Can a tank dormant the good bacteria after 3 years???

[Aqualady40]

I have a 55g tank that I ran for 4-5 years straight. For the last 3 years I have not touched it (turned pumps, lights, filters, etc... off and I let the water evaporate without disturbing it for the whole 3 years). I decided to clean it up and get it up and running again. Once cleaned and filled with water, I waited 3 days and on gp I decided to just check the water conditions (appeared to be going through a mini cycle) and wow...I had nitrates at 40, nitrites 0, ammonia .50, ph 7.6...wow...does someone know how this happened so quickly??? I went to lfs and told them, they test the water as well and got the same readings.....they said they believe some bacteria must have dormant in the gravel...any other suggestions? BTW..I was so curious to how fish would respond, I did get 5 tiger barbs and they appear to be happy as ever and going back and forth from one side of the tank to the other.....

 

[Borderlesscott]

Retest using a new API test, there is no way bacteria would have survived that long without a direct food source.

 

[jlk]

Test your tap water. It's likely you have some ammonia & nitrate in your tap. It's also possible that there was residual nitrate in the tank.

 

[Bbarb27]

I used old gravel in a tank I was starting up and immediately had nitrate of 10ppm. I'm assuming it was residual in the gravel and not due to new cycle activity. It still took me a month to cycle the new tank with the old gravel, so your tank likely isn't already cycled. Watch for ammonia and nitrite spikes since you have fish in the tank.

 

[jcolon]

Agreed .. The bacteria would've starved as mentioned and I wouldn't be surprised .. Also mentioned ...if your PWC source has some ammo and nitrates.

 

[Aqualady40]

Okay, when I decided to get tank up and running again, I did purchase all new testing kits (I knew the old stuff was out dated). Thanks JLK for the advice to test my city water (informative to know). Now I have test my city water and results are as follows: Ph-6.5, Nitrate-0, Nitrite-0, Gh-180, Kh-240, and ammonia-1.0....So, obviously I need to do something about this ammonia? What can I safely do besides monitor the tank water to keep ammonia in the 0-.25 safe zone?

 

[tamtam]

Okay, when I decided to get tank up and running again, I did purchase all new testing kits (I knew the old stuff was out dated). Thanks JLK for the advice to test my city water (informative to know). Now I have test my city water and results are as follows: Ph-6.5, Nitrate-0, Nitrite-0, Gh-180, Kh-240, and ammonia-1.0....So, obviously I need to do something about this ammonia? What can I safely do besides monitor the tank water to keep ammonia in the 0-.25 safe zone?

with that much ammonia coming from your tap I would highly suggest you return your fish and do a fishless cycle. 1.0 ppm is dangerous to your fish and doing water changes with your tap water is not going to be able to bring the level down. Unless you are going to do PWC with bottled water(which would be a big pain with a larger tank) I would suggest taking the fish back and doing a fish less cycle with pure ammonia.

Once your tank is fully cycled and can convert the ammo in a reasonable time you can stock it and use a product like seachems PRIME. Its a water conditioner but will detox ammo for your fish for 24-48 hours. So when your tank is cycled and you do a water change you treat with PRIME and by the time it wears off in 24-48 hours your bacteria has already converted it and your fish haven't experienced any stress.

as mentioned it sounds like the nitrates are residual. Probably coming from the decor/substrate.

 

[Aqualady40]

I used old gravel in a tank I was starting up and immediately had nitrate of 10ppm. I'm assuming it was residual in the gravel and not due to new cycle activity. It still took me a month to cycle the new tank with the old gravel, so your tank likely isn't already cycled. Watch for ammonia and nitrite spikes since you have fish in the tank.

That is what I am thinking to because how could I have nitrates of 40 if something wasn't there already? It has been 24hrs since I added the fish, I test my water again, results are all normal except my ammonia (which my city water ammonia test was 1.0) Oh BTW water clarity is clear, only had a mini cycle the first 72 hours then whaaaalaaah clear water. IDK

 

[Aqualady40]

I used old gravel in a tank I was starting up and immediately had nitrate of 10ppm. I'm assuming it was residual in the gravel and not due to new cycle activity. It still took me a month to cycle the new tank with the old gravel, so your tank likely isn't already cycled. Watch for ammonia and nitrite spikes since you have fish in the tank.

with that much ammonia coming from your tap I would highly suggest you return your fish and do a fishless cycle. 1.0 ppm is dangerous to your fish and doing water changes with your tap water is not going to be able to bring the level down. Unless you are going to do PWC with bottled water(which would be a big pain with a larger tank) I would suggest taking the fish back and doing a fish less cycle with pure ammonia.

