I have had my aquarium for 2 months now. I do about 40% water change every 3 days. My ammonia levels shows up fine with the test kists but I still get no reading with the Nitrites or Nitrates. I have 2 goldfish in a 10 Gallon tank. The expiriry dates on the kits are in 2010. Should I use prime to help it cycle? What should or shouldn't I be doing?

First of all, two GF in a 10g is a no-no. GF(doubletail) need at least 10g each. Singletails need 20g each. Are you not using any water conditioner at all? If not, then I would definately use Prime or another water conditioner. What type of filter are you using? How many gph?

What are your ammonia readings daily? If you're changing water only every few days, I'd think your tank is overloaded with ammonia and not able to move on with the cycle process. Usually doing cycling, you have to change the water daily. You also need to make sure you have lots of media for the bacteria to populate, and that you aren't destroying sources by rinsing your filters with regular tap water.

Thanks for your replies!

I now realize I shouldnt have two goldfish to a 10 gallon, I had three and one died. My ammonia is about 2-4ppm when I do a water change. When I change the filter(once a month) I rinse the bio filter with tap water. For water conditioner I am using Aqua Plus from Nutrafin. I just went out and bought Cycle by Nutrifin, it was the only product I could find that helps with cycling. So I gather from your replys I should be doing water changes daily?

The filter is an Aqua-tech 5/15.

Okay, first of all, 2-4ppm on ammonia is way to high. You need to keep ammonia about .25 if possible, no higher than that. Second, don't rinse the bio-filter in tap water. Take a bucket and put some tank water in it and swish the bio-filter around in that. And yes, do water changes daily in order to keep that ammonia down.
Your tank will prolly not cycle because of the extreme amount of ammonia your fish are producing. The filter can't keep up with it. Is there anyway you can upgrade your tank to a bigger size and get another filter, or get a rubbermaid container, at least 20g (more of possible) and another filter?
What type fish do you have? Are they single tail or double tails? How big are they?
Lastly, you may want to get some Prime water cond from Seachem. It is very good for ammonia as it will detoxify up to .75ppm so that as long as your ammonia does not get above .75ppm, it will not be toxic to your fish.

thanks for helping me out with my water situation. I just did a water change and used some "Cycle" conditioner along with my "Aqua Plus". I am about to check the water for ammonia but I am letting the tank turn first. So I have to keep the ammonia down, got it:) Should I use the cycle stuff every water change? It says to use it every week but if I am changing the water every day what do I do?

My fish are a Red Cap Oranda(fry) and a Black Moor (oscar). They both look to be double tails however Oscar is missing a piece of one of his(I got him that way). They are each about 3 inches long.

So I should get Prime? Is it the same as Cycle?

I am thinking of upgrading to a bigger tank. I can see how the waste these fish produce can toxify the water and a bigger tank would at least help dilute it in some sense. Perhaps I should get a 20 gallon rubbermaid container like you said with a bigger filter. Does having them in a rubbermaid make it hard to see them?

Should I be changing the filter more often, would that help?

Hi. One thing that I really like about test kits is that they can show us whether our tanks and filters are doing a good enough job and when we need to upgrade. Your test kit is showing you that it would be helpful to get a bigger tank when you're able to in a much more effective way than 100 Koko's regulars nagging you ever could.

The Prime is a water conditioner. It's similar to the aqua plus that you're using, but is especially helpful for cycling because it binds with ammonia and nitrite, making them less toxic to your fish, especially when used along with daily water changes.

I don't know that Cycle actually does anything. It certainly does feel better to put something in rather than sit and wait, but I'm not sure it's effective. So, how often you put it in is probably up to you. It certainly won't hurt, but I don't know that it will help.

If anything I would say leave your filter alone as much as possible during cycling. It's possible that whatever you're doing to clean or rinse it is removing your beneficial bacteria, so that you're needing to continually start over. If you must change your filter cartridge during cycling, put the new one in somehow a day or two before you take the old one out, so that the bacteria from the old one have a chance to colonize the new cartridge. You probably don't need to change it as often as the directions tell you to. When you rinse the sponge, use dechlorinated water also. Sometimes I just squeeze mine out in some water that I've just siphoned out of the tank. You're not trying to get everything out of the sponge, you're just trying to get the big bits of sludge out of it.

Oscar is so funny, he is half blind and follows Fry around to find the food.

I am going to try and get a hold of some Prime. There is a pet shop about half an hour from here that I got my kits at.

Thanks for the filter advice, I have gathered some good advice here. I am about to do a water change and my ammonia is at 1.5, I am trying to get it lower but I guess I need a new tank or a rubbermaid!

peace

Don't be afraid of large water changes. You can remove all but enough to cover the tops of their dorsal fins, as you want that ammonia to be zero after your water change. I wouldn't even bother touching the filters until your cycle is completed. Make sure you put LOTS of media in your tank so those BB can take hold. It's okay to put stuff like ceramic rings/stars in media bags tied shut and sit them on the bottom of your tank. The more, the better.

I am so happy. I finally have some nitrite and nitrate readings!!!! That "cycle" product from Nutrafin I think did something.

Congrats!!!! I wish I had some!

I dont think it was the cycle, it doesnt work, by now u should be getting some nitrites anyway, I hope that ur tank cycles soon!