TCool
Aquarium Advice Activist
So a little more than 2 weeks ago I got a new internal power filter, and a new hood for my tank that covers the whole tank with no gaps. I wanted to go this route because I have some fish that liked to splash my walls through the gaps where the HOB filters were. So, when I finally received my new filter (ordered it online) I got really excited and set it all up and stuck the removable panels back on my new hood so my fish could no longer splash the wall. My plan was to stick my bio sponges from my old filter in with the new filter, but in my excitement I forgot and they dried out (which I'm assuming killed all the bacteria).
So, I obviously screwed up my cycle because my ammonia readings went from 0 up to about 1 over the first week. I did a large water change in the morning when it went up to 1 and then again at night and got the ammonia down to .25. Since then I've been doing about 75% water changes every other day because ammonia would go from .25 to 1 in 2 days. So, this leads to my main question. I am going to be leaving town this weekend for about 3 days, so I'm wondering if I should treat the tank with some Ammo lock before I go or would my fish be ok if they had to go about a day (because I could do a large water change right before I leave) with ammonia getting up to 1+?
One more thing, like I said, I've been doing water changes every other day to lower ammonia. My last one was Monday, so I was planning one today, but when I checked my ammonia today it actually hadn't gone up since yesterday (.5). So, is it possible that my bacteria are kicking back in already? I figured it would take a bit longer, but I guess it is possible I had good bacteria growing on some other things in my tank that acted as a seed for my new filter, right? Or, do things like Pimafix and Melafix somehow lower ammonia levels? I dosed my tank yesterday because my Angel Fish has some fin rot going on (I'm assuming due to less than perfect water quality lately). I was hoping maybe a dose or two would help to slow it down and keep him going long enough until I fixed my issues. Anyway, I'm curious about that because I also dosed a small quarantine tank that I have one fish in (it's starting to bloat, wanted to keep other fish from eating it if it died) and the level of ammonia actually went down in that tank. The quarantine tank is just a tiny 1.5 gallon with a really small internal filter that I just set up a week ago, so I don't think my theory about the seeding would apply to this tank.
Just gonna clear up one more thing since I'm sure it'll come up. The reason I decided not to do a water change even tho the ammonia is at .5 is because I hurt my back doing it on Monday (haven't gotten my aqueon water changer yet) so I figure if it's not going up I'm gonna give my back a rest. Doing large water changes on a 55 gallon tank with a 13 gallon garbage can for draining and a 5 gallon bucket for filling back up is tough.
Oh yeah, I have no readings on nitrate or nitrite. I also haven't received my master test kit yet and still only have strips which I've recently learned aren't accurate. But, nitrate and nitrite both show as zero on those, so I don't know if that tells us anything at all or if the strips are so inaccurate that they are useless.
Thanks in advance for any help,
Tim
So, I obviously screwed up my cycle because my ammonia readings went from 0 up to about 1 over the first week. I did a large water change in the morning when it went up to 1 and then again at night and got the ammonia down to .25. Since then I've been doing about 75% water changes every other day because ammonia would go from .25 to 1 in 2 days. So, this leads to my main question. I am going to be leaving town this weekend for about 3 days, so I'm wondering if I should treat the tank with some Ammo lock before I go or would my fish be ok if they had to go about a day (because I could do a large water change right before I leave) with ammonia getting up to 1+?
One more thing, like I said, I've been doing water changes every other day to lower ammonia. My last one was Monday, so I was planning one today, but when I checked my ammonia today it actually hadn't gone up since yesterday (.5). So, is it possible that my bacteria are kicking back in already? I figured it would take a bit longer, but I guess it is possible I had good bacteria growing on some other things in my tank that acted as a seed for my new filter, right? Or, do things like Pimafix and Melafix somehow lower ammonia levels? I dosed my tank yesterday because my Angel Fish has some fin rot going on (I'm assuming due to less than perfect water quality lately). I was hoping maybe a dose or two would help to slow it down and keep him going long enough until I fixed my issues. Anyway, I'm curious about that because I also dosed a small quarantine tank that I have one fish in (it's starting to bloat, wanted to keep other fish from eating it if it died) and the level of ammonia actually went down in that tank. The quarantine tank is just a tiny 1.5 gallon with a really small internal filter that I just set up a week ago, so I don't think my theory about the seeding would apply to this tank.
Just gonna clear up one more thing since I'm sure it'll come up. The reason I decided not to do a water change even tho the ammonia is at .5 is because I hurt my back doing it on Monday (haven't gotten my aqueon water changer yet) so I figure if it's not going up I'm gonna give my back a rest. Doing large water changes on a 55 gallon tank with a 13 gallon garbage can for draining and a 5 gallon bucket for filling back up is tough.
Oh yeah, I have no readings on nitrate or nitrite. I also haven't received my master test kit yet and still only have strips which I've recently learned aren't accurate. But, nitrate and nitrite both show as zero on those, so I don't know if that tells us anything at all or if the strips are so inaccurate that they are useless.
Thanks in advance for any help,
Tim