Cycling a tank

[Jc111290]

I'm posting the question that is asked hundreds of times by all newbies, but I would really appreciate input from those who have a lot of experience in this. I have had an aquarium for over a month now. I've been having issues with cycling the tank. My ammonia levels were always around .50 to 1.0 I kept doing water changes and nothing changed. I barely feed the fish as I have heard that it contributes to the ammonia levels rising . Last week moved my fish out and cleaned the entire tank as I was losing many fish . I replaced the tank with all new water and the ammonia levels stayed at 0 for the week up,until today, when I tested the water and saw it go back up to 1.0. What am I doing wrong!?!? I use stress Zyme to help the fishes but I don't want to lose any more fish to ammonia poisoning? I did the water changes as people advised me to but I also read online that I have to leave the water alone to allow the bacteria to grow. Someone please clear this up for me in a simple way. Thank you

 

[RedNeck]

I've done fish in cycles with great success. Generally I kept the ammonia to around .25. When it hit that I would do a wc. I think I read somewhere on here that lets say your ammonia for example is .50, when you do a %50 wc it would drop to .25. Just keep up on your pwc's, daily if need be and you should be fine. Hope this helps a little bit!

 

[Jc111290]

Thanks! That's what I'm going to do but I'm somewhat confused. And I going to have to do the pwc constantly or does this stop at some point ? Like how long have you been able to keep your tank ammonia free ?

 

[Jc111290]

Also, would constantly changing the water stress my fish?

 

[RedNeck]

I do %50 water change once a week in my tanks. But it depends on your trates. In general terms you want to keep them below 50. You will be doing water changes until you cycle...You will know you cycled when your ammonia and nitrite hit 0!

 

[RedNeck]

No it won't. Just get a gravel vac and suck out the water.....vac the gravel. Then add temp. matched water with a dechlorinater such as prime.

 

[Jc111290]

My nitrates and nitrites are always at 0 it's the ammonia that seems to be the problem ...

 

[librarygirl]

First, check your tap water for ammonia. If you have ammonia in your tap water you could just putting ammonia back in with water changes ,depending on the level of ammonia in the tap.

How large of a water change are you doing? If ammonia is at 1 and you do a 20% water change, that isn't going to make much of a difference in the ammonia reading on the test kit.

What test kit are you using? If it's API master or another liquid test that's suitable for freshwater, great. If you're using strips, they aren't always accurate.

And the big question: what size tank and what fish do you have and how many? Fish-in cyhcles are meant for very small numbers of fish. Also if the tank is small, ammonia levels are going to rise faster. Also if you're massively overstocked for the cycle, you might not even be able to keep up with the water changes due to ammonia rising so quickly.

Also what's your filtration?

You should be about past the ammonia phase and into nitrites by now, so something seems a bit off. Knowing stocking levels, tank size, test kit, and filtration will help.

 

[Jc111290]

I am using api master kit. I currently have 1neon tetra, 1golden panda molly, 3guppies and two pristella tetra in a 10 gallon tank, I use a marineland 150 filter which is for up to 30 gallons and I use both slots in the filter with the filter cartridges. When it comes to water changes if it says .25 ill change 50 percent of the water. If its .50 ill change about 75 percent of water

 

[Mrs.h2012]

I am using api master kit. I currently have 1neon tetra, 1golden panda molly, 3guppies and two pristella tetra in a 10 gallon tank, I use a marineland 150 filter which is for up to 30 gallons and I use both slots in the filter with the filter cartridges. When it comes to water changes if it says .25 ill change 50 percent of the water. If its .50 ill change about 75 percent of water

You are overstocked. That is probably why your ammonia levels rise so quickly, you have so many fish (even though it may not seem like it) in such a small space mollies really need a minimum of 30 gallons. Even though you have more than enough filtration for a 10g, I worry about the fishes growth being stunted by the limited space. Also tetras are schooling fish and need to be in a group of atleast 5 and they are very active so they are not recommended for a 10g for that reason.

 

[RedNeck]

You are overstocked. That is probably why your ammonia levels rise so quickly, you have so many fish (even though it may not seem like it) in such a small space mollies really need a minimum of 30 gallons. Even though you have more than enough filtration for a 10g, I worry about the fishes growth being stunted by the limited space. Also tetras are schooling fish and need to be in a group of atleast 5 and they are very active so they are not recommended for a 10g for that reason.

I agree.That is way to many fish for a fish in cycle..If you just have ammonia then your tank hasn't even started to process it to nitrite yet. I would try to return some of that stock.....Maybe just stick with the guppies.

