Ammonia, Nitrite and nitrate levels

Question
Yes, I have an airstone, that is good if it helps me along. I currently have my temperature at 80 but if you say 85, I trust you after all the help you have given me. I am thinking of adding Zebra Danios, as that was recommended by somebody on this site a while ago (maybe you?) Is this ok for a begginer? I have heard that they are pretty hardy and will most likely last.
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I am using the liqiud dropper tests, which was why I was asking if it was normal. I found some pure ammonia at walmart so I have been using that, but I only added the one 5-6ppm dose until this morning, when it dropped from 3ppm yesterday to 0ppm today. Cycle says once every 7 days.
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Hey Nicole, I am currently on my fourth day of cycling my tank (without fish) and my levels are as follows: Amm- 3-4ppm, NitrItes- 0.8ppm , and Nitrates 50ppm or so. Is this normal? I started with about 6ppm for ammonia and have not added any since because I am going to try to keep it around 3ppm until im fully cycled. How much longer do you think it will take? I added some filter media from a trusted source and some cycle at the beggining
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Hi again Garrett,

What kind of test kit are you using? I am surprised to see your nitrates so high at this stage. What are you adding to feed the bacteria? A piece of shrimp left in the tank or a couple of flakes a day is all you need, but not both.

Doesn't Cycle tell you to keep adding it every day? I don't have Cycle but a similar starter product, and it instructs you to dose every day for a week. Just make sure you are using Cycle according to the directions for a new tank.

Try to get a little gravel from the same source as you got the filter media. By adding just a little of the ammonia source (not too much), a little used media and gravel, and the Cycle according to the package directions, your tank should have 0 ppm of ammonia and nitrite within a week or so. That is also when you can perform your first water change of about 25%, with dechlorinated tap water.

Hope that helps,
Nicole
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Hi Garrett,

I see. I remembered you couldn't find the ammonia, so I was surprised at your levels using just flakes or shrimp. "What, did you put a whole container of flakes in, an XXL piece of shrimp?!" I thought to myself... :)

It sounds like you are coming along swimmingly then. Another tip for you: raise the temperature of the water. I have recently read that nitrifying bacteria thrive at temperatures of 86-95 degrees F. Another suggestion is...

Do you have an airstone in your tank? I usually do not set up my tanks for airstones, preferring to use powerheads instead for water circulation, but I just cycled a tank where the water level was low, down 4 inches from the top, and I really believe the extra surface agitation helped cut down the cycling by at least a couple of days. I cycled another tank with an air diffuser (like an airstone, but they are lighter so the airline tubing has to be weighed down - but I couldn't resist, at 3 for $1!) and I noticed that that one cycled a couple of days quicker, too.

So keep doing what you're doing, Garrett, and if you don't already have a source of bubbles, add some surface agitation/aeration to the tank by lowering the water level or adding an airstone. Also, try raising the thermostat on your heater so your water is a toasty 86 degrees...but don't forget to bring the temperature back down to 78 degrees or so when you are ready to add fish, likely within 4-5 days.

Good luck, let me know when you get your fish! Any ideas as to what you are going to put in there yet?

Thanks for keeping in touch,
Nicole

Answer
Hi Garrett,

Yes, raising the temperature to between 86 and 90 degrees is a safe way of expediting the fishless cycling process. The only word of caution I have for you is that a few heaters (especially the ones that are not fully submersible) can only safely have their temperature adjusted by one notch per hour. This seems especially true of heaters without a thermostat, where you have to watch the thermometer to determine what degree the heater is warming the temperature to. I wouldn't overly concern myself with this, but just keep it in mind!

Here's an article that describes raising the temperature among other tricks to establish the nitrogen cycle:
http://www.aquahobby.com/articles/e_fishless.php

Zebra danios would be one of my top choices for fish to introduce to a newly cycled aquarium. Danios, rasboras, and barbs are all fine choices, you can read more about members of these species by following this link:

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwsubwebindex.htm

Just check out the Livestock 1 section. Wetwebmedia.com is my favorite aquarium reference source. They also have a volunteer crew that answers questions, although their replies are usually limited to a few paragraphs at most. They are extremely knowledgeable about freshwater, and marine, even pond and brackish systems. Check them out!

Good luck, and thank you for your being such a remarkable example of a model beginner aquarist.

Nicole