testing testing

After all the ups and downs, my aquarium has finally finished cycled and stabilized! The pH is no longer jumping around (I had to replace the gravel, and remove the airstone), waste toxins are down to zero, and the Nitrates at a reasonable level. I've been keeping notes but also made a chart, to see it visually.

You can see that the first time it was really all over the place, then there's about a week gap where I had to tear down and set up the tank again. Blue is pH, yellow Ammonia, orange Nitrite, red Nitrates. Oops, I spilled water on the paper. After the tank was set up again, I had a mini-cycle which went a lot more evenly- a nice little Ammonia spike, followed by a jump in Nitrites, pH stable the whole time. Very pleased

Now there's this!

See future posts for an introduction to the new little occupants. It's difficult to get a decent photo of them, but I'm trying!