Bought A Fish Tank.

I know the dilution test is only very rough but keep an eye on the nitrite level. If it appears to be over 15ppm, do a water change. That's the level that stalls the cycle.

Congrats on the nitrite  Not long to go now.

MA is usually better than P@H, though as they are both franchises it does depend on the branch manager.

Snails do come out of the shell when dead and they stink. If a snail stops moving, taking it out of the tank and sniffing it is the way to check if it's dead or not. But only a tiny sniff. That smell is horrible and lingers in the nose for hours.

Oh dear, I already feel the need for a bigger tank coming on!

It turns out that not only are black harlequin rasbora rather beautiful, they are also from Selangor in Malaysia, where I did my masters research project for three months.

But they are too big for my tank!!

Do you mean neon green rasboras? I have some of those. They don't look much in the shop tanks but are much nicer when settled in your tank. They aren't bright green in the way that ember tetra are bright red, but they are definitely green particularly when the light catches them.
And I also have ember tetras. They are similar sized fish and I do like the way the orange-red and green go together. They also have the same water requirements.

When it comes to the community creator you won't be able to add the rasboras as they aren't in the database. Just pretend they are ember tetras or galaxy rasboras.



However, I have also seen some fish labelled as neon green rasboras that were not Microdevarios as they had black in their dorsal fins. I haven't worked out what they were.

Have been messing about with the tank again.
Or I should say, trying to sort out the pump issues. Decided it was quieter on its side, so took out the heater and relocated to the compartment containing the filter media, so had to relocate them to the compartment with sponge, so had to chop a chunk off the sponge for both to fit.
So far so good.

Then realised the tank was getting fuller and fuller.
Nearly but not quite overflowing. The pump was pushing out water quicker than it was being replaced... Much quicker.
So I thought it was the filter floss I put straight behind the inlet, getting too clogged to let water through. Changed that.
Still happening.
Finally realised that the filter cartridge supplied with the tank was clogged and not letting water through that. Lifted it slightly off the bottom so now water is getting under it. But not through it. So one filter type is effectively out of action.
So that's the double whammy of smaller sponge and less filter media. I still have the stuff I got from MA ready seeded.

During all this the small piece of sponge I wedged into the outlet to prevent fish entering, has been spat out.

I think we are getting somewhere with this tank... Ammonia and nitrites 0, 24 hours after dosing to 1ppm.
Now dosed to 2ppm, retesting tomorrow afternoon.

Really high, Colin.
Last time I measured, yesterday I think they were ~160 which is as high as my test will measure.

Ok will do. Thanks Sue.
Ammonia was 0 this afternoon, 24hrs after topping up to 2ppm.
Nitrite was five.
Am I waiting for double zero before topping up again? Or keeping it topped up until nitrite gone in 24hrs?
Thanks.

Thanks Sue, but I have a confession, soon after writing I tested again, and nitrite was zero!
So have added more ammonia.
Can I ask about the nitrates? I'm going to re read the new cycling method so it'll probably answer me, don't worry if you know it does.
But is it usual to have to change the water because of high nitrates? Is this one of the reasons for cycles stalling, as well as overly high nitrites? Will I need to do a dilution test to see how high it is?

The old method of fishless cycling, which used 5ppm doses of ammonia every time that dropped to zero, resulted in very high nitrite in the middle of the cycle and nitrate at the end of the cycle. This was the main reason the chap who devised the new method lowered the amount of ammonia added. This stops the nitrite level ever getting high enough to inhibit the nitrite eating bacteria and stops nitrate getting extremely high towards the end. With the new method, you still get high nitrate, but not nearly so high as with the old method. But I don't know high high nitrate has to be before it affects the cycle's progress.
The problem with a dilution test is that the nitrate tester is only ball park at best and diluting it will introduce further inaccuracy.

The main thing to aim for is double zeros 24 hours after adding a 3ppm dose of ammonia; and a big (100% if possible) water change just before you get fish if the nitrate is very high.