Cycle crashed - please help

[nirbhao]

I did my weekly water changes today, which is 5 gallons from the 29 gallon tank. Afterward, my ammonia was .5ppm! And my nitrates were 0.

I panicked and did a 15 gallon change, because that seemed logical at the time. Of course the ammonia just went back up. It's still at .5 and nitrates are still at 0. Maybe not exactly 0, but not enough.

I traded the BioMax from my 10 gallon and added the "emergency" dose of Prime. I can't drive in the dark, so there will be no other chemicals until the morning at least.

The tank is planted and stocked, kept at 82° F. pH is 7.8.

Now what?



the tiny computer is full of delicion!

 

[nirbhao]

It looks like I'm doing a fish-in cycle. Are there any differences for a fish-in cycle for a previously established tank than for a new one? Also, should I feed shortly before the water changes?

the tiny computer is full of delicion!

 

[Twistedrider]

I would get some good quality bacteria and treat it as though you are doing a new cycle. Aqua Vitro seed by seachem is great stuff and it works fast. Follow the directions in your fish won't have a problem.

 

[nirbhao]

Thank you. My ammonia is only .25 this morning, so we're moving in the right direction.

the tiny computer is full of delicion!

 

[nirbhao]

Is the Seachem Matrix anything like that? What I'm finding online, it looks like the Aqua Vitro is for reefs and plants. Is there a second best option in case I can't find it at my local shops?

the tiny computer is full of delicion!

 

[nirbhao]

I ended up getting some Fluval Cycle. However I'm also dealing with internal parasites, so I also dosed with Prazi Pro. So.... My poor tank.

I did feel a little proud of myself when I was able to say I've had zero losses (So far) despite the crash.

the tiny computer is full of delicion!

 

[nirbhao]

Nitrates!

 

[Fresh2o]

Keep up with the water changes to keep the toxins down. Out of curiosity, have you tested for nitrites? You may or may not detect any.
I believe BioMax and Matrix are made out of the same material, just in different shapes.
Using the existing media from the established tank will help get things going again, cycle-wise. I've not used Fluval Cycle so I cannot comment on its effectiveness.
Can't say what knocked off the cycle. Maybe the meds? Not sure.

 

[nirbhao]

When I first bought my test supplies, I got API strips and ammonia liquid. My husband got a pool kit pH test. I've since bought API liquid nitrates and hardness, but no one locally carries nitrite stand alone and Amazon has it as an add-on item. We ordered it yesterday.

The cycle was knocked out either by the meds, using too much hand sanitizer, or my DIY water polishing attempt (quilting batting).

I had removed a lot of substrate a week before, but I still had 0 ammonia and 5 nitrates four days later.

Whichever it was, everything but the meds are easy to avoid in the future. Substrate isn't changing anytime soon, either.

I think the Fluval Cycle, like most other bacteria in a bottle, is the short-term stuff.

For water changes, is 30% every other day good or should I do smaller daily?

 

[gilpi]

Let's start from the beginning... is this an already established tank? Some meds will destroy the filters bacteria, most of the times you'd be better off not medicating.
Panicking and adding chemicals is not the way to go, you might just want to do some water changes, step back and let the filter cycle back up again, there might be some good bacteria left to multiply.

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[nirbhao]

Okay, I'm not really worried about the why right now. At this point chemicals added can't be removed, and the cycle has restarted.

My current question is whether I should be doing water changes every day or every other.

The tank was upgraded from an established 10 gallon August 24th. All substrate, equipment, decor, and stock made the transition. Ammonia read 0 daily for the week after, although nitrates did get up to 30.

I test parameters on Wednesdays and Fridays after the water changes.

This parasites this particular fish (a female blue ram) is dealing with are extremely tenacious.

My current vessel situation is the 29 gallon community (2 blue rams, 1 dwarf gourami, 4 male guppies, and snails), the 10 gallon with the pregnant guppy and snails, and a 1 gallon bowl I use to grow algae. No one's going in the bowl, obviously, and I can't combine the guppies. We've spent quite a lot on this new set-up and aren't in a position to add a third tank, so no quarantine.

