Ammonia spike after fishless cycle

[jbhfd4]

Hey everyone!

I just started a new tank and I did a fishless cycle using dr. Tims aquatic live bacteria and pure ammonia. I followed the directions per his website. I was very pleased with the results during the time of fishless cycling. Every time I dosed the tank with pure ammonia it would read 0ppm ammonia and nitrite and I would do a water change every time nitrate got too high. I did this for about 2 weeks after getting consistent results. I added 2 Guppys and 24 hours in the water was fine. Another day goes by and I have an ammonia spike. (About 1ppm) with 0nitrite and 10-20 nitrate. I'll have to do a water change in the morning since it too late in the night to do it now.

I know the bacteria needs oxygen to live and I don't have an air pump for this tank yet. But the water is below the filter spout to make bubbles.

Did I go wrong somewhere?

Should I add another bacteria supplement?

Should I just wait it out and see if it drops in 12-24 hours

FYI. I am using Prime every water change.

Also, the fish don't seem stressed, or gasping for air, nor do I see any red areas by their gills. They're very active

This is tank #2 and the first time fishless cycling. I'm enjoying the hobby and looking at these little guys swim all day but it's also frustrating at times and just need some guidance and advice.

Thanks all!




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[Echistas]

You should take a look at the "guide to fish less cycling" posted on this website. It's a great resource.


I think maybe your spike may be due to the initial introduction of fish.

If your bio filter can't handle the ammonia in 24 hrs, then it's possible your cycle was not fully completed

 

[Yamako]

You should take a look at the "guide to fish less cycling" posted on this website. It's a great resource.


I think maybe your spike may be due to the initial introduction of fish.

If your bio filter can't handle the ammonia in 24 hrs, then it's possible your cycle was not fully completed

^^ Indeed !

Did you see nitrates rising and dropping when you did the fishless cycle? If not I think there was a problem during cycling.

I don't think you need an air pump. Is the water moving enough? Enough surface agitation? That should suffice.

I wouldn't add any new bacteria supplements. Let the current living bacteria do its job. Just do water changes when your levels get too high.

One last tought: How long did you wait between the cycling process and adding the fish? I don't know how long the bacteria can live without ammonia.

I'm new to the hobby so correct me if I'm wrong

 

[jbhfd4]

Update:

I checked the water in the AM it was was back to normal, 0ammonia and 0nitrites. I fed the fish a small amount and left for work.

I tested the water again (about 12 hours later) and its back up again. About 0.25-0.50 ammonia and 0.25 nitrites.

before adding the fish it was eating up 2-4ppm ammonia in 24 hours. And to answer the question asked before, I have read the fishless cycle guide on this site, but I'm still very puzzled.

The only reason why I used the bacteria in a bottle was due to tank #1 having a very small leak and i wanted to get a tank up the right way and house my fish while I fix their first original tank incase it gets any worse. I added the 2 guppy fish in to see how the tank would react with live fish in it after the cycle. Now I'm afraid to add the rest of them to a potentially unstable tank.

I cant seed with anything from tank #1 because it was my first tank and did a fish in cycle like a noob and its not even close to fully cycled (thats another story i have in another post) i know.. I'm a mess...

I just want to get this right.

 

[coralbandit]

Give the set up a small wiggle room.
Let it just run(no water changes)
and just add 2x prime to tank to detoxify the ammonia.
It will still register on test but will make it safe for fish.
Hope fully this will fix itself.

 

[ScotJudd]

If the filter from your leaking tank could be moved across to your new tank and then run the new tank with both filters then you could move your fish across. At least you would only have one tank to concentrate on. Odds are that there is enough combined active bacteria to process your fish waste. Feed only the smallest amounts and if ammonia rises a little then do a small water change and add Prime.
When the leaky tank is repaired and proven watertight then move the old filter back (it should be cycled by then) and half the fish. This will ensure each filter has about the same loading on them as before (single tank, two filters and all the fish). I hope that reads right!



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