Tank cycling

[sieski]

I think I have stalled my tank. I started 3 weeks ago.

I had an amonia spike it went down. my nitrite went up to 3.3 mg/l its come down to 1.6 but sat there for a good 10-13 days

nitrates are currently 110 mg/lplus (thats as high as my readings can go)

I started the amonia spike of with a piece of fish in there 2cmx2cm for a week as I can't get my hands on bottled amonia. A week later I removed it. (the gf wasn't happy with the smell in the kitchen!lol)I have since then been throwing a bit of food in every other day

for 9 says now my readings have been amonia 0 to 0.6 mg/l nitrite1.6 nitrate 110 plus. ph 8 (its a good 7.5 out of the tap)

I added gravel 3 days ago from another tank in hope to "bring" some bacteria over. no effect on the readings. I have a breeder tank full for 50 plus floating around with some ever increasingly growing fry!

Have I under done it with the food and starved me friendly little bacteria?

 

[mgamer20o0]

whats the ammonia level now? if you have a tank already you can put a filter on it move it over and put fish in. stock it slowly and keep a eye on it.

 

[sieski]

whats the ammonia level now? if you have a tank already you can put a filter on it move it over and put fish in. stock it slowly and keep a eye on it.

The amonia comes up as between 0 to 0.6 but the nitrites are 1.6 and nitrates are 110 plus but my hagen test kit is famous for having high nitrate readings whilst the nitrites are 1 or above.

 

[mgamer20o0]

sorry it was there i missed it. the bacteria doesnt have a food source. the food isnt breaking down yet. do you happen to have a walmart? ace hardware? ammonia is really the best and effective way.

 

[sieski]

sorry it was there i missed it. the bacteria doesnt have a food source. the food isnt breaking down yet. do you happen to have a walmart? ace hardware? ammonia is really the best and effective way.

Nope I'm a uk user.

*update* after a few phone calls i can't get hold of bottled amonia. So i've decided against many of my better thoughts to drop a guppy in there. It's a 5gal and I'm hoping he will keep the bacteria fed and get my levels down enough for the fry to go into asap.

 

[mgamer20o0]

just keep up with the water change and it should be fine. in qt tanks i do wc some times every day.

 

[gzeiger]

I agree. 100% water change today (that nitrate is ridiculous) and throw the fry in there. Plan on regular water changes after that for a little while, but it sounds to me from your trends like this cycle will finish soon. Nitrate or other waste products may have built up to the point where it's inhibiting bacterial growth. It's hard to say for sure, but probably prudent to assume that's the case once the reading goes beyond the capacity of your test kit.

Lack of ammonia is not your problem if you already saw a nitrite spike and decline.

 

[sieski]

I agree. 100% water change today (that nitrate is ridiculous) and throw the fry in there. Plan on regular water changes after that for a little while, but it sounds to me from your trends like this cycle will finish soon. Nitrate or other waste products may have built up to the point where it's inhibiting bacterial growth. It's hard to say for sure, but probably prudent to assume that's the case once the reading goes beyond the capacity of your test kit.

Lack of ammonia is not your problem if you already saw a nitrite spike and decline.

well i didn't drop a guppy in there because I thought most likely this might not make it. WHich one do i like the least out of you lot. I couldn't bloody pick!

Well I done the 100% water change tested an hour later and got between 0.3 and 0.8 mg/l on the nitrite (right in between the 2 colours!).

Thats alot better than 5!!!!!!!!!!
ph 7.5
nitrate 10
ammonia 0
I'll test It tomorrow and in 3 days to see if rising. If not I'll put the fry in. If not they will have to become angel fish food for a friend as I have another female guppy days away from birth!

What I have learnt from this is not to rely on people who say "i'll sort my old tank out and have them off you when they are born" only to ask 3 weeks later you sorted your tank? "nah can't be bothered yet"

 

[gzeiger]

If you're taking that approach, you really do need to add an ammonia source. 3 days is too long for the Nitrosomonas to survive without food.

 

[sieski]

If you're taking that approach, you really do need to add an ammonia source. 3 days is too long for the Nitrosomonas to survive without food.

Well I'll check it tomorrow and if levels are still fine I'll chuck a guppy in then and check it in a few days

I've noticed I got 2 fry that fell through breeding tank and into main tank. They are almost double the size of the ones in the breeder. Will they cath up?