Jump to content

Tank Cycle — No Nitrites?

Skylar.grey

By Skylar.grey
in Water Parameters

 Share

Recommended Posts

Skylar.grey Be nice I'm new here

Skylar.grey

Posted
Posted

So I’m new at both fish keeping and shrimp keeping. Now I have 2 - 5 gallon fish tanks (one with a Hillstream loach, 4 Danios, a couple moss balls and some hornwort. The other has 1 male betta, 2 mystery snails, a moss ball and some hornwort) and 1 - 29 gallon tank that I’m currently trying to cycle (right now it has hornwort, java moss and some spiderwood in it but no fish/snails/shrimp)

 

I’ve been testing my water in all my tanks about once a week. I started my two other fish tanks out of an impulse almost... I saw my betta at Pet Supplies Plus had a tank in my basement and decided I had to take him home... so I hadn’t cycled my 5 gallon tanks before I stuck anything in. I know it’s not good but I hadn’t done any research so I didn’t know better. Now I do.

 

But my question is: I haven’t had ANY nitrites in any of my tanks. My ammonia and nitrates are there... my ammonia hasn’t gotten over 1 ppm and my nitrates haven’t gotten over around 40 ppm in ANY tank that I have. But why am I not seeing any nitrites? Is it Bc my tanks have plants in them?

 

Thank you for reading this super long post and thanks in advance for any advice/answers you can give?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
jayc Shrimp Guru

jayc

Posted
Posted (edited)
21 minutes ago, Skylar.grey said:

But my question is: I haven’t had ANY nitrites in any of my tanks. My ammonia and nitrates are there

How have you seeded the new tank? ie. how have you started the bacteria colony in the new tank?

Did you, for example, use the now matured filter media from the 5 gals? 

 

If that is the case, then you have seeded  the new tank with millions of bacteria. Enough Nitrite consuming bacteria to not see any Nitrites. These Nitrite bacteria can convert nitrite fast enough into Nitrates that you don't detect any with test kits.

 

Edited by jayc
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Skylar.grey Be nice I'm new here

Skylar.grey

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I seeded with Imagitarium Biological Booster (bought at petco) in all three tanks. It was a little after the tanks had been set up. The 2 - 5 gallons had fish in it already. The 29 was up and running but I hadn’t added any ammonia source yet. After I added the bacteria to the 29 I added an ammonia source.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
jayc Shrimp Guru

jayc

Posted
Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, Skylar.grey said:

After I added the bacteria to the 29 I added an ammonia source.

Is your ammonia reading coming down since adding it to the tank?

This particular bacteria booster product does not cycle the tank, nor does it contain beneficial bacteria that cycles the tank. It only assists in the cycling process by neutralising the ammonia and nitrites. Instead the product is tricking your test kits into a false reading.

How long has your 5 gal tanks been running for? Or are all 3 tanks the same age?

If the 5gal tanks have been running for a month or more, a better way of boosting the 29gal cycle is to squeeze the filter media from the 5gals into the 29gal filters. And do a vacuum of the 5gal gravel and pour that dirty water straight into the 29 gal tank. Yes, the 29 will look dirty but only for a while. The 29gal instead will be seeded with LOTS of beneficial bacteria.

If however, your tanks are of the same age and you don't have any gunk in the filter media or gravel, then you might be able to ask a friend who has an old tank to squeeze some of that gunk from their filter. Or you could ask your LFS.

Edited by jayc
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Join Our Community!

    Register today, ask questions and share your shrimp and fish tank experiences with us!

