Starting to get a little nervous ( pics)

[tnice17]

first of all.. hello to everyone! i have been looking around for a good friendly forum and this seems to be the best organized, i am happy to be here!

anyway, my 20gal tank is starting to cycle and has been for about 2 weeks. i did not know about fishless cycling and i wish i did.



i have learned so far

not to add any chemicals ( accidentally did before i knew)
no washing filters under tap water
no cleaning gravel
raise water temp to help bacteria growth

my tank set up is

3 zebra danios
2 blue gourami
1 kissing gourami
5 black mystery snails

100 GHP filter ----- x2
small airstone
20-40gal tank heater

water temp currently at 80-82 F

i know i might have gotten to far over my head about getting fish and starting everything to early, i am regretting it. but that is not the point, i am trying to get everything back to normal and i need some help

here are my readings, i dont understand why my ammonia is so high

any advise is greatly appreciated! Tom

 

[logansmomma1228]

hmm that is indeed super high. You still don't appear to have nitrites or nitrates either. Do water changes daily and keep a close eye on your levels. This article might be able to help you out some. And welcome http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...-but-i-already-have-fish-what-now-116287.html

 

[tnice17]

hmm that is indeed super high. You still don't appear to have nitrites or nitrates either. Do water changes daily and keep a close eye on your levels. This article might be able to help you out some. And welcome http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...-but-i-already-have-fish-what-now-116287.html

good to hear about the water changes. i was reading somewhere else that i shouldnt and nature will take its course. but i still have a lot to learn.

will ammonia decrease with water changes? i normally do 20% water changes, but i dont want to mess anything up in the process


EDIT: was there any reason why my ammonia was so high?

 

[mommytron]

your ammonia is so high because you have a lot of fish and you did not cycle your tank. that means there is no bacteria to turn the ammonia into nitrite and no bacteria to turn nitrite into nitrate. since you have fish, you need to perform daily water changes in order to keep your ammonia and nitrites at safe levels for your fish. both should be under .25ppm when fish are present. i would do an immediate 80% at least water change to get your ammonia way down. i'm actually surprised your fish aren't dying. but they will if you don't get it way down.

edit: i also wanted to add something about cleaning the gravel. i wouldn't start cleaning it until your cycle is done. but when your cycle is complete you will want to do weekly PWCs and should vacuum at least half the gravel each time

 

[logansmomma1228]

There are lots of helpful articles on here, and people have great information. If you do about 50% water change the ammonia should be down, then you can check your levels and see. Just keep doing water changes every day and checking the levels. The goal is to keep the ammonia under .25 but that might take a while since yours is so high. You should definitely see a decrease in it though.

Changing the water will not mess the cycle up because the beneficial bacteria you need lives in the substrate, decor and filter media.

If you added all your fish at once that could be why the ammonia is so high; fish waste=ammonia. The more fish and the messier the fish (not sure how messy those ones are) the more waste, and the higher levels of ammonia.

 

[tnice17]

yea the fish are pretty messy.

i am doing a water change as we speak now so ill take readings after and keep everyone posted.

i just started to notice some green algae on my wooden fixture in my tank but ill search around later to find some answers.

 

[tnice17]

just did a 50-60% water change and ammonia is still off the charts ( atleast 8ppm)

i will continue this for a few days and see where it goes.

thanks everyone for setting me back in the right direction.

 

[corrado33]

You need to CONTINUE to do major water changes until your ammonia is below 1 ppm. Ammonia is POISONOUS to your fish. It WILL kill them. I would do another 60-80% water change. Then continue to do them, until your ammonia is down. If your ammonia is at 8ppm, and you do a 50% water change, it'll be at 4ppm. (It's all fractions, everyone loves fractions ) Try to temperature match your water as best as possible, as to not shock the fish. Make sure you add the correct amount of dechlorinator. Changing a lot of water really isn't bad. There really isn't anything in there that NEEDS to be "saved". The only thing in your tank that you really really need is the beneficial bacteria, which is on your filter media and substrate.

EDIT: Not to mention ammonia levels that high will stall your cycle...

 

[dkpate]

You might be doing water changes for 4 weeks, every single day.
Are you SURE you are shaking the #2 ammonia bottle REALLY well? Because with ammonia that high, I would think that all fish would be dead.

 

[meegosh]

i have learned so far

not to add any chemicals ( accidentally did before i knew)
no washing filters under tap water
no cleaning gravel
raise water temp to help bacteria growth

This could also be a cause of some of your spikes. Uneaten food from messy eaters can cause spikes in your readings. A thorough gravel vac will take care of the uneaten food and detritus.

 

[Lowryder]

Everyone seems to have you covered. I would like to say that the kissing gourami will soon out grow your 20g, they can reach 12".

 

[jestes]

Wait a minute, you just did a 50% W/C and your ammonia is still 8ppm? I'm thinking your readings arent accurate. There's no way the fish could survive in 16 ppm ammonia.

 

[Tildar]

just a thought, see if you can track down some cycled media to jump start things. check a local aquarium club.

Not sure it will help, but quick google found: [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]http://fins.actwin.com/dir/clubs.php?c=1
[/FONT]

 

[tnice17]

ammonia went down to 4ppm today after a 70% water change!

 

[logansmomma1228]

good deal! you will still probably need to do them daily until you are cycled though... but as long as you can keep down considerably your fish should be ok.

 

[dkpate]

Considerably being .25ppm or less.

 

[logansmomma1228]

yes what she said lol or else your fish will look like this : 8O lmao

 

[happygirl65]

Since the ammonia is so high I would actually do 2 water changes a day about 50% that way it's nothing drastic to stress fish further as you bring it down. I would also go to the local fish store and get some horn wort stem plants...they do well in low light and are a nutrient hog...they will help you suck up the ammonia...they also contain beneficial bacteria to help speed up your cycle. when you are done you can pitch the plants...or get more and go planted.

 

[corrado33]

Since the ammonia is so high I would actually do 2 water changes a day about 50% that way it's nothing drastic to stress fish further as you bring it down. I would also go to the local fish store and get some horn wort stem plants...they do well in low light and are a nutrient hog...they will help you suck up the ammonia...they also contain beneficial bacteria to help speed up your cycle. when you are done you can pitch the plants...or get more and go planted.

Couldn't agree more. Do this.

 

[tnice17]

a plant will be very attractive in my tank as well, i will look into that next time i go to the store.

i will be going to school in a few months and i would love to take my tank, what do you think are my best options for bring it with me?