hi hi

it took me over 12 hours to get all the water, plants, gravel, airstones into my 20gal tank (moving up from 7gal)
i moved from the old tank a plant, 50% rinsed rocks (in a stocking), and 5gals+ of her tank water
i was procrastinating very badly, becuase i was afraid to transfer into the new tank.
i wanted to wait, and wait and wait, but hubby convinced me she would be fine.
she is at least a 7in comet, and i've had her for almost 4 years.

the readings of the tank water last night was:
ammonia = 0
nitrites = 0
Ph was 6.8
GH was ~50
i couldnt find my nitrate kit, its here somewhere in the fish stuff, so i didnt get that reading.

the fish was added last night **cringe** and i sat and watched her for quite some time before i felt that she was ok (no abnormal signs, was just me being worried)

readings this morning:
ammonia = .25
nitrites = 0
Ph = 6.8
found kit and nitrates = 0 (hmm, i thought it would at least read something, with the old stuff i put in)

i understand how a cycle starts, and the ammonia is what i want to watch for first,
i'm thinking i want to keep it around .025 until the nitrites kick in with water changes, is this correct?
how much aged water would be good to have sitting at one time? i can get totes and let them sit... 3 of them? 4 heh (i'll find uses for them when i'm done, i dont care haw many really, i just want this fish to live)

what level do i need to watch for the nitrites? What is an acceptable cycling level.

with the ammonia starting to rise already.. i want to pull her out and put her into her old tank... i'm already feeling very incompetant.
-Tooter

oh, the tank kit came with stresszyme.
should i add this (have never used this before)
would i add to the water or near the filter cartridge?
thanks again

Do you have the old filter on there that would help out too.

Ammonia reading are okay right now anything higher than 1.00 would need a water change 10%. Nitrites anything over 1.0 needs the same.

I would add the stresszyme in to the water of the tank not the filter system. Also if you can find the bio spare??SP that would help your tank cycle faster. Do you have the rocks from the older tank you can use those too.

Thanks so much koko,
Oooo there was no filter on the other tank **ducks and hides** but yes, the rocks from the old tank are in the new tank in a nylon. (the stones were too small.. she would get them all the way into her mouth, then spit them around, i upgraded to larger sized gravel...

**side note on the larger gravel** it does make holding things down and covering airline tube almost impossible... will have to do more research on substrate**

I'll get a filter for the fish going into that 7gal
and i've already decided to add another to the 20gal. the one that came with the kit can support a biowheel thingy.. **more reading, then buying**

i'll admit im a worry wort. But i have to go out for the afternoon... and well, it made me feel better, i changed 3 gals of water and then added the stessZyme.

i'm going to get more stuff on the way home... heh shopping
bins, a filter, biospara (if we have that here) more decorations, and i'll look at flooring items..
i posted about my high acidic level (low Kh) and my borderline Ph (6.8)
i'll look into simple products that will help that (shells, etc.) i'm not ready to go drastic playing with the water chem, but since i'm filling my brain with info (cant you see it swelling?) i'll add that in.

If you can find the BioSpira, it should help a lot, and maybe keep you from having to deal with a real cycle, but if not, you are probably going to have a bit of one. Just watch your levels and the fish should pull through fine. My roomate and I have two orandas who have survived an off the chart (over 8.0!) ammonia spike (before I found this site), and a pretty high nitrite spike and they are still going strong.

Given the size of the old tank and that it had no filter, I would leave her in the bigger tank for cycling. With you watching the levels the stress on her should be minimal and I bet she's loving how much room there is

What type of filter came with your kit?

Strictly speaking, unless your water has large amounts of CO2 in it (unlikely), you don't really need to age it, most people with large tanks or multiple tanks dont. You just need to make sure the pH and temp of the new water match the old and use a water conditioner.