Help! New 55g tank with amo/nitrite/nitrate off charts

[jamadera]

Hello everyone

I got a 55g tank from friend, not knowing anything about fishes I went to local fish store and got some beginner tips. So I bought filter and they said run tank for 24-48hrs before I could put any fish. I came in next day......

here is a list of fish they sold me saying it was fine to put in brand new tank....

1 red tail catfish
1 shovelnose catfish
16 small convicts
1 oscar
2 jack dempsy
2 small silver fish (don't know what they're called)
1 craw-fish

currently down to 9 convicts and no more craw-fish....

Needless to say ammonia/nitrite/nitrate are all off the charts. Tank has been up for 4-5 weeks. I did move tank to different location bc I got algae bloom from sunlight. During move I rinsed the gravel off (yeah bad i know now....).

Ok so I went to petsmart and they said use Prime do 20-30% water change daily, then put stress coat after.

I bought sponge filter thing that is coming tomorrow and saw this ceramic water bottle thing on youtube that i might do too.

So not sure what I can do to help this along. Even after water changes daily for last 5 days here is what its reading:

ammo 2-4
nitrite 5 (max reading, petsmart said it was 10 when I took them sample)
nitrate 20-40

Thanks

 

[Delapool]

Wow - tough going. Those catfish might be an issue on size later on (hoping not). Water changes and seachem prime are the best way. Sucks I know. You could try searching online for filer sponge established with bacteria or someone on here may know. Also the bacteria in a bottle may help (sometimes do, sometimes not but little lost by trying).

 

[jamadera]

I'll prob sell or give away the shovel nose but keep the red tail and def getting bigger tank or building one. I looked for bacteria stuff online but couldn't find any..

These are current reading, that's with daily water changes.

 

[Jweiner]

This is exactly what I would expect to see when a large ammonia load is introduced into a new aquarium. Water changes are all you can really do at this point to get rid of those "toxins."

 

[jamadera]

Ok Cool, at least ammonia has been starting to decline

 

[Delapool]

Good news there at least

 

[jamadera]

Good news there at least

Yeah for real!

Quick filter question. I have emperor 400 which I
Bought originally. After reading around and looking on YouTube, I've added a sponge one and funky ceramic thing. I'm hoping this would speed up the process, but is it over kill once the tank cycles?

 

[plantnoob]

For the kind of fishes you have in the aquarium, not an overkill. A little extra biological filtration never hurts.


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[plantnoob]

BTW, Angels plus sells these sponge filters online. Never purchased anything from them but have come across some threads where other people have purchased.


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[Delapool]

For the kind of fishes you have in the aquarium, not an overkill. A little extra biological filtration never hurts.


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I agree, I think it is handy just in case. I run separate filters which are complete overkill but does mean peace of mind / can be a little more aggressive in cleaning each one on rotating roster.

 

[plantnoob]

Yup, same here. I have a canister for my main tank and a HOB in my sump right next to the bio media. I thought it was overkill, but amazing how much crap it traps!


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[jamadera]

Finally seeing results!!!!

 

[Delapool]

Great news

 

[Toad]

Wow I'd have been livid. If it were me I'd take back the fish and demand my money back. Even if you pull through now, red tails get feet long, and shovelnose get big too. Plus with all those convicts you're going to get breeding pairs, which is going to make the pairs more aggressive and feed your catfish. This isn't a good long term setup by any means I'm sorry they got you into this

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