fish tank cycle ....

ok so the tank has been up and running with a couple fish in it for about 8 weeks. i only have ammonium and nitrite test kits and i have been testing it about 4-5 times a week. about 5 weeks ago i noticed the ammonium has finally dropped but then a couple days later the nitrite spiked. I did about 5 25% water changes a week for three weeks which brings me to today. I just tested the water and there is no nitrites. What happenes with the Nitrates. Will they harm the fish or will they spike. What am i to look for with the nitrates.

 

NitrAtes are the endproduct of the nitrogen cycle so they'll build up over time and you will remove them by doing water changes. Since nitrAtes aren't as toxic as ammonia & nitrIte, you just have to keep them below 20ppm.

And since you no longer have ammonia or nitrIte, it sounds like your tank is done cycling.

-Chelle

 

so nitrates are toxic.
i will go get a test kit next time im out then

 

also i have 2 blue tetras 4 male guppies, and 1 dwarf gouramis.
could i put som white skirt tetras and some columbian tetras in with it.

 

we went to our lfs and we also liked the golden barbs and red rainbow fish.
Could any of these four fish fit well with eachother and our fish we currently have.

 

Yes, nitrAtes are toxic, but anything below 20ppm is safe (actually below 40 is okay, but it's better to keep them below 20).

This is a 29 gallon tank, right?
Personally, I would start off by adding a few more blue tetras because they would act better with a larger group.

Most of the fish you're talking about fall under the 1" rule. So far you have:
blue tetras - 2 x 1" = 2" (or 5" if you add a few more)
male guppies - 4 x 1 1/2" = 6"
dwarf gourami - 1 x 2" = 2"

Total: 10" (or 13" if you add more blue tetras) which leaves you with about 15" - 20" to work with (I would aim for about 17")

White skirt and columbian tetras both get around 2" and prefer to be in groups so either would be okay in your tank.

Golden barbs get around 4" and prefer to be in groups so I think your tank is a little too small for them. And red rainbows get around 6" and I'm pretty sure they prefer to be in groups as well. So I don't think either of those would be very suitable for your tank. You might be able to squeeze them in but I think you'd be better off with smaller fish.

So I'd add 3 more blue tetras, 4 white skirts or columbians, then maybe a bottom feeder (like a group of 3 - 4 cories) to help clean up. I think that would be a decent stocking level for a 29 gallon tank and would provide an interesting, active mix of fish that occupy all regions of the tank.

-Chelle

 

ok so we are probly most likely going to go with 3 more blue tetras, 4 white skirt tetras and 2-3 cories