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picsels
Lv 4
picsels asked in PetsFish · 1 decade ago

do i need to 'feed' my tank more if ammonia@2 & nitrite@.10?

have been cycling 40g tank for 4 weeks, ammonia is at 2 and nitrite is at .10. Should I feed my tank a bit more so the ammonia goes up, or can i now just watch the nitrates start to rise?

Update:

Thanks Indego, very helpful. :)) Bev, with due respect maybe you should do more research before you try and answer a question :}

Update 2:

Thanks John, I haven't included any plants yet. As for the fish.......it's a long sad story I won't repeat here :(

So, I am fishless cycling (survivors are in their hospital tank)... I am going to get some plants on the weekend. Before I got answers I put a couple of shelled blanched peas in the empty tank. Some other food I had in there had a fuzzy cottony bubbly circle around it.....I think it went to the filter God...

4 Answers

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  • Indego
    1 decade ago
    Favourite answer

    You should be able to watch the nitrates rise, and the ammonia fall at this stage.

    I've only ever cycled tanks with fish, so I'm not sure how the measurements I noticed apply to fish less cycling, but I've found that once the nitrites and nitrates have developed, the cycle will slowly grow and take care of its self.

    I hope that helps :-)

  • Prince of Pennsylvania Avenue
    Lv 5
    1 decade ago

    Seems like your tank is about finishing it's initial "Nitrogen Cycle" and yes, nitrates should begin to rise now.....have you included any live plants in this 4 wek period?

    Have you added a couple of "ammonia, ph tolerant" fish, like Zebra Danios or White Cloud Minnows?

    Plants help absorb amonia, and release CO2 that nourishes the aerobic bacterias that grow in the water filter....those bacteria will eat nitrites and produce nitrates....thusly the plants beneift from nitrates as plant food too.

    The couple of fish add some ammonia to the water that those bacterias need to eat and multiply.... the fish help get the cycle started and the bacteria colony established.

    So, once the ammonia is at this level and nitrites are that low, you may like to begin to add a few more fish to the community now.....you pro'lly should ask for a ph test to see where the water is plus or minus 7.0.....as many fish are healthier at +7 to 8.0 and there are those healthier at 6.0-6.5.

    ....and the following is just fyi:

    In healthy aquarium ammonia and nitrites should be at 0 ppm

    In a healthy freshwater aquarium Nitrates should be 15-50 ppm (below 15 ppm is not healthy for planted freshwater aquariums).

    In a healthy Saltwater fish aquarium nitrates should be below 40 ppm.

    In a healthy Marine Reef aquarium nitrates should be below 20 ppm (or even less, many reef keepers aim for less than 10 ppm).

  • danielle Z
    Lv 7
    1 decade ago

    Why do you want your ammonia higher? It is already spiking now. At this point the ammonia should be around 0 not at a 2. You need to do a water change. depending on the "type" of test kit you have, nitrates on some kits won't show up until it reaches 60ppm. Anything under 60 is considered "safe" for fish.

    If you have ammonia at 2 nitrites at .1 you should have nitrates around 20-30ppm. You need to do a water change and perhaps have the water tested at the store and compair their readings with yours.

  • Bev M
    1 decade ago

    Does anyone know what this bod is on about?? What sort of tank are you talking about???

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