Ammonia not dropping :(

[Nreal]

...but this is a passion of mine. Tomorrow I will be do another water change, and see my tiny shrimp got just a tiny bit bigger.

 

[janky]

Mumma, I did not know about the schooling preferences of these fish :/
They do all seem to swim together though... so it would appear they get along great!!

Since I have no clue - I'd like your input on my 55 gal idea and maybe you can give some insight since you seem to know quite a bit about this

I wanted to get 3-4 discus, 3-4 gouramis and a good-sized pleco or two, in a moderately planted tank. Is this enough for their schooling preference and size accommodations?
Any suggestions?

EDIT: I remember reading that the pleco should be by itself cause it will get big and territorial... so nvm that part

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Mumma, I did not know about the schooling preferences of these fish :/
They do all seem to swim together though... so it would appear they get along great!!

Since I have no clue - I'd like your input on my 55 gal idea and maybe you can give some insight since you seem to know quite a bit about this

I wanted to get 3-4 discus, 3-4 gouramis and a good-sized pleco or two, in a moderately planted tank. Is this enough for their schooling preference and size accommodations?
Any suggestions?

EDIT: I remember reading that the pleco should be by itself cause it will get big and territorial... so nvm that part

When stocking a discus tank you have to remember it is a discus tank first and everything else has to be chosen around them. They have some pretty specific requirements that need to be met. They will not tolerate even a trace of ammonia or nitrite and barely any nitrate. They (usually) need lower pH (in the 6s) and high temps that some other fish can not tolerate. They are finicky and can get stressed out if tank mates are too fast/zip around too much. I'd suggest researching them a lot and deciding whether you can meet their needs. They are are quite expensive so you don't want to mess up and loose one if you can avoid it.

What kind of gouramis are you thinking? I usually advise a single gourami or a male/female pair or trio. I cant say if you can keep them with discus or not. I haven't heard of anyone keeping them with discus but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

Most recommend not keeping any kind of pleco with discus because they can latch onto the slime coat of the fish and damage them. I have read some keep bristlenoses with them without issue though.

I'd suggest starting a thread with discus tank stoking (or something similar) in the title to get discus keepers attention. I do not keep them myself (out of my budget at the moment) so I don't know a huge deal about them.

 

[janky]

Great idea. Thanks again!

 

[janky]

So this is weird. My ammonia has been staying at 0.8 - 1 ppm for about a week now
I've been doing large water changes (50-60%) every day, and testing the water the next morning before feeding.

Is it ever going to actually get to zero?

My 55 gal I set up seemed to cycle quick and it stays under 0.5 - so what gives with the small tank??

What am I doin wrong here?

 

[Mumma.of.two]

The less water the higher concentration of ammonia. It will build up faster in a smaller tank than a larger one. Also have you checked you tap water for ammonia? What water conditioner are you using?

 

[janky]

I have not checked the regular tap. I use AquaSafe water conditioner. I believe we have some Aqueon stuff as well. I go by the instructions on the bottle and usually let it sit 15-30 minutes before putting it into the aquarium.

It's lower, so I'm happy about that... but it's supposed to be zero right??

 

[MandyINCo]

Janky, have you changed your filter at all? If you change the carbon filled filter, you can stall the cycle. I battled with my first tank for months before I found out thats what I had done wrong. I hear that smaller tanks are more of a beast to cycle though. Water changes and patience, are just about the best advice. You could also try adding some crushed coral to your filter for buffer. Might help.

Best of luck to you!

 

[Nreal]

I agree, now with 4 various aquariums in diff states of maturity, the "quick start your tank" liquids really are for the minority and harms the natural balance that just takes time to develop. In retrospect I lost fish (died not lose) using the quick starters. They were test fish to see if the balance was really as off as my ATI Test kit said. Ammonia at like 3ppm. Didn't believe but I also hurried, when starting a "world" if you will. Don't rush things is a great lesson. But 4-6 weeks even sounds a bit short to proper cycle IMO. I have one at 5 and levels are still bonkers.