Once your tank is fully cycled and can convert the ammo in a reasonable time you can stock it and use a product like seachems PRIME. Its a water conditioner but will detox ammo for your fish for 24-48 hours. So when your tank is cycled and you do a water change you treat with PRIME and by the time it wears off in 24-48 hours your bacteria has already converted it and your fish haven't experienced any stress.

as mentioned it sounds like the nitrates are residual. Probably coming from the decor/substrate.

Since I restarted my tank, I have been using Prime and with PWC I use it as well...Once I test tank water...ammonia level is 0.25

 

[tamtam]

Clear water doesn't really have much to do with your cycle.

You can experience bacteria blooms(probably what you had) which are common in new tanks and generally go away on their own but just because your water is clear is doesn't mean that your tank is cycled or that it is even healthy for your fish. You can have crystal clear water and have toxin levels through the roof.

 

[tamtam]

Since I restarted my tank, I have been using Prime and with PWC I use it as well...Once I test tank water...ammonia level is 0.25

what is you ammo level at? I've read .25, .5 and 1 ppm. lol. I'm just a bit confused. I know you said 1ppm from the tap.

Prime won't actually remove it, it will convert it to ammonium which is ok for your fish but is still readable on your test. So you will still get a regular ammonia reading which allows you to track the progress of your cycle.

 

[Aqualady40]

Clear water doesn't really have much to do with your cycle.

You can experience bacteria blooms(probably what you had) which are common in new tanks and generally go away on their own but just because your water is clear is doesn't mean that your tank is cycled or that it is even healthy for your fish. You can have crystal clear water and have toxin levels through the roof.

Oh, yes I know that much, I have experienced that in the past. I am not a newbie to keeping fish, I'm a veteran; HOWEVER, I just want to be more informed on things I do not know or things I maybe confused about....Most of us learn that clear water doesn't mean a whole lot in the very beginning...I have had fish die in clear water, only to find out ammonia was beyond....even made my fish become aggressive, and so forth....So this time around, I want to become really knowledgeable about water conditions and what to do about it ....

 

[Aqualady40]

what is you ammo level at? I've read .25, .5 and 1 ppm. lol. I'm just a bit confused. I know you said 1ppm from the tap.

Prime won't actually remove it, it will convert it to ammonium which is ok for your fish but is still readable on your test. So you will still get a regular ammonia reading which allows you to track the progress of your cycle.

lol...I rechecked my tank water for ammonia which is .25...sorry....typo on .5...how can I post a picture of the results?

 

[tamtam]

lol...I rechecked my tank water for ammonia which is .25...sorry....typo on .5...how can I post a picture of the results?

I've only ever added them through photobucket. So you need a photo bucket account, upload there and then get the image code and paste it here.

If you have already seen them there are some great articles in the article section.

Here are a couple personal faves. You probably know some of the stuff listed but I know I learned some interesting stuff from them and it was certainly a refresher when I got back into the hobby after a few years out.

Fish-in Cycling: Step over into the dark side - Aquarium Advice

I just learned about cycling but I already have fish. What now?! - Aquarium Advice

this is on fish less cycling but still very interesting and helpful

The (almost) Complete Guide and FAQ to Fishless Cycling - Aquarium Advice

 

[Aqualady40]

I've only ever added them through photobucket. So you need a photo bucket account, upload there and then get the image code and paste it here.

If you have already seen them there are some great articles in the article section.

Here are a couple personal faves. You probably know some of the stuff listed but I know I learned some interesting stuff from them and it was certainly a refresher when I got back into the hobby after a few years out.

Fish-in Cycling: Step over into the dark side - Aquarium Advice

I just learned about cycling but I already have fish. What now?! - Aquarium Advice

this is on fish less cycling but still very interesting and helpful

The (almost) Complete Guide and FAQ to Fishless Cycling - Aquarium Advice

Okay I think I did it...lets see...

 

[jlk]

Is this pic your tap water or your tank water? If its your tank, how do these numbers compare to your tap? You also need to run the high range ph test- your maxed at 7.6. So, your ph may be 7.6 or 8 or 8.8- the high range test will determine what your ph is actually reading.

 

[Aqualady40]

Is this pic your tap water or your tank water? If its your tank, how do these numbers compare to your tap? You also need to run the high range ph test- your maxed at 7.6. So, your ph may be 7.6 or 8 or 8.8- the high range test will determine what your ph is actually reading.

Thank you for informing me of this, this is something I did not know...testing my Ph High range now. BTW, that was from the tank.

Water conditon results today are:

High Range Ph:7.4
nitrite:0ppm
ammonia:0.50ppm
nitrate:20ppm
water temp.:76 F
tank size: 55g
fish: 5 Tiger Barbs
2 HOTB filters & using carbon (1 has 2 bio-wheels)
10%-40% PWC 1-2 a week or as needed (depending on test results and/or if its time to clean gravel)