starlyte Posted November 8, 2005 Report Share Posted November 8, 2005 Okay, So i have had fish in the tank for 4 days now (6 clowlight tetras, 2 dwarf gourami and 1 yellow algae eater) Looks as though the cycle is at first stages Amonia level is at 0.5 Nitrite level is at 0 Nitrate level is at 0 also When i bought the tank they sold me a bottle of aqua plus and a bottle of cycle. The next dayi went in and got a test kit, Spoke with the same person i bought the tank off and they suggested i get a bottle of prime After i bought it i got a bit confused... i read the bottle and it appears to do the same thing as cycle does... Why did they sell this prime to me? is it better/different to cycle? I know i shouldnt be putting more fish in the tank yet... But ive been looking at a trademe auction that has a bunch of fish.. cardinal tetras, clown loaches, rainbow tetra and a rummy nose tetra will they die if i add them to the tank or should i really wait a few weeks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoandWilly Posted November 8, 2005 Report Share Posted November 8, 2005 Leave the tank to fully cycle before adding more fish, if you have cycle and aqua plus you dont need the prime, I would do small water changes each day maybe just 10% untill the tank has cycled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke* Posted November 8, 2005 Report Share Posted November 8, 2005 Some LFSs love to sell you stuff you don't need. You actually need very little to maintain a tank but the LFS says you need all these different chemicals/products etc. However i have heard those products you bought do speed up the cycling so they will help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustcooktea Posted November 8, 2005 Report Share Posted November 8, 2005 Be patient, Starlyte! There will be other Trade-Me auctions! I am looking at getting glowlight tetras for my son's new tank after Christmas. They are cool little fish and I am glad you have enough of them for them to shoal. By-the-way, what size is your tank? MCT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faran Posted November 8, 2005 Report Share Posted November 8, 2005 Hi there Just a guess but...do you recall the salesperson mentioning somethng about Prime eliminating nitrates and nitrites from your water? Did you test the water before adding Prime? Basically, the salesperson prolly foresaw the cycling problems that you may have and wanted to give you the product that will save your fish if/when you get a spike. I just used Prime this morning to save a 3ft-er that I'm rushing through a cycle as I had to add a lot of fish in a short time for the bacteria to handle. It (Prime) is great stuff though pretty expensive. Can't recommend it enough for show tanks and starting off your first tank. Good luck and use the Prime if you get any spikes. There's also those chem-absorbing bags, but Prime is cleaner and easier. By the way, did you win the auction? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlyte Posted November 8, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 8, 2005 Yes, animates did suggest getting 6 glowlights at the same time, They are pretty active fish, Its fun to watch them chase each other I did not end up bidding on the auction, I held out, i know i cant put more fish in the tank, The auction was for: 6 cardinal tetras 1 rainbow tetra 1 rummy nose tera 3 clown loaches numerous variations of orange and yellow platys - baby and older It closed today and went for $100 The salesperson did say that prime was good for nitrates and nitrites, However what got me confused is the day before they sold me cycle, I mentioned that i had cycle - in case they forgot i had it but still insisted i needed prime I have not actually opened the prime bottle yet, Ive used cycle in the tank instead. I put the water in the tank, added the aqua plus tap conditioner and some cycle. a week later i added fish with some more cycle, I cant remember if i used anymore aqua plus though... My tank size is 800mm long x400mm deep x300mm wide I pretty much understand the cycle... However not being through it i dont know what is good In an established tank amonia and nitrites should be zero, and essentially you control the nitrates... so if there is any amonia and nitrites in the water i can see prime/cycle... etc used to get rid of these. However in a new tank, we need amonia and nitrites to make the nitrates What should the amonia and nitrites spike up to..... what are safe levels, How long should these spikes last.. Should i be using prime or something similar if they do get too high What if they dont get high... is that better? - will it still cycle? - ie if i use prime to kill the nitries and amonia - as i understand it these products kill the toxic parts, but its still in the water so it can/will be still converted to nitrates right? Ive read alot, and ive found most places contradict other places - doesnt help! especially with ph levels and temperatures for fish... Some places say ph 6 for cardinal tetras, but others say ph 7... ill finish now as this post is getting long.... and its probably stopped making sense Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted November 8, 2005 Report Share Posted November 8, 2005 What you are doing with cycling, as you say, is setting up the means to convert ammonia and nitrite to nitrate. The plants need and will utilize the nitrate, but they cannot utilize the others and they are toxic to fish. These compounds arise usually from the urea produced as a waste product from the fish. This conversion should take place almost imediately,and is carried out by bacteria. These bacteria need these compounds also so the whole system is a living thing. When you introduce more fish or use antibiotics it changes the balance and it takes a while for the equation to even up again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustcooktea Posted November 8, 2005 Report Share Posted November 8, 2005 Don't be shy about posting your test results and asking for advice on their levels. It is great that you have the tests. I think they are well worth having while cycling a tank. MCT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cath Posted November 8, 2005 Report Share Posted November 8, 2005 Hmmm am looking aghast at the list of chemicals you guys use. I started my tank with just plants for 3 weeks, then slowly added fish. I've never used chemicals of any type - admittedly I'm lucky because we have rain water here. The tank (80cm x40cm) is always clear - frequent water changes and the fish are very active (10neons, 10 glowlights, 2 rams, 2 bristlenoses, 4 corydoras, 10 danios - 5 longfinned zebras and 5 pearls) I am wanting to add 2 more rams and maybe a pair of fighters - would this be too much? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vimmer Posted November 9, 2005 Report Share Posted November 9, 2005 When I cycled my tank with 6 glowlights (awesome, awesome fishes) I did not do a test until the 3rd day of them being in the tank, and did not get a reading for ammonia (it was 0), and got 0.25 for nitrites, and 5.0 for nitrates. But I dunno if that's a typical reading for a cycling tank though. I didn't use any products either, basically because I'm too poor to buy 'em And Cath, your little pic is rad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted November 9, 2005 Report Share Posted November 9, 2005 I have been keeping fish for over 40 years and have never used chemicals to cycle a tank. It is called the nitrogen cycle because it is a cycle N - NH3 - Nitrite - Nitrate and bacteria are also working to complete the cycle in the decay process. This will happen naturally if you remember it is a natural process and give it time for the balance to sort itself out and only make slow changes to the system so that it can re adjust. The bacteria multipy by binary fision about every 20 minutes and they will only multiply and stabilise at a concentration suited to the amount of food available. Plants are the best user of nitrate and it is removed when you propagate it and remove the plant from the tank. So in effect you are removing the fish urine by selling plants on Trademe. Have a good day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cath Posted November 9, 2005 Report Share Posted November 9, 2005 Thanks Vimmer, it's a sef portrait and alanetc that is the best advice I've read anywhere. Thank you for that I thought I was doing it right as have not lost any fish however it's good to get it confirmed by an expert :lol: Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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