get it back to the safe zone of between 0 and 0.4 you don't have to get it to 0 just aim for a bit below 0.5 :happy:

Very nice tank by the way :happy: and it will look even better with those other plants, hides and your axies in it. I want a 5ft tank :lol: I have NOWHERE to put one that size but it is spectacular!

My baby is a little over 10cm now and definitely snack sized for an adult very wise to keep them apart.

 

[daremo]

would it be a bad idea if I transfer the axies after doing a water change and continue the cycle with them?

I guess it shouldn't take much longer and I am not sure how accurate the tests are, so far the guppies are all doing alright and I have two days off work I can take a look at the axies...

 

[MereB]

Test the water again to make sure that nitrite has dropped after the change and you can put them in there since we're pretty sure of what the tank is doing now in regards to cycling. Just keep a very close eye on it :happy: Test the water each day before you leave the house for the day after the weekend and leave yourself enough time to do a water change if it needs it.

It's going well now so there is no reason you can't cycle with your axies in there now. It's not really any different to cycling with the fish. They will produce more ammonia than the fish because they are bigger and you have more to lose if the water get's nasty
Have fun! I'm sure they will envoy their new home once they have settled in :happy:

 

[daremo]

ok, the nitrites are at 0.3 mg / l and I did about 10-20% water change a couple of days ago, and nitrites are steady at 0.3

I tested the nitrites of my little axie's tank and it its at 0 mg/l , so the test does show a difference...

I still didn't transfer the axies because today I am getting a few new plants and the guppies are still in the big tank, I did add the divider

I am wondering if it's worth to get new tetra tests (I am almost out of them, they are VERY expensive and I am not sure they are so accurate...) and if it's safe to transfer the axies with 0.3 mg/l of nitrites, or should I do another water change before transferring them....

 

[MereB]

Whenever you're ready to add them is fine :happy:

They should be ok @ .3 but you would need to set about the slow process of acclimatizing them first so the leap from 0 to .3 isn't so shocking for them. Just put them each into a bucket or container with some of their tank water and slowly over an hour add some of the water from the big tank so you end up with one part old tank water and 2 parts new tank water. That should reduce the shock considerably. Once you've added all the new tank water just leave them in the 2:1 mix for about 20 minutes then put them in the big tank.
If you're going to wait another day or 2 then I would do a water change again first.

I've never used Tetra tests so I don't know how accurate they are. API is very good if you can get them but if tetra is what's available then it will have to be tetra. It's one of the BIG brands so I would have thought they would be pretty good. Could be you got a dud ammonia test or it's past it's best by date. It happens sometimes. Unfortunately they all seem to be quite expensive

 

[daremo]

great, thanks!

If I have time this week I may be changing them as soon as possible, otherwise I will be changing them this weekend

maybe in that time the nitrites go down

I also want to do it as soon as possible because summer is arriving, we're already hitting 30°, and although I have an A/C the tanks where they're are now aren't getting the cold air, but the new one is directly opposite the a/c so I can keep it colder...

 

[daremo]

oh another silly question... I have a juvie of about 10 cm now, he loves his earthworms and I feed him everyday half about half a worm...
looking from above his body isn't as wide as his head, but when he eats I can see like some "bumps" in his body (like the food is stored there) and he poops a lot too (a lot more than my old golden!) so I would think he's well fed, but is it normal that he isn't as fat? he's always hungry but so is my golden and she's quite chubby...

 

[MereB]

Under the A/C sounds like an excellent place for an axie tank. I can understand you wanting to get them into it where it's cooler.

My little guy eats and eats and eats but his belly isn't as big as his head either. His belly does as you described as well so I wouldn't be worried about it. He's still very little and has to put most of the energy he gets from his food into growing bigger he just simply doesn't have much left to get fat on. I've tried feeding mine more to 'fatten him up' but to no avail, he just pooped more and grew a little faster so I figured he's fine and will fatten up later when the growth rate slows.
Much like human children really. I have 3 boys and they eat like nothing on earth but they never get fat they just keep growing taller I don't see why an axie would be any different.

edited to add;

I should probably mention he eats 2 thirds of a fairly large worm in one sitting each day. I try to give him the last piece, the head, but he's not interested in it so I leave it in his tank and he will usually eat it during the course of the day.
Got to make sure it's the head I leave as it stays alive in the tank for days but the other 2 parts don't and they just turn nasty very quickly.

 

[daremo]

I didn't know that...

I hand feed mine and make sure they eat the worm (they always do) if I drop the worm in the tank they don't see it... I have to get it out and give it to them, spoiled uh...

It would be cool if they actually eat them from the bottom of the tank, maybe I can train them? its easier to feed for when I leave on holidays... I think they are so used to me hand feeding them, when they see me they swim up to the surface waiting for food!!

 

[MereB]

:happy: Finding worms in the tank is a fairly new trick for my little guy. He's had blackworm in his feed dish since he was about 2 months old and he finally got the idea of stalking them after a few days. They didn't swim around like the BBS did so he had to learn to find them or go hungry. When I moved him to his new tank last week I started out by dumping a heap of blackworm into the tank which then dig into the sand and poke their heads out and wriggle around and he would spot one, usually right next to him and go and eat it. The first worm head I put in it took him 2 days to find and eat but it's a pro now :happy:

 

[daremo]

hehe

we're talking about fish?? that little cutie??

yesterday I tried, I put about 1/3 of a red wriggler, about 2 cm but to no avail, he didn't see it and kept coming up to the surface so I gave up and gave it to him...

I may try the head half of one, is it safe to leave it there all day? he's in a bare bottom tank at the moment... I'm worried that it may hide between plants or rocks and die and rot...

 

[MereB]

LOL yes we're talking about little Fish Who took a trip to school today to my oldest boys class. The LOVED him and he preformed beautifully eating his worms from the pipette right on cue, such a good boy :lol:

I've left the head in for 2 days before he ate it. It just wriggled around and around the tank until he found it at the end of day 2.

I don't know just how long they would live in the tank but this may help. I feed fish's parents worms every other day but I only collect the worms once a week. I get enough for the week and place them in an airtight container and cover them with water and they live happily in the fridge for a week so I imagine it would take a good few days before the worm actually died.

You could always try keeping one of the heads in a bit of water on your bench to see how long it lasts. I think it will surprise you :happy:

I'm sorry he didn't find it today. Hopefully he will get the idea soon and eat from the bottom of the tank for you.

 

[daremo]

I transferred my axies yesterday to their new home
It went good, except one of my guppies died, I don't know why, I put them in a bucket for a while to clean the tank my golden was living in, added sand (the water became cloudy but not so much) and transferred the guppies and when I checked later he was like "standing" on the sand, I put it in a little container alone, he was like breathing rapidly... not swimming and today he's dead

Anyway, the axies are already in their jungle, they look relaxed and well so far...

here's some pictures (sorry for the quality, is really hard to take pictures of a tank!)