Hello guys. I started my pico 6 weeks ago.I set up everything. I used "cured" rock and live sand.The tank is 2.2g so I used 2.2pound of lr and 2.3-4 pound of live sand.I bought some water from LFS. I tossed a shrimp, the next day my ammonia was 8ppm plus.So I waited until everything went down to zero. (ammonia,nitrite,nitrate) and put another shrimp.I kept doing it until I noticed my Nitrate went up to 160.So I did water changes.I used DI water mixed with instant ocean to 1.025 to bring nitrate down to 20, and I noticed some algae bloom too.Then I tossed another shrimp. The ammonia reading was 2ppm and the nitrate 160 again so I took the shrimp out and made WC.The phosphate was between 0.5-1.So, what should I do now? I put some phosphate remover beads into the tank to bring the level down.My tank is a Fluval 'spec' with a small powerhead and a small heater. No sump,no GFO,no skimmer.Light was OFF all the time.I should finish the cycle but if I put more ammonia the Nitrate level go crazy and I end up to feed the algae more, but if I add cuc I may get an ammonia spike wich will kill the thing whatever is inside.Can some1 help me out please?
incomplete cycle
- Thread starter Rastaman
- Start date
Florida Sunshine
Member
It sounds like you are getting a nice hard cycle. This is a good thing and will likely lead to good results in the long run.
What are the ammonia and nitrite readings now? If they are 0 then go ahead and do water changes to reduce the nitrates and phosphates. If they are not 0 then wait it out until they are.
The fact that your ammonia spike from the 2nd shrimp was so much smaller than the first tells me that your bacteria are getting ramped up to do their job.
What are the ammonia and nitrite readings now? If they are 0 then go ahead and do water changes to reduce the nitrates and phosphates. If they are not 0 then wait it out until they are.
The fact that your ammonia spike from the 2nd shrimp was so much smaller than the first tells me that your bacteria are getting ramped up to do their job.
Your really over doing this a bit. You only need to do one shrimp to get the initial cycle going. Repeating this action really doesn't provide much additional benefit, and can cause additional problems. You saw this your self when the nitrate got to 60 ppm.
Now sit back, let the tank run this last cycle, and when ammonia and nitrite drop back to 0, make pertial water changes to bring the nitrates down to a reasonable level.
Once you get there, you can add the livestock you really want.
Now sit back, let the tank run this last cycle, and when ammonia and nitrite drop back to 0, make pertial water changes to bring the nitrates down to a reasonable level.
Once you get there, you can add the livestock you really want.
Florida Sunshine
Member
I would say you are good to go. The phosphates will feed algae but won't really hurt the livestock. Keep in mind though that with that size tank you are going to be very very limited on livestock.
Florida Sunshine
Member
I love yellow clown gobies. They are one of my favorite fish. Good choice for your tank.
While the clown goby is a goof fidh for a small tank, at 2.2 gal, your tank is even too small for this fish. By the time you add live sand and live rock, your likely down to a bit more than 1 gal of water.
Typically, you want about 5 gal of water per 1 inch of fish. With only 1 gal of water, you'd be asking a lot of your tank. I recommend you consider something like a shrimp, such as a banded coral shrimp, or a peppermint shrimp as they don't have the same water volume requirements that fish do.
well. Matter of perspective about size.I think for that small fish this tank is about the minimum size to keep. I would not put it into a smaller one.But its even better what sometimes the ppl do... the good example that gentlement with a 10L tank and 2 clown gobies...and he thinks its ok. Anyways I have everything 0 and most of the algae kind of stuff is gone.( I took out the rockwork and eliminated the most of this stuff with a toothbrush,though when i lifted the rocks up I saw small strings covered with sand like roots.weird)so I start to stock and see how things going.
