Are my levels correct?

sksmonk · Aug 23, 2020

Hello everyone, I'm new to the hobby and have been watching a ton of BRS and Marine Depot videos on youtube. These are great however, I cannot figure out if my tank has cycled or not. About 5-ish days ago I added 2 clowns and a bottle of Dr. Tims to my 90 gallon tank. Every other day I check the Ph, Ammonia, Nitrate, Nitrite levels, they have not changed My PH is about a 8.0, and everything is 0. I feel like the tank has not even started to cycle but I don't know much yet... Just asking for some friendly experience before I go and pick up more fish..

Spare time · Aug 23, 2020

So you read 0 ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate?

sksmonk · Aug 23, 2020

Spare time said:
So you read 0 ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate?

Correct, 0-0-0

Jib · Aug 23, 2020

sksmonk said:
Just asking for some friendly experience before I go and pick up more fish..

I'm new as well, but one of the things I've learned from all of the videos I've been watching is to not add fish to quickly. Give your beneficial bacteria a chance to build up from the fish you do have. I believe the recommendation was to wait 2-4 weeks for every additional fish, or something along those lines.

Spare time · Aug 23, 2020

Consider seeing if you can have someone double check your test kit. What tests do you use?

Shufflepig · Aug 23, 2020

Has the tank only been filled with water 5 days or was it running before you added the fish and Dr Tim’s?

melanotaenia · Aug 23, 2020

With two small fish and 90G of water volume it may take a little longer to register levels on your test kits. Cycle has likely started, so better to just be patient and let it take its course over the next few weeks.

PatW · Aug 23, 2020

It sounds as if you have not added an ammonia source. If so, you will not get ammonia, nitrite or nitrate readings. If you have 2 small clowns and you are feeding them, the clowns will excrete ammonia. But unless you are feeding them huge amounts, 2 small clowns will not generate ammonia very quickly. I would assume that the bacteria started in Dr. Tims would be enough to prevent anything catastrophic from occurring from 2 clowns in a big tank.

Now, if you added ammonia, you should have gotten an ammonia reading. If you did not, you have a bad test or performed it wrong. You have to have ammonia before the bacteria can convert ammonia to nitrite and then convert the nitrite to nitrates.

It is considered bad practice by most people (me included) to add fish as a way of cycling a tank. But in most cases., people add ammonia and then put in a few hapless fish into the toxic environment. In your case, the tank is big enough, that the fish will PROBABLY not generate enough ammonia to hurt themselves especially with the added bacteria.