# New Aquarium Setup Question. Pink Water



## markyp (Feb 12, 2011)

Hi. New to all this. Setup a 14.5l tank with filter, heater and no fish. Been cycling for 10 days now but everytime i test for Nitrites with my NUTRAFIN test kit it shows a reading of 0.1 - i go to the local Aquatic Centre and he tells me to wait a little while till the Pink disappears.

I add cycle and test 3 days later. Test again Pink so do a 30% water change with Aqua+ added and add more cycle. Tested this morning and still around 0.1-0.3 so added 4ml of Cycle.

A friend tells me if it is 0.1 to add a couple of fish, Aquatic Centre says to wait.

Top Part of pic :-










Who is right please??

Thanks in advance.
Markyp


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## NeonShark666 (Dec 13, 2010)

Nitrate is not the deadly chemical during cycling, Nitrite and Ammonia are. Having Nitrate in an aquarium is very normal. Having measurable Ammonia and Nitrites is not. Are you sure you measured Nitrate? I would recommend you add one or two small guppies, plus a floating plant to your tank and see what happens. Cycling can't be completed without fish.


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## markyp (Feb 12, 2011)

All i have is a Nitrite Test Kit. I have been told to test every few days and add Cycle as necessary.

Shall i just add a couple of Zebra Danios and see how it goes? 

Not got room for a plant with the couple of orniments in there. Is it best to remove my plastic plant and put in a real one?


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## NeonShark666 (Dec 13, 2010)

You have such a small tank, I would add the smallest Zebra or White Cloud you can find. With a small tank it is easy for the water to go bad, so be careful. If you like them, add a small pond snail. They will help in cycling. Add a small floating plant, real plants will help with your cycling, plastic ones won't. Your Nitrites won't cycle all the way to zero for at least 4 weeks.


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## markyp (Feb 12, 2011)

Thanks for that. 

We like Zebra Danios, Neon Tetras and Guppies. If we get on well will get a bigger tank. Do you think 2 Danios, 3 Tetras and 3 Guppies is too much? What do you think we could get? If they get too big we can give them away and start with small ones again.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Unless you plan to add some ammonia to the tank, your cycle hasn't even begun. If you are getting readings on things it is either from the additive you are adding or you can read the same thing from your tap. It is always good to test your tap anyway. The cycle cannot begin without a source of ammonia. The longer you add that stuff without adding the food source for the bacteria(ammonia) you're adding, the sooner they will start to die and defeat the purpose for adding.


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## markyp (Feb 12, 2011)

Better get a couple of fish today then. 2 Zebra Danios i think. 

Any idea on how many fish i can get eventually in this tank from my choices above?


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

They are test strips you are using?

I would get rid of them if that is the case. Test strips are very known for being inaccurate and personally I think they are dangerous to use while cycling a tank. They just don't give the granularity you need to make the right decisions. A liquid test kit is much better.


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## markyp (Feb 12, 2011)

No, sorry thats just the sort of chart i used. My test is a Nutrafin No2 Test Kit which uses chemicals.

All i have done since 2nd Feb 2011 is fill with water treated with Aqua+ and added Cycle. After a week 30% water change treated with Aqua+, and added Cycle every few days after testing

Just tested now and reads 0.1 mg/l should i get a couple of fish today or what else should i do to help cycling? Add a bit of food? Buy different test kit?

Sorry i am new to all this.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

You could add ammonia to the water if you wanted to cycle your tank without fish. It is the safest thing to do. Like I said, the cycle can't even begin until there is an ammonia source.


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## saltydad (Jun 27, 2008)

Either do the fishless method of adding some ammonia, or add 1 or 2 zebras to the tank.


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

markyp said:


> We like Zebra Danios, Neon Tetras and Guppies. If we get on well will get a bigger tank. Do you think 2 Danios, 3 Tetras and 3 Guppies is too much? What do you think we could get? If they get too big we can give them away and start with small ones again.


YES too much! It's a 3.8 US gallon tank. No Zebra Danios, I would only put them in a 15 or 20 gallon tank because they need swimming room. 2 Danios are not good, they should really be kept in a group of 6 or more or they will bicker and pick on all the other fish (even to the point of death), especially in a small tank. I'd say maybe 3 male guppies is your total stocking limit, endlers would be even better, they are a type of wild guppy and are much smaller but very beautiful. It would also be a nice tank for a single betta (siamese fighting fish).

As for cycling. It normally takes 4-6 weeks to cycle a tank. The product you have to help the cycle may or may not speed the cycle up, seeing as you have it use it anyway. I would do it without fish in such a small tank. You can do a 'fishless' cycle by adding pure ammonia every day or a small flake of fish food. You must see a spike in ammonia and then a spike in nitrites and then nitrates will start showing and ammonia and nitrites will go back to 0. When this happens you know that there are enough good bacteria to consume the ammonia and nitrites that will be produced by the fish waste. 

With no fish in the tank you don't need to do any water changes during cycling. If you add fish you need to test the water every day and probably do daily water changes to keep ammonia from killing the fish. The water changes will slow down the cycle a little but are essential for the fish.


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