2 months later, Ammonia not gone down, Seeded tank.

[Sarah E]

Hello!

i have a 60 Gallon tank that's been up since December 6th 2011. The tank has a substrate that was pre-seeded (a brand where they sell the gravel wet, with all the beneficial bacteria in it already.) multiple plants, and even some fish in there. For the first two weeks, I ran it without any fish, but with that, and a bacteria supplement.

I have a Canister filter from Fluval with a carbon and those little white circle type things you put inside the filter. It, again was running for 2 weeks, before I added 10 Feeder guppies. These guppies, have since (within 2 months) reproduced.... quite a bit. I also have a Butterfly Pleco, an Emerald Corydoras catfish, to SAEs and a Apple snail, with a few other bladder/pond snails. These have been added over time within the 2 months I've had my tank up.

Again, everyone seems happy and healthy, even the plants are. They're continuing to grow, and are amazing. There's some algae growth on the tank.

I've added a bacteria supplement almost every day for the past week, then stopped. The Nitrite is at 0, and the nitrate is just above 0. So I'm really confused why my Ammonia is way up there.

My LFS says that it should be cycled by now (he's been doing this for 11 years) and he's baffled as well. He uses the same substrate for the people's tanks he sets up, and it's usually cycled within a week-a month.

I'm really wanting to add my angelfish... but I can't with the ammonia like this. (The feeders will be gone when they arrive, they're babies so they're eating size. )

Any suggestions, opinions ideas?

Thank you in advance!

 

[HeatherW]

what is your ammonia level? I just (almost) finished cycling my 5 gallon and it was started about the same time as yours. just a few days ago I started my nitrite spike and with many water changes got it down to a controllable level. then this morning BAM! the nitrites are gone! I would say hang on and you shouldn't be too far behind me. just keep doing the water changes to keep the ammonia in check and soon you will see the nitrites rise. maybe 2 more weeks? you put the guppies in 2 weeks after 6 Dec?

 

[George9]

Running the tank for two weeks isn't helping the cycle at all. Any bacteria that was there would start to die without an ammonia source. I've never used a bacteria supplement before, but ive heard of luck with them and them not working. But obviously, it has worked for you because your fish are still thriving lol

Yeah, how high is the ammonia? You need to do water changed every day to keep that ammo as close to 0 as possible until the cycle completes, or ammo drops to 0 and stays 0 on it's own .

 

[Cornstar]

High ammonia can be due to over feeding, lack of partial water change and a lot of fish waste left over.

1. How often do you feed?
2. How many fish do you have?
3. Did you add any source of ammonia to start the cycle?
4. How often do you change water?
5. How much water is changed?

 

[Sarah E]

I'm sorry, it was a little under a week before I added fish, and I'd been adding bacteria to it when I started. Last I checked... my Ammonia was around 2.0 ppm.

I feed 1-2 times a day. 1 time in the morning, then 1 time at night.
I have.. let's see. 14 full grown fish, then... around 40 baby guppies (all under a half inch, around a quarter inch and smaller.) then a snail..... It's a large load, but I added them slowly... I wish I could get the feeders to stop breeding until the tank is cycled... Once it's cycled, I can add the angels and they'll eat them up.
I did not add any source ammonia, because the substrate came with the Nitrates up high, then the nitrite and ammonia a little low, but there. It was pre-cycled substrate.
Well.... I haven't done any water changes for a couple weeks... because I thought you were supposed to let the ammonia and Nitrite make it's way before it goes down to 0.....
When I do change, it's a 25-30% water-change.

 

[HeatherW]

I'm sorry, it was a little under a week before I added fish, and I'd been adding bacteria to it when I started. Last I checked... my Ammonia was around 2.0 ppm.

I feed 1-2 times a day. 1 time in the morning, then 1 time at night.
I have.. let's see. 14 full grown fish, then... around 40 baby guppies (all under a half inch, around a quarter inch and smaller.) then a snail..... It's a large load, but I added them slowly... I wish I could get the feeders to stop breeding until the tank is cycled... Once it's cycled, I can add the angels and they'll eat them up.
I did not add any source ammonia, because the substrate came with the Nitrates up high, then the nitrite and ammonia a little low, but there. It was pre-cycled substrate.
Well.... I haven't done any water changes for a couple weeks... because I thought you were supposed to let the ammonia and Nitrite make it's way before it goes down to 0.....
When I do change, it's a 25-30% water-change.

when you do a fish in cycle (which you are) you need to change the water as frequently as needed to keep your ammonia and nitrite levels at a safe level for your fish. so anytime you see your ammonia or nitrite above .25ppm or so you should be doing water changes to get those numbers down to or below the .25ppm mark. you will most likely need to be doing daily water changes if not at times multiple water changes until you are cycled. Remember what you really want is a healthy environment for your fish. changing the water is not going to slow your cycle down, it will just make your fish healthy and happy.

 

[LyndaB]

What test kit are you using?

 

[Sarah E]

Okay... I'll have to get more water today to do water changes.

I use the API Master test kit. I also bring water samples in to my LFS, and he tests it for free. Multiple times he's tested it while I"m there.

 

[HeatherW]

Okay... I'll have to get more water today to do water changes.

I use the API Master test kit. I also bring water samples in to my LFS, and he tests it for free. Multiple times he's tested it while I"m there.

what kind of water are you using? you should be able to just use your tap water (treated with a dechlorinator)

 

[Sarah E]

I'm using RODI water, because we're on well water, and can have high iron.

 

[librarygirl]

I'm using RODI water, because we're on well water, and can have high iron.

OK that's probably the issue. The problem with using RODI water for a freshwater tank is that it is basically distilled water; it's stipped of chlorines and chemicals but it's also stripped of minerals ---minerals the fish need and that your bacteria need also. The bacteria probably don't have enough nutrients to survive in the water so that's why ammonia is still high b/c effectively your cycle can't start.

If you want to use 100% RODI water you'll haev to add minerals manually, by using either RO Rite (by Kent) or Seachem Replenish.

Alternatively you could also use 1/2 well water and 1/2 RO water which should eliminate the need for adding minerals but I'd still suggest using a dechlorinator prior to adding water into the tank.

Personally I think using your well water exclusively would be fine as long as you dechlorinate it first.

If you change water sources or start adding the minerals do it slowly so as not to shock the fish.

 

[blert]

Edit: LibraryGirl beat me to it.

 

[Sarah E]

Yes. I'm adding a mineral solution and/or salt whenever I put RODI water in, according to the gallons I add.

 

[librarygirl]

Yes. I'm adding a mineral solution and/or salt whenever I put RODI water in, according to the gallons I add.

What type of minerals are you putting in? Do you have a brand name?

Salt alone wouldn't be enough.