 

[FishWorks AK]

Ok so the problem is that your tank is trying o cycle, but every time it gets close you stop it. For the first few weeks to a month you do NOT want to change the water, leave it alone.
The reason for this is bacteria, you might have heard of a bacteria bloom. After a few weeks to a month your bacteria will bloom and the tank will become cloudy, not a bad thing, leave it alone for two maybe three days. It will clear up your levels will stabilize and all will be well. Do your normal water changes about a week after that

 

[Jc111290]

You are overstocked. That is probably why your ammonia levels rise so quickly, you have so many fish (even though it may not seem like it) in such a small space mollies really need a minimum of 30 gallons. Even though you have more than enough filtration for a 10g, I worry about the fishes growth being stunted by the limited space. Also tetras are schooling fish and need to be in a group of atleast 5 and they are very active so they are not recommended for a 10g for that reason.

Really? I wanted to get a bigger tank in the long run but I want gain some experience on how to care for them before taking on a bigger tank and more work. I do notice that the golden panda molly needs more space. She is always active and so is the neon tetra. I know the tetra is a schooling fish but I didn't buy more because I don't want to overcrowd them. They were all given to me as a gift so I bought the tank and everything else for it with very limited. If I continue with the water changes would they be ok in that tank until I'm able to handle a bigger tank ?

 

[Jc111290]

Would I be able to avoid the ammonia issues if I use the api ammonia lock ?

 

[RedNeck]

Ok so the problem is that your tank is trying o cycle, but every time it gets close you stop it. For the first few weeks to a month you do NOT want to change the water, leave it alone.
The reason for this is bacteria, you might have heard of a bacteria bloom. After a few weeks to a month your bacteria will bloom and the tank will become cloudy, not a bad thing, leave it alone for two maybe three days. It will clear up your levels will stabilize and all will be well. Do your normal water changes about a week after that

Are you out of your mind? He is doing a fish in cycle. You have to do water changes to keep the ammonia level down so it isn't toxic to the fish. The only time you don't do a water change is with a fish less cycle. Maybe you miss understood and thought he was doing that.

 

[RedNeck]

Would I be able to avoid the ammonia issues if I use the api ammonia lock ?

Best way to keep it in check is water changes, they are a fishes best friend

 

[Mrs.h2012]

Really? I wanted to get a bigger tank in the long run but I want gain some experience on how to care for them before taking on a bigger tank and more work. I do notice that the golden panda molly needs more space. She is always active and so is the neon tetra. I know the tetra is a schooling fish but I didn't buy more because I don't want to overcrowd them. They were all given to me as a gift so I bought the tank and everything else for it with very limited. If I continue with the water changes would they be ok in that tank until I'm able to handle a bigger tank ?

Honestly having a bigger tank to start with is a good idea, because it allows more room or error, like in your case you had no idea you overstocked and with more room ammonia doesn't build up as quickly. But yes you should be able to keep ammonia at bay with water changes, but it will take. A LOT of dedication, it can be done it will just be time consuming. Don't feel bad though, being new to this there's a lot you don't know, and you came here to right your wrongs, and that's all that matters We've all been where you are at one point. Between all the experienced members here you will be just fine with this hobby If your never sure of what to do ask here and you will get a lot of good advice! Hang in there!

 

[Mrs.h2012]

Would I be able to avoid the ammonia issues if I use the api ammonia lock ?

Many here advise against things like this because it's only a temporary fix. I would use prime as your water conditioner whenever you do water changes, as it helps neutralize ammonia (DO NOT rely on prime to permanently neutralize ammonia!).

 

[RedNeck]

Honestly having a bigger tank to start with is a good idea, because it allows more room or error, like in your case you had no idea you overstocked and with more room ammonia doesn't build up as quickly. But yes you should be able to keep ammonia at bay with water changes, but it will take. A LOT of dedication, it can be done it will just be time consuming. Don't feel bad though, being new to this there's a lot you don't know, and you came here to right your wrongs, and that's all that matters We've all been where you are at one point. Between all the experienced members here you will be just fine with this hobby If your never sure of what to do ask here and you will get a lot of good advice! Hang in there!

+1
I didn't know a thing about cycling a tank when I started but some good members showed me the way on here.

 

[Mrs.h2012]

Ok so the problem is that your tank is trying o cycle, but every time it gets close you stop it. For the first few weeks to a month you do NOT want to change the water, leave it alone.
The reason for this is bacteria, you might have heard of a bacteria bloom. After a few weeks to a month your bacteria will bloom and the tank will become cloudy, not a bad thing, leave it alone for two maybe three days. It will clear up your levels will stabilize and all will be well. Do your normal water changes about a week after that

Umm.. He is doing a fish in cycle so he NEEDS to do water changes. Not doing water changes would kill his fish. If he was doing a fish less cycle then no he shouldn't change water but he isn't.