I've had my tank set up for almost a month, and still there is no nitrite to be found! I have ammonia levels of .5 - 1.5 - 2.0, I try to keep it under control with water changes. I add Seachem's Neutral Regulator to fresh water I add in water changes, and I also added some Cycle when I added fish a few weeks ago. I've heard several things that I'd like to confirm:
1) I hear that doing partial water changes is actually BAD for getting your tank to cycle, b/c it takes away some of your free-floating bacteria?
2) The Neutral Regulator "detoxifies" ammonia, is it messing with the nitrogen cycle by doing that?
3) I also added Cupramine to quarantine my new fish, and I removed the carbon in the tank before doing so. Does this kill the bacteria needed to cycle the tank?
Thanks to anyone who can give me some pointers.
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how long does nitrite take to appear?
Replies (2)
>>1) I hear that doing partial water changes is actually BAD for getting your tank to cycle, b/c it takes away some of your free-floating bacteria?
You should only be doing 20% changes at most, so the short answer is no it won't mess with the cycling process. Everyone does it, and you're not removing too much of the bacteria, only a small amount of them.
>>2) The Neutral Regulator "detoxifies" ammonia, is it messing with the nitrogen cycle by doing that?
In my opinion, yes it is messing with the cycling process. Ammonia is necessary to get the bacteria that like the nitrates and nitrites. Also, too much ammonia will kill the fish, so it is necessary to do the water changes.
>>3) I also added Cupramine to quarantine my new fish, and I removed the carbon in the tank before doing so. Does this kill the bacteria needed to cycle the tank?
The bacteria do not only live in the filter, they live in the water too. Maybe you can put the filter from your quarantine tank in your new tank to help the bacteria colonies form?
How long have you been cycling?
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Phishie
"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."
I don't have a quarantine tank, I've been using my main tank for treatment. I noticed one of my fish flicking against the glass(scratching an itch?) and also what I believe were one or two little white flecks that looked like ick to me. I added the Cupramine a week from yesterday. I've had the tank set up with fish since September 12th. I added Cycle when I set up the tank on the 9th, and I also added a little more when I added fish (heard it reduces stress on tank when adding fish). I add the SeaChem stuff EVERY time I do water changes... I think I'll switch to some old Wardley's ChlorOut I have that I used to use for my betta. I even got on their forums and asked if it would mess with the nitrogen cycle, and they said no.... but then again, the stuff I'm using is supposed to set the pH to 7.0 and it hasn't budged it, so I don't know if I trust their advice 
But yeah, I would have thought for a tank set up on the 9th, and fish added on the 12th, that almost a month later there is still no nitrite to be found.... the ammonia level is a consistent 1.0 lately, but NO nitrite is present!
