Well after killing 5 danio fish in less than 12 hours trying to do a cycle on my new 55 gal, I decided to just do a fishless cycle. After 3 days now I've been adding a cap full (aproximately 150 drops) of ammonia a day. So far my Ammonia is only at 4.0ppm. According to the "fishless cycle" page I need to be adding more ammonia so it is around 5.0ppm. When should I be checking the Ammonia rating? How long do I have to wait after adding it to the tank before testing?

My NitrIte and NitrAte are still at 0.

One thing that is a little concerning to me is my PH is apparently at 8.4. I'm using the API test kit like most of you suggested and I had to use the High Scale PH tester because when I used the Normal PH test, the color that showed up wasn't even on the normal color scale ahaha. I have not checked my normal tap water yet as I was in a hurry to get to work. I will be able to check that when I get home. If this is correct, is my PH to high for an oscar? If so, how do I lower it?

i think that once u get the cycle going, you should be able to level the PH out then. I would mess with ph chemicals unless u had a fully cycled tank and it was still high.

wood can naturally lower PH or peat in the filtration can do so, but causes colored water,( yellowish)

High PH makes the ammonia more toxic so that why the danios dies most likely.

changing PH all the time is very stressfull and its best to let them acclimate to the PH. Most fish are bred in tanks and are accustomed to a variety oh PH levels and I am sure they will be able to adjust to it, as long as its stable. give the tank time to cycle, and once u get some nitrate readings and the ammonia is going down, try using the fish again, fishless cycle can be crazy if not done right. Wait it out and check PH after ur cycled.

good question to be honest. our tapwater comes out at around 7 on the ph scale i allways thought this was about right. now im not so sure...=P

anything stable between 6 and 8 is good... Stability is the goal. there are natural things that will alter it if need be!

happy days 7 is just right then I dont need to buffer or anything =P

I had a tank and my ph held around 6.6 now i have a new tank with wood and my ph holds at 7.5. The fish are the same and the water source is the same, whats the deal with that???

Chief wrote:

filtration and other substance like substrate. corals alter the pH too.

OK apparently I'm f'ing retarded because I was in a hurry to get it done before work... I tested my tap water tonight and my PH matches almost perfectly at 7.6 PH on the color scale (API test kit) and my tank water test color was a little bit darker than the scale on the regular PH scale (MAX 7.6). I would assume I would need to go to the "high PH scale" because the color is above 7.6, but if it is even noticeably different, could this make a huge difference?

I'm continually dumping a considerable amount of Ammonia into the tank (readings at the color scale between 4.0 and 8.0) and still getting a Nitrite reading of ZERO. It's been 4 days now and I'm beginning to wonder if I am over doing it.

I'm going to make this damned fishless cycle work because I'm not going to kill anymore fish needlessly for my Oscar even if they are only coming from Wal-Mart. I'm looking for answers regarding the PH scale as well as the fishless cycleing if anyone had done it themselves, I would appreciate the feedback.


TLDNR: Is my PH to high for Oscars and when is enough ammonia enough for a fishless cycle.

when doing a fishless cycle, you only need to bring the the ammonia up to 4-5 ppm, and test it everyday, until you test the water for ammonia and it says 1ppm. at this point, it means that it is beginning to make the bacteria to break down ammonia.

Then bring the ammonia back up to 4-5 ppm, and begin testing for nitrite daily. when nitrite level begin to fall, add more ammonia to keep feeding the tank.

at this point, add small amounts of ammonia and start testing for nitrate. when you have this, and 0 for ammonia and nitrate, you are all set for fishies!

and yes, PH stability is the most important. Keep it stable and the O will be able to handle it just fine. I think mine is usually around 7.6 or so, and yeah I would use high range PH test kit, especially if its testing out at the MAX.

I have kept fish for years at a ph of 9 and they did fine (though I would not recommend doing this) the reason that they lived was because (as everyone has been saying) stability is far more important than the level. The only reason the ph was this high was because I used crushed coral for bedding and this raised the ph off the scale. As I said before it is not a good idea and should not be done if you can help it, my point is simply that the level can be high as long as it is stable.

Also remember that ammonia is much more toxic at higher ph levels.