 

[janky]

I agree, now with 4 various aquariums in diff states of maturity, the "quick start your tank" liquids really are for the minority and harms the natural balance that just takes time to develop. In retrospect I lost fish (died not lose) using the quick starters. They were test fish to see if the balance was really as off as my ATI Test kit said. Ammonia at like 3ppm. Didn't believe but I also hurried, when starting a "world" if you will. Don't rush things is a great lesson. But 4-6 weeks even sounds a bit short to proper cycle IMO. I have one at 5 and levels are still bonkers.

Well, it's bizarre cause my 55 gallon is having no problems. I've seriously cycled it a little over 2 weeks with that "bacteria-in-a-bottle" stuff, and ammonia, nitrites and nitrates have been steady at zero ever since. The bottle was supposed to go for a full month, but it doesn't even seem like I need it!

The 10 gallon, on the other hand, is still at sub-1ppm levels. So we got it lower (filter change and LOTS of wc's) but it's still not at zero.
It's gotta be the concentration - easier to disperse over 55 gal than 10 I suppose.

I'm setting up the old hexagonal we had as a QT tank now, so I'll see how the cycling goes this time around

 

[Nreal]

Well it may be due to not only the most obvious and true, 55g is going to be the "old truck" it takes a bit for the heat to work and takes a while for that smell of exhaust out but it is big, it will take time for anything to happen- as you said about your (did you like my old truck metaphor?) smaller tanks.
Of all the tanks I have maintained, the problems were with the smaller ones-levels spiked, fish just started dying etc. the "quick bottled fast-cycle juice" in your 55 may in fact had no effect. You tried to affect the time, but the size, and the fact that It is so large could be the deciding factor that such a huge amount of water will need a lot to affect anything really!
Also remember you are comparing them to each other- the time lines they started as well as the state they are in health wise etc. because you are aware of just these guys. For instance, lets say thee was a guy that started a smaller tank, like yours next door and his is perfect but the 55 is totally messed up. He cant figure it out because in his life there are just these two he is comparing. I guess its as easy as you have yet to really pound it in that a 55gal is an apple and a 10 gal is an orange...

 

[Nreal]

The less water the higher concentration of ammonia. It will build up faster in a smaller tank than a larger one. Also have you checked you tap water for ammonia? What water conditioner are you using?

A quick question for this topic and to add, I am finding unusually high amounts (unusual, though I have never checked it before...hmm) of ammonia in tap water with a pure built in system the drinking water STILL tests high for ammonia. Something is odd.

 

[librarygirl]

Well, it's bizarre cause my 55 gallon is having no problems. I've seriously cycled it a little over 2 weeks with that "bacteria-in-a-bottle" stuff, and ammonia, nitrites and nitrates have been steady at zero ever since. The bottle was supposed to go for a full month, but it doesn't even seem like I need it!

The 10 gallon, on the other hand, is still at sub-1ppm levels. So we got it lower (filter change and LOTS of wc's) but it's still not at zero.
It's gotta be the concentration - easier to disperse over 55 gal than 10 I suppose.

I'm setting up the old hexagonal we had as a QT tank now, so I'll see how the cycling goes this time around

Are there fish in the 55 gal? Are you adding ammonia? If not the levels will read 0 but that doen't mean the tank is cycled. The bacteria need an ammonia source to grow; either from fish or from adding pure ammonia.

Oh no, did you change out the filter media in the 10 gal?! If so you just re-started your cycle from scratch and threw away any bacteria you were starting to grow.

 

[janky]

Are there fish in the 55 gal? Are you adding ammonia? If not the levels will read 0 but that doen't mean the tank is cycled. The bacteria need an ammonia source to grow; either from fish or from adding pure ammonia.

Oh no, did you change out the filter media in the 10 gal?! If so you just re-started your cycle from scratch and threw away any bacteria you were starting to grow.

Yeah, I have a pleco, 10 xray tetra and 2 clear shrimp in the big tank. Levels steady at zero for over a week with that stocking. I also had some substrate from the 10 gal in it when I began cycling (put in the filter).

And yeah we changed the filter...
I'll keep an eye on it. It hasn't spiked above 1 ppm, but I can't get it to zero either. I guess this may be part of the reason why
Dumb beginner's mistake, but oh well... you live you learn.
I'm staying on top of it, and the fish seem vibrant and fun, chasing each other around the tank and schooling back and forth.