How are my water parameters?

[arkmann]

I have multiple fishes and I am wondering as to how my water parameters are. Some members of this thread said that I may not be done cycling. My primary filter, the Penguin 350 is done cycling and my Jebo CFS4 is on its way to cycle. Anyways here are my water parameters.
Amm - 0.25
NO2 - 0.1
NO3 - 0.20
Alk - 2.4
pH - 7.6
Temp - 75F

I have 2 CKs, 1 Peacock bass, 1 RBP, and 3 datnoids. They are all under 5 inches or below.

What ammonia levels are lethal to any of my fishes? NO2? NO3?

I already had a thinbar die on me so I am seriously considering the cycling part that other members are advising me and to not do any WC as I was advised until the ammonia and NO2 readings are back to zero. Anyways they were zero prior to me adding the fishes.

 

[rallysman]

I would add some seeded media if you could, any traceable level of nitrite and/or ammonia is not good.

 

[Wolf3101]

I'm curious how it is that you know the penguin bio wheels are cycled and that your jabo isn't? The readings you gave say otherwise. Rallys right about the seeded media or you could add bio spira for an extra boost. IMO people tend to add fish in too great a number to a new tank.

 

[Bderick67]

Your tank is not cycled, you have fish in the tank. You better be doing excessive water changes so your fish aren't swimming in ammonia and nitrites. If you decide to go the route of zero W/Cs then you will have more of your fish joining that Thin bar.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Ammonia and nitrite should be kept below .5ppm if not cycled to protect the fish. Nitrate should be kept below 40ppm, but several of us prefer keeping it below 20ppm. That is the reason for water changes, to keep nitrates down. In a cycled tank, your ammonia and nitrite should always be 0ppm. But nitrates will rise.

 

[arkmann]

I know that the Penguin 350 is cycled because i cycled it for 6 weeks. I had ammonia readings of 12ppm and nitrite readings of 250 ppm during the cycling period. By the end of the 6th week, both ammonia and nitrite readings are zero. After that, I did a 100% water change then I added the fishes. I had 2 fishes at first, then it became 5, then it became 8.

I know that the Jebo canister is not yet cycled because I only had it since Sunday. I did not seed it with anything because there is not much media to be gotten from a bio-wheel.. I just rinsed the media and put it in the aquarium.

From what I see, I am way over-stocked. Add to that that the new canister filter is not yet cycled. I think once the canister filter is cycled, the bacteria should be able to keep up with the bio-load.

I do 3 water changes every week at 25% of the water.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

You are currently not cycled, and no, the Penguin is not cycled. You cycled it to a smaller bioload, and not the current bioload that you have. If it was cycled, you would have 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite.

 

[arkmann]

You are currently not cycled, and no, the Penguin is not cycled. You cycled it to a smaller bioload, and not the current bioload that you have. If it was cycled, you would have 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite.

How would the Penguin not be cycled when both ammonia and nitrite readings were zero from a previous 12ppm and 250ppm?

I did not have a bio-load while cycling, I used fishless cycling. I dumped probably about 1/4 cup of ammonia in the tank while I was cycling.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

In a fishless cycle, when a tank is cycled, you add 3-5ppm ammonia to the tank, and it should be 0ppm within 24 hours. How was your ammonia dosing through the process, how much were you dosing?

Also, another thing to look at, when fishless cycling, the dosing might not be up to a full bioload as well. The Penguin may have been cycled to the amount of ammonia you were dosing, but that dosing may not be equal to the bioload your fish is producing, as well as anything that may be decaying, like food.

 

[dmopar74]

so you ask for advise or whatnot, and then you argue with everyone saying your tank is cycled(the tank as a whole needs to be fully cycled, not just this piece or that piece) when its not cycled. if you have ANY ammonia or nitrites then it is not cycled. adding ammonia to a tank creates a bio-load(the rate yor biological filtration can convert ammonia to nitrites then to nitrates), so yeah, you did have a bio-load. adding to many fish puts a strain on your boilogical fitration, and now it cant keep up and you need to do lots of water changes to keep things in check.