Hi all, Day 3 of my new tank, water tests showed Amm and nitrite present (this was actually a suprise as I thought that my substrate - UP Aqua Shrimp Soil - shouldnt leech ammonia and I hadnt "fed" the tank with anything yet). I did a big water change (90%). On day 6 tested again and tests...

Hey all, Does anyone know the timeline of the nitrogen cycle in an established tank? I have a fully, recently cycled Fluval Spec V, and was curious how long beneficial bacteria takes to convert ammonia to nitrite, and then from nitrite to nitrate. Can't seem to find any answers anywhere. I'm...

Hey, I'm having a terrible time with my Nitrites. I cycled my tank and added some fish, but then, stupidly, took out some of my filter to put in carbon to clean the water better. I think the taking away of some of the filter sponge and adding fish caused my tank to go into a mini cycle. The only...

Last weekend I finally took the plunge and switched from all gravel with fake plants to a dirted/ planted set up! I'm super happy with the look (except for the tanins from the driftwood used... despite having soaked it for a month ahead of time--- but that's another issue) I have been testing...

Hello, I'm fairly new to this hobby and having a little trouble with cycling my tank. I have a 40 gallon breeder that is heavily planted and now has 6 white clouds. The tank has been up and running for a little more than 2 and half weeks. I have been testing (API master kit) my water about...

Hi guys Im new to this forum, and have got back into aquariums after having been unable to have aquariums for about 15 years (no I wasn't in jail). Anyway, Ive posted below some of my pics from my first foray into the planted tank hobby. This tank is ~180L and is about 2 weeks old. So far...

Welcome to another episode of Aquahound's Dirty Little Secrets. In this episode I go over The Nitrogen Cycle aka "The Silent Killer". We all go through this cycle when starting up a new tank and taking the time to let the bacteria grow is very vital to having success. It is exciting when you get...

Ammonia-->Nitrites-->Nitrates That is how the cycle goes right? Now obviously I am at the point where I never get readings of Ammonia or Nitrites, but my Nitrates have always been sky-high. I know there are a little bit of Nitrates in my tap water (which sucks) but whenever I use my...

I'm confused by my water parameter test results. I'm 23 days into a fishless cycle with seeding material. Until now, my readings have followed the expected course. Previously I have needed to add pure ammonia every other day to keep the levels at ~1.5-2.0ppm. However, for ~3 days, my ammonia...

Done. Mods Plz close : )

I have a reef master test kit left over from my days of salt water and I'm wondering if it's ok to use this for my planted tank? Or do I need to get one specific for freshwater. For those who are wondering whats in it here is a good descriptive link to the product. Thanks ahead for the help :)

when can i expect nitrtes to start appearing in my tests..im using the api test kit. iv had 4 zebra danios in my 40 gallon tank for about 2 weeks now and ammonia has steadily rose to around .9 ....im doing 30% water changes every couple of days. also about 7 days after puting fish in i used...