new and need help with cycling

[kieranhasfish]

so i bought a 55 gallon tank from someone about a week and a half ago, im a beginner and he didnt tell me about the nitrogen cycle, the aquarium came with a 30-60 aquatech filter, 2 6inch airstones, a light, some plastic decorations and 15 fish, 2 bala shark 2 harlequin rasbora 4 guppies 1 green glo danio 2 serpae tetra 3 red columbian tetra 2 black skirt tetra. i added a heater the next day and have sice added 2 anubias plants, 2 peices of driftwood some bamboo, and before learning of the nitrogen cycle 3 dojo loaches. HERES THE TRICKY PART i did this completely wrong and did a full water change the day i got the tank, i have been doing 25-35% water changes every other or every day to keep ammonia down and have been testing for ammonia and nitrites daily, ammonia twice a day, nitrites always come up 0 and ammonia is between .25 and 1. should i continue doing water changes daily? i can never get ammonia to 0 (which i also dont want right?) but it is around .25 ppm or less after water change. basically i just want to know if theres anyway i can get my tank cycling without my fish dying.

 

[ywagner]

I think that you should just let the aquarium reach its peak so all the good bacteria can grow, by now most of the fish will be used to the higher levels of ammonia and nitrites so you should be fine. The fish that I am most worried about are the tetras because they are not very hardy. You should be fine, but I would keep a close eye on the tetras, and if things get bad buy PRIME from seachem and add to the tank. It will detoxify the ammonia, and nitrites. I would stop with water changes and just let your fish get used to the water. Hope this helps ?

 

[kieranhasfish]

how high should i let it get? like before using prime, and will prime ruin my cycle?

 

[ywagner]

What I would do is just let the tank run it's course because you will have to eventually, and if you do buy the PRIME (which is a must in my eyes) you should be more than fine. The only part that it really kills is the ammonia, but it will simply detoxify the nitrites and nitrates so your fish will live happily with your tank as it cycles.

 

[RABENA]

can I use prime and tank starter in the same water change

Sent from my C5170 using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[kieranhasfish]

ive got something like prime its called amquel plus ammonia detoxifier its conditioner that detoxifies nitrate nitrite ammonia and chlorine, will it work? and your saying just let my tank run without changing water at all? what about weekly changes? also how high do i let it get before using prime?

 

[ywagner]

I would add the prime first then wait a day to use the start up bacteria

 

[ywagner]

I think the main difference between the prime and amquel is that prime is more concentrated. I would use prime because it is a name I trust but the amquel seems good too. I would not change anymore water and add the amquel or prime. Don't change the water unless the reading is above around .3 which can be seriously toxic.

 

[treemanone2003]

What I would do is just let the tank run it's course because you will have to eventually, and if you do buy the PRIME (which is a must in my eyes) you should be more than fine. The only part that it really kills is the ammonia, but it will simply detoxify the nitrites and nitrates so your fish will live happily with your tank as it cycles.

Prime does not kill ammonia. It contains a binder that renders ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate non toxic.

 

[ywagner]

Oh ok, I wasn't sure

 

[Mebbid]

Any time you get a reading of .5ppm ammonia or nitrite you need to do a 50% water change. This will drop the levels back down to .25ppm which is perfectly safe. The fish also don't "get used" to high ammonia. High levels of ammonia burn gills, lower the immune system, and is generally very toxic to fish.

The prime will help assuming you can't get a water change done but don't use it as a crutch. It will turn ammonia into less toxic ammonium but the key work is "less" Ammonium is still toxic.


Your tank is working on the cycle right now, it just takes time. I would suggest rehoming a good number of the fish at this point as it will make life easier on you. The stocking will need some serious work anyways down the line to get happy numbers of fish.

 

[kieranhasfish]

.3? or 3 cause its hard to get it exact like .3 it goes from .25 straight to .5 to 1 on my kit. and add the prime now? or wait for higher ammonia its at about .25 at the moment, also thanks for all the help!

 

[treemanone2003]

Oh ok, I wasn't sure

You made it sound like you were quite sure. I would suggest going forward if you're not sure about something, you could explain that, do some more research first, or just not comment. Passing wrong info is worse than no info.

 

[ywagner]

Hey man not trying to hurt anyone, just trying to help, thanks for correcting me

 

[bud29]

This is a good read: I just learned about cycling but I already have fish. What now?! - Aquarium Advice

 

[Mebbid]

.3? or 3 cause its hard to get it exact like .3 it goes from .25 straight to .5 to 1 on my kit. and add the prime now? or wait for higher ammonia its at about .25 at the moment, also thanks for all the help!

Not sure where .3 came from but at .5 ppm just do a 50% water change.

 

[kieranhasfish]

Any time you get a reading of .5ppm ammonia or nitrite you need to do a 50% water change. This will drop the levels back down to .25ppm which is perfectly safe. The fish also don't "get used" to high ammonia. High levels of ammonia burn gills, lower the immune system, and is generally very toxic to fish.

The prime will help assuming you can't get a water change done but don't use it as a crutch. It will turn ammonia into less toxic ammonium but the key work is "less" Ammonium is still toxic.


Your tank is working on the cycle right now, it just takes time. I would suggest rehoming a good number of the fish at this point as it will make life easier on you. The stocking will need some serious work anyways down the line to get happy numbers of fish.

i dont think "rehoming" is much of an option but i will check it out, which fish would you reccomend leaving in the tank? if i cant rehome i dont have a problem doing changes everyday as my schedule is flexible.but your saying as long as its at or below .25 after water changes theyll be ok? and is it even possible to fully cycle with that many fish

 

[bud29]

i dont think "rehoming" is much of an option but i will check it out, which fish would you reccomend leaving in the tank? if i cant rehome i dont have a problem doing changes everyday as my schedule is flexible.but your saying as long as its at or below .25 after water changes theyll be ok? and is it even possible to fully cycle with that many fish

The main problem would be the bala sharks, they can grow to be 12" long so they will get too big to live comfortably in that tank (plus they will eat the other fish.) If you re-home the balas, the main thing will be tinkering with school size among the tetras and danios, and that can be done fairly easily after you get the tank cycled.

 

[treemanone2003]

The main problem would be the bala sharks, they can grow to be 12" long so they will get too big to live comfortably in that tank (plus they will eat the other fish.) If you re-home the balas, the main thing will be tinkering with school size among the tetras and danios, and that can be done fairly easily after you get the tank cycled.

I'd agree with looking to move the Bala's sooner than later. IMO they are more of a fit with at least a 75g if not larger as they can get rather large especially with a good feed/WC schedule.

 

[FishyBusiness]

Yes you can successfully complete a cycle with the fish. It will just take a lot more work through the process. There is some great advice here to help you out. I also strongly agree to get rid of the sharks as soon as you can. If you don't have a LFS that will take them, you can try craigslist too.