  • Must Read SKF Articles

    Shrimp Disease and Treatment
    Tibee, Taitbee, Pinto, Mischling, F1, F2

  • Tropical Fish Forum
    Discus Breeding Guide
    Discus Disease and Treatment Guide

  • Posts

    • ngoomie
      Shrimp and meds containing gentian violet

      By ngoomie · Posted

      Alright, I've done a bit more research on gentian violet's cancer-causing potential but I haven't yet done research on malachite green's to compare. But from reading the California propositon 65 document about GV (North Americans incl. some Canadians will recognize this as the law that causes some products they buy to be labelled with "known to the state of California to cause cancer", including the exact product I bought) it seems that the risk of cancer is related to internal use, either injection or ingestion. Speaking of ingestion, I think GV bans mainly relate to its use in treating fish/shrimp/etc. which are intended for human consumption, because of the above. And in countries where GV isn't banned for this purpose, it does seem to get used on various species of shrimp without causing any issue for the shrimp themselves (at least enough so for shrimp farming purposes). See the following: In February, the FDA Began Rejecting Imported Shrimp for Gentian Violet and Chloramphenicol (2022 article by Southern Shrimp Alliance) FDA Starts New Calendar Year by Refusing Antibiotic-Contaminated Shrimp from Three BAP-Certified Indian Processors and Adding a BAP-Certified Vietnamese Processor to Import Alert (2024 article by Southern Shrimp Alliance) Southern Shrimp Alliance and some other organizations have tons of other articles in this vein, but I'd be here for a while and would end up writing an absolutely massive post if I were to link every instance I found of articles mentioning shrimp shipments with gentian violet and/or leucogentian violet registering as contaminants. That being said, I know shrimp farmed for consumption and dwarf shrimp are often somewhat distantly related (in fact, the one time a shrimp's species name is listed that I can see, it's the prawn sp. Macrobrachium rosenbergii, who at best occupies the same infraorder as Neocaridina davidi but nothing nearer), but this at least gives a slightly better way of guessing whether it will be safe for aquarium dwarf shrimp or not than my bladder snail anecdote from the OP.
    • sdlTBfanUK
      Shrimp molting before eggs are hatched

      By sdlTBfanUK · Posted

      I would hazard a guess that perhaps those eggs were unfertilized and thereby unviable? Did the eggs change colour, usually yellow to grey as the yolks used up, or any eyes in the eggs. Is your water ok, using RO remineralised and the parameters in range, as I have heard others say that if the water isn't good it can 'force' a molt? How is it going overall, do you have a good size colony in the tank, you may have reached 'maximum occupancy' as a tank can only support so many occupants.
    • beanbag
      Shrimp molting before eggs are hatched

      By beanbag · Posted

      Hello folks,  The current problem I am having is that my Taiwan bee shrimp are molting before all their eggs have hatched.  Often the shrimp keep the eggs for 40+ days.  During that time, they lose about half or so, either due to dropping or duds or whatever.  Shortly before molting they look to have about a dozen left, and then they molt with about half a dozen eggs still on the shell.  Then the other shirmp will come and eat the shell.  These last few times, I have been getting around 0-3 surviving babies per batch.  I figure I can make the eggs hatch faster by raising the water temperature more (currently around 68F, which is already a few degrees higher than I used to keep it) or make the shrimp grow slower by feeding them less (protein).  Currently I feed Shrimp King complete every other day, and also a small dab of Shrimp Fit alternating days.  Maybe I can start alternating with more vegetable food like mulberry?  or just decrease the amount of food?
    • ngoomie
      Shrimp and meds containing gentian violet

      By ngoomie · Posted

      Yeah, cancer risk was a thing I'd seen mentioned a lot when looking into gentian violet briefly. I kinda just figured it might only be as bad as the cancer risk of malachite green as well, but maybe I should look into it more. I've been doing a pretty good job of not getting it on my skin and also avoiding dunking my unprotected hands into the tank water while treating my fish at least, though. Maybe I'll just not use it once I'm done this course of medication anyways, because I know a store I can sometimes get to that's pretty distant carries both malachite green and methylene blue, and in pretty large quantities.
    • jayc
      Shrimp and meds containing gentian violet

      By jayc · Posted

      Can't help you with Gentian Violet, sorry. It is banned in Australia violet for potential toxicity, and even possible cancer risks. I thought it was banned in Canada as well. At least, you now know why there isn't much info on gentian violet medication and it's use. But keep an eye on the snails after a week. If it affects the snails, it might not kill them immediately. So keep checking for up to a week. Much safer options out there. No point risking your own life over unsafe products.
×
×
  • Create New...