Cycled?

[Jadedrain_06]

I have been cycling two tanks for a few weeks and I believe my one is finally done. When I checked it a few minutes ago the ammonia levels were at 0ppm, nitrite was 0ppm and nitrate was 160ppm+. I added a little ammonia to feed the bacteria. I plan on testing again in the morning to make sure the ammonia levels drop. If so does that mean it is completely ready for residents? I know I have to do a major water change prior to adding but I now realize that the ammonia I was using was not pure ammonia since it has bubbles. All decor and rocks have white "fuzz" on them. Is that built up bacteria or is it chemical residue? I really want to make sure when I do add fish they don't die from chemical leftovers. Any suggestions? I don't want to do anything because I am scared I may over clean and have to start at square one. Thank you in advance!

 

[jlk]

How long have you been cycling the tank in question? Did you get a nitrite spike? It sounds like its cycled-i would add ammonia to 4ppm for a few more days & make sure your getting the amm/nitrite zeroed out every day. In respect to the bubbles & white fuzz & the possibility of chemical residues, i am honestly unsure on how to address this. My suggestions would be to do a thorough gravel vac & wipe the 'fuzz' off everything along with a couple of big pwcs down to the gravel when you are ready to add fish. You will have to do the big pwcs anyway to get the nitrates down to an acceptable number (less than 20ppm). Hopefully, someone with experience with this can help as well!

 

[starquest]

Hi Jaderain. I think you should pm Eco to ask him how to proceed from here, since I seem to remember reading a thread from someone a few months ago that had the same situation with the ammonia. And I believe that the advice was to start over with the proper ammonia. That is heartbreaking, because it sounds like you are cycled. But on the other hand, the fact that your tank has cycled, may be in your favor, because I seem to remember that in the other case, the tank wouldn't complete a cycle. But Eco, or one of the other long time aquarists should be able to council you better than I.
I wish you a lot of luck with this, and I hope you don't have to start over.

 

[librarygirl]

What brand of ammonia is it? What does it say on the label under "ingredients?" That'll give us more info.

The white fuzz could be fungus which may be normal but it's hard to say. Can you get a pic?

If you went through the nitrite phase (where they spiked and came back down to 0) then you are probably cycled. If you haven't seen nitrites yet then that means you are passed the ammonia phase but still need to go through the nitrite phase unless you started cycling with a lot of seeded media from another tank?

 

[Jadedrain_06]

I started about 3-4 weeks ago. The tank had a seeded filter I bought from the LFS. On October 23 NITR-0ppm and NO3-0ppm. On the 26th NITR-.25ppm. I had checked periodically in between but on Nov 2nd NITR-5.0ppm+ and NO3-10ppm. On the 3rd NITR-5.0ppm and NO3-80ppm. Nov 11th NITR 0ppm and NO3 160ppm+. I have been doing regular tests but these show the most changes.

I bought the bottle at Walmart. The ingredients are ammonium hydroxide and surfactant.

I will attempt to take a picture but it may not work because it is not overly noticeable unless you really really look. I have also been moving the filter media around inside the filter itself and everytime I do there is cloudy water that comes from it and makes the tank almost impossible to see anything.

I am REALLY REALLY hoping I do not have to start from 0 or I may cry lol. My birthday is the 25th of this month and hubby was planning on getting me a betta as a present lol. Crossing my fingers and toes on this one!

 

[Jadedrain_06]

I think you should pm Eco to ask him how to proceed from here, since I seem to remember reading a thread from someone a few months ago that had the same situation with the ammonia.

Thank you starquest! I am unfamiliar with this user. What is the complete username? It seems there are many with eco. Thank you!

 

[librarygirl]

It seems to me you are cycled. Surfectants aren't generally advised to use however members have used ammonia with surfectants without issues. You'll need to do at least one 100% water change to get nitrates down anyway so any residue should be removed with the water changes. As for the fungus, wipe it off and vacuum it up when you do the water changes.

Dirty/cloudy filter media is normal. Generally once every couple of weeks swish it around in old tank water in a bucket when you do a water change to remove any residue (just don't change out the filter media entirely!).

The day before you get fish do a full 100% water change, wait 30 minutes then test. If nitrates are over 5, do another water change. Ideally you want nitrates as close to 0 as you can get them before adding fish. Turn your heater down if you have it higher for the cycle and then go get your fish!

Do a YouTube search for "drip acclimation." It'll show you the best way to acclimate fish to your tank. Do you know what fish you are going to get?

Congrats btw!

 

[Jadedrain_06]

Thank you librarygirl! I was sooo stinking excited last night because that is the first time nitrites had every dropped that much in one day. Happy dance happy dance lol! I will do all that. Thank you so much for your help! I am still unsure lol. I swear its worse then picking out paint lol. I really want corys but as a newbie I didn't put anything but gravel and fake plants in so I don't think they would be very happy in there. Would love love love to eventually one day have a bred king crowntail betta. They are breathtaking. Tough tough decisions lol.

 

[librarygirl]

Well maybe we can help you with stocking. What size is the tank and what filter(s) do you have?

If you wanted to dose ammonia for another couple of days to make sure nitrites stay at 0 and ammonia stays at 0 while you decide that would be fine!

 

[Jadedrain_06]

Well they are both only 10 gals. Figured that would be good for a starter. Would really love to have one community tank and a betta tank with a few tankmates that are compatible. My daughter's tank that is still cycling is very bright colored and girly so I don't know if that at all limits the fish that can be put in. Might be a dumb statement but I don't know if it would bother some fish. The tank that is cycled is very natural and earthy. Really wish that I would have put some plants and sand in both darn it. I have a penguin 100 in the cycled and an aquatech I think in the other (it came with the starter kit). The only reason I am using the aquatech is because I like the fact that it comes with a floss media filter on top of the regular filter. Any suggestions would be great. Would really prefer my daughters tank to be the community since she is now 1 and loves to watch the tank while she is winding down for the night. The more fish that I could fit in there comfortably the better so preferably only little guys.

 

[librarygirl]

Well they are both only 10 gals. Figured that would be good for a starter. Would really love to have one community tank and a betta tank with a few tankmates that are compatible. My daughter's tank that is still cycling is very bright colored and girly so I don't know if that at all limits the fish that can be put in. Might be a dumb statement but I don't know if it would bother some fish. The tank that is cycled is very natural and earthy. Really wish that I would have put some plants and sand in both darn it. I have a penguin 100 in the cycled and an aquatech I think in the other (it came with the starter kit). The only reason I am using the aquatech is because I like the fact that it comes with a floss media filter on top of the regular filter. Any suggestions would be great. Would really prefer my daughters tank to be the community since she is now 1 and loves to watch the tank while she is winding down for the night. The more fish that I could fit in there comfortably the better so preferably only little guys.

For your daughter's tank you could do a school of 6-8 nano fish like celestial pearl danio, ember tetra, or chili rasbora. Or you could do some guppies, or Endler's Livebearer's. You could also add 3-4 Pygmy or Dwarf corys.

If you wanted a Betta tank you could do a betta for the centerpiece and depending on its temperament you could also add a small school of nano fish like the ones listed above.

I'm not a stocking expert so maybe others will have more suggestions. Here's a Google search to 10 gal stocking suggestions as well.