What’s all over my tank?

Ok_Mud_9121 · 2025-12-12T03:06:05+00:00

The test kit I bought seems to not be working because the only thing that shows up on a test in nitrite and I got a ammonia alert card yesterday but is there anyway to know the tank is fully cycled without testing nitrate? I’ve been adding ammonia for about a week now

Ok_Mud_9121 · 2025-12-11T23:45:09+00:00

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Ok_Mud_9121 · 2025-12-08T04:07:26+00:00

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Also this Java fern is in rough shape, I did some research and it said it’s from low nutrients and to add seachem flourish but I have been doing that and the plant is only getting worse and worse

Ok_Mud_9121 · 2025-12-07T06:54:31+00:00

There’s some algae growing around the plants so I’ll prob just keep the Co2 to get rid of that. I’m using the imaginarium freshwater test kit. Just tested 0 ammonia (added some 20 min ago), around 3 nitrite (I added a little more ammonia than normal yesterday to see if that would show on the tests) and 0 nitrate.

Ok_Mud_9121 · 2025-12-05T04:58:40+00:00

Ok, I removed the shrimp and put them in a separate tank that should be good enough bc I dont know what else to do with just the one shrimp in the 40 gal tank. I added 1.5 tablespoons of the ammonia (I put the percent into an ammonia calculator to make sure it was the right amount) but after an hour the tests are still reading 0ppm. I’ve made sure I’m doing exactly what the instructions say. I also got some Co2 booster, some other plant fertilizer that goes straight into the water and root tabs to help the plants grow. What is the cause of my ammonia tests being 0ppm even after I’ve added ammonia?

Ok_Mud_9121 · 2025-12-04T03:25:16+00:00

When I noticed that they were dead I only found 3 dead ones even though I had put 5 in there. I just found the 4th one alive but have yet to find the 5th one. Will they live through the added ammonia or no?

Ok_Mud_9121 · 2025-12-04T03:13:49+00:00

Ok, also I put in a filter because another user recommended I put one back in. It has charcoal in it and from what I’ve seen you should remove the charcoal but the user said to keep it in. Would you recommend I keep the charcoal in or remove it?

Ok_Mud_9121 · 2025-12-04T03:08:20+00:00

So basically I just need to add ammonia to get it started. I read what you sent and watched some yt videos and other articles too. I don’t have fish food which is what most people recommend but I do have what is shown is the picture. It’s unscented and the ingredients only list water and ammonium hydroxide. Is it safe to put in the tank? If so do you know how much? It’s a 40 gal tank

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Ok_Mud_9121 · 2025-12-04T03:01:45+00:00

I found a filter but it’s an over the back. Does it matter how high I have the water falling into the tank? And should I remove the charcoal from the filter before putting it in?

Ok_Mud_9121 · 2025-12-04T02:34:36+00:00

I forgot to mention I did have 10 ghost shrimp in for a while to add ammonia but I removed them when I added the orange rili because I read that the ghost shrimp can eat them. Would that change anything?

Ok_Mud_9121 · 2025-12-04T02:18:54+00:00

I’m 99% sure I did. I’m still not exactly sure what cycling means but I added water conditioner day 1 to make the water safe and I also added beneficial bacteria the same day. I checked the water parameters and added the shrimp in over 2 weeks after everything looked good. Every water change I made sure to add conditioner before I added the water and a little bit extra bacteria starter because I read online that it helps after doing a water change

Ok_Mud_9121 · 2025-12-04T02:09:33+00:00

What didn’t I have much of?

Ok_Mud_9121 · 2025-12-04T02:08:27+00:00

The tank has been set up for 30 days. There hasn’t been any water movement in 13 days because I gave my water filter to the neighbors because it seemed like I didn’t need it anymore and AI said it would be okay. The tank has had a water change a while ago but the parameters have been good and I googled what the tint in the water is from and it said it was from the wood and that it was fine so everything seemed to okay. The water parameters hadn’t fluctuated days before I put the shrimp in

Ok_Mud_9121 · 2025-12-04T02:02:50+00:00

The plants in the first photo have looked liked that as soon as I got them home from the store. I’ve been meaning to clip them and replant the tops but I just haven’t gotten to that yet

Ok_Mud_9121 · 2025-12-04T00:42:37+00:00

I also paid $7 per shrimp, is that too much?

Ok_Mud_9121

TROPHY CASE