So 10 gallon of 29 change yesterday. Moving forward, what should my water change schedule look like?

 

[Potluck]

The issue could if been the gravel it won't crash or in my experience it will take a couple days, my theory if I may is you removed to much gravel killing your bio bed, thus not having the bacteria to control the ammonia /nitrite, even though the bio bed is 20% of your BB filter is 80%, just a guess.

 

[nirbhao]

The issue could if been the gravel it won't crash or in my experience it will take a couple days, my theory if I may is you removed to much gravel killing your bio bed, thus not having the bacteria to control the ammonia /nitrite, even though the bio bed is 20% of your BB filter is 80%, just a guess.

Well, that makes sense. Still- moving forward! No more substrate changes for the foreseeable future.

 

[gilpi]

Most to all of your bacteria lives in your filter but anyway at this point, water changes and keep checking the water occasionally.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[nirbhao]

Most to all of your bacteria lives in your filter but anyway at this point, water changes and keep checking the water occasionally.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Aquarium Advice mobile app

[emoji106]

 

[Potluck]

Yes most of the bacteria does 80%, but you can crash a tank by changing gravel there's many topics on here on how to properly do it safely.

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[Potluck]

Stinking auto prediction, " yes the filter bacteria is 80% roughly"

 

[ub3rn00ber]

I think a ram is the 2nd worst choice for doing a cycle with (1st being discus). If you still have the 10g tank you might want to put soft water 6-7ph (depending on what its in now) and keep the ammonia and nitrite at 0. nitrate can be 20 and not have issues with the rams. I had them in the past and they are very difficult to maintain in an established tank much less one that is cycling.


edit: the rams are more than likely already immunocompromised and the bugs in the tanks are doing them no favors, again I would get them out asap. mine did very well with minn finn, that will clear up the infection in no time, but follow the directions to the letter.

 

[nirbhao]

Yes most of the bacteria does 80%, but you can crash a tank by changing gravel there's many topics on here on how to properly do it safely.

Sent from my SM-G930P using Aquarium Advice mobile app

We had a perfect storm situation. Multiple things that could cause a crash all came together at once. I messed up. I'll admit fault.

I think a ram is the 2nd worst choice for doing a cycle with (1st being discus). If you still have the 10g tank you might want to put soft water 6-7ph (depending on what its in now) and keep the ammonia and nitrite at 0. nitrate can be 20 and not have issues with the rams. I had them in the past and they are very difficult to maintain in an established tank much less one that is cycling.


edit: the rams are more than likely already immunocompromised and the bugs in the tanks are doing them no favors, again I would get them out asap. mine did very well with minn finn, that will clear up the infection in no time, but follow the directions to the letter.

The 10 gallon is occupied with nerites (need temperatures much cooler than rams), a recovering apple snail (needs HARD water), and two female guppies, one of whom is pregnant (and therefore needs minimal stress).

I've been working very hard to keep that tank happy. I know that rams are fancier than guppies and apple snails, but that doesn't mean they don't deserve a good life.

The female ram didn't survive the night. Her anus was bloody. I think the worms had done too much damage. The stress from the water conditions certainly didn't help, but fighting this parasite was a potential contributing cause of the crash-- the parasites were there first.


MinnFinn is hydrogen peroxide and peracetic acid. Peracetic acid turns into hydrogen peroxide and acetic acid in water. I have a big bottle of H2O2 in my closet and a bigger bottle of white vinegar in my kitchen. I'm not adding either to my tanks, especially since my Japanese trapdoor snail is my favorite critter. (My rabbit snails are a very close tie for second)

No one who has an established aquarium wants to do a fish-in cycle. I want to keep my healthy tank healthy and get my off-kilter tank back up as soon as I can.

 

[ub3rn00ber]

sorry for your loss