Nitrogen cycle-Betta specific

[Oldfishlady]

Correct-5gal filtered with a few live plants-once the nitrogen cycle has established-50% weekly with light vacuum should maintain water quality.

[Kbud]

@oldfishlady - I like your profile pic! Is that your fish?

[Oldfishlady]

Originally Posted by Kbud

@oldfishlady - I like your profile pic! Is that your fish?

Thank you and yes, one that I spawned and he has since spawned and his offspring have spawned-This summer those will go outside to spawn.

[heavenlolwut]

Hi there!
So I've skimmed through most of it and I'm not sure if there has been an answer to this question but i'm currently in the process of setting up my first 10 gallon tank. It is a aqueon 10 gallon kit, the one with the filter. And I'm not 100 percent sure of what I'm doing.

1. Is it safe to put fish in the tank while it's cycling as long as I do the 50% water changed the two times a week? (When is it safe to put them in, I'm going to divide the tank, I want to put it in asap because One has a heater tht doesn't work great and the other has a heater that works better than the other but not quite the best)
2. I also got a water testing kit the other day, what numbers should I be looking for in the kit? it's a liquid one.
3. I was reading things about something with oxygen and the tank. Should I get something to help along with that? It's not going to be a planted tank.

[Oldfishlady]

If the stocking is just going to be-2 healthy adult Betta in a divided 10gal filtered tank-without live plants...
IMO/E-you can safely establish the nitrogen cycle with the 2 Betta-Provided that you make the needed water changes.

Since you have a test kit on hand-this will take the guess work out.

Once you acclimate them to the tank-monitor water prams daily and make a 50% water ONLY change based on test results of-Ammonia, nitrite 0.25ppm or greater. This water change is over and above your regular weekly 50% with vacuum that you will do for the life of the system.

But first-do base-line test for-Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH on your source water-One with and One without your normal additives you will be using-like dechlorinator.
The base-line will help tell you if your source water has anything in it that you need to be aware of.
By testing with your dechlorinator-this will tell you if the product will cause any skewed test results that you need to account for-to avoid any unneeded water changes and stressing you out...lol....

Once you establish all your base-line numbers and aquarium-compare all these numbers-this will tell you if anything in the tank itself is causing any skewed results.

Plus by doing all these test will give you practice in using the test products.
Be sure and follow all the directions to the "T"...especially the time-lines between adding drops, number of drops and reading results to avoid user error.
If this is the API brand freshwater master test kit-Be sure and shake, bang on the table and shake some more on the #2 Nitrate reagent bottle-it tend to settle and can give false results.

It can take 3-6 weeks to establish the nitrogen cycle- You know your are cycled when test results read:
Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 5-10ppm
pH-varies
Betta can tolerate, adjust to most pH and it is best not to change the pH using chemical additives. It is safer to maintain a stable pH then having sudden extreme changes that can often occur with chemical additives due to the rebound.

As for the oxygen-your filter should provide enough surface agitation for gas exchange to support the beneficial bacteria for your nitrogen cycle.

[heavenlolwut]

Thank you so much! That does clear up a lot!
I'm stil a little confused of when I can add the two bettas. : ] Should I give it a week or two to settle or add them soon? (after getting a base line reading for the tank)

[Oldfishlady]

Once you test the tank-all the numbers should be 0ppm-Acclimate the Bettas by adding small amounts of the tank water to their holding cup-over 10-15min more or less to tolerance-Then add them to the 10gal divided filtered tank(try not to get any of the pet shop water in your tank).
Start your daily water pram test tomorrow-since you should have already done one today.

If these are brand new Bettas-you may or may not need to turn the light off and hold food for the first 24h. It depends on their behavior-If they swim about exploring and/or beg for food-leave the light on and feed a small amount.
If they go hide-act stressed-turn off the light and hold food-it can vary from fish to fish and sometimes the water current can be an issue and you may need to slow the water flow down in the beginning or even turn it off in some cases.

If you haven't already, start a New thread with all your stats/numbers and a pic.

[heavenlolwut]

Thank you very much!
And no worries about pet shop water :]
One guy I've had for about 6months now in a 2.5 gallon and the other I got the other weke however I've been keeping him in a 1 gallon holding tank to make sure that he isn't sick or anything. :] So far so good!
Again thank you for the advice!

[heavenlolwut]

And I'll set a thread up later tonight once I finish setting up the tank. :] Just moved into a new house so I've been slowly setting it up. Just got to add water today and hook up the heater and the filter. :]

[koincidenskis]

Thank you for this thread! I am currently on Day 7 of a fishless cycle and everything seems to be going great, however I do get a little nervous because there is always a little doubt that I will mess up!

If anything this helped me relax about the cycling. Thanks again!