3 months in and frustraited!!!

[Wiggles24]

I honestly can't imagine the baking soda is helping there is other things you can do to raise the ph if its really needed, fish can generally adapt to whatever ph you have as long as it stable

 

[Rlavassor86]

Yea unless your ph is off the charts low dont mess with it. There are ways of getting it higher other than adding chem to the water. Try getting some crushed coral and put some in a clean in used nylon stocking and put it in your filter. Start with small amounts though. The last thing you want to do is add more chems when your already having issues with water quality.

 

[Josh Jennings]

Ok. I did a 60% water change and the water is clear. The ammonia is down to .5ppm and both the nitrate and nitrite is at 0. As for the pH it was off the charts low when we started. I was told by a friend that also has an aquarium to add a very small amount to the last bucket of each water change and that it would rise. I've done that over the past 4 weeks and now the pH is holding at between 7.2 & 7.6. I read in an aquarium mag. that it is best to have the pH at 8 but I haven't gotten it there yet. My friend also told me to be careful to to add too much too fast as it would kill my fish.

So, if I do a 50% water change every time my ammonia gets high will this slow down the cycle of my tank?

 

[Rlavassor86]

Ok. I did a 60% water change and the water is clear. The ammonia is down to .5ppm and both the nitrate and nitrite is at 0. As for the pH it was off the charts low when we started. I was told by a friend that also has an aquarium to add a very small amount to the last bucket of each water change and that it would rise. I've done that over the past 4 weeks and now the pH is holding at between 7.2 & 7.6. I read in an aquarium mag. that it is best to have the pH at 8 but I haven't gotten it there yet. My friend also told me to be careful to to add too much too fast as it would kill my fish.

So, if I do a 50% water change every time my ammonia gets high will this slow down the cycle of my tank?

I would test again in a couple hours. Going from 8 ppm to .5 in one pwc doesn't add up. You should be more around 3-4 ppm. And with cichlids yes in the wild ph 8 and above is normal but most fish sold in LFS are not wild caught or even f1 for that matter. Most captive breed are very adaptable to water conditions, so even like 7.5 is ok as long as it is stable, and yes big ph changes can shock your fish. Changing water won't slow your cycle as long as your treating the water first. Straight tap could kill your BB colony so be sure to condition the new water. I think I may have mentioned already but also make sure your not cleaning your media in tap water. Use only old tank water.

Edit: also if .5 ppm is your ammo reading you still need another pwc to get it under .25 ppm

 

[Josh Jennings]

Ok. I did a 2 BIG water changes last night a few jours apart. I'll keep this up till my ammonia levels stay down. Thanks y'all!!!

 

[CrashCourse]

I've posted this a couple of times lately but...

What kind of water conditioner are you using? I really recommend Prime, because it detoxifies the ammonia so it isn't harmful to the fish, but is still available for the bacteria to feed on. It will allow the ammonia to reach *slightly* higher levels to help cycle faster than if you keep it below .25.
Even with Prime, I wouldn't let it get too high, with water changes around .5 or so. You can safely dose Prime every 24 hours.
This way, you're still keeping the water non-toxic for the fish, but allowing enough ammonia to build up to continue the cycle. If you're doing constant water changes to keep the ammonia close to zero, not only is it annoying, but it'll slow down your cycle because there is little for the bacteria to feed on.

I was cleaning my tank one day and absent-mindedly threw away my old filter. Oops. Sent me into an endless mini-cycle/almost full cycle. I did daily water changes for weeks and my ammonia would never go down. Once I started using Prime, and was able to skip a water change here and there and let enough ammonia build up without risking killing my fish, it was fully cycled within a week or two.

 

[Gail]

Absolutely listen to the people on this site. They are very helpful.

We've all been where you are at, good luck and keep asking questions (even if you think they are dumb) we all understand your situation.
gail

 

[Josh Jennings]

Thanks!! Y'all have been very helpful!! Probably saved my fish last night!!

 

[phin]

Ok. I did a 60% water change and the water is clear. The ammonia is down to .5ppm and both the nitrate and nitrite is at 0. As for the pH it was off the charts low when we started. I was told by a friend that also has an aquarium to add a very small amount to the last bucket of each water change and that it would rise. I've done that over the past 4 weeks and now the pH is holding at between 7.2 & 7.6. I read in an aquarium mag. that it is best to have the pH at 8 but I haven't gotten it there yet. My friend also told me to be careful to to add too much too fast as it would kill my fish.

So, if I do a 50% water change every time my ammonia gets high will this slow down the cycle of my tank?

The pH you have now, holding between 7.2-7.6 is fine. I wouldn't worry about increasing it unless I was keeping african cichlids.

Yes, if you do a 50% water change every time your ammonia gets high it will slow down the cycle of your tank. If you are now using Seachem Prime you can keep ammonia levels up to 1.0ppm without harm to your fish. Prime will detoxify up to 1ppm ammonia at a standard dose (1ml/10gal -- about 12 teaspoons for your whole tank). Prime is effecive in the water for 24 hours, so the next day you can dose again. If your ammonia levels surpass 1.0ppm, do a water change to bring them down. Keeping the ammonia above .25ppm will significanly increase the speed of your cycle.

In addition, you can dose Prime up to 5x the normal dose to detoxify nitrite during the nitrite stage of the cycle.

Ok. I'm doing a 50/60% water change via there anything else I can do, or not do to help this process? I have been adding very small amounts of baking soda to raise the pH which was very low before. And as the pH went up the water became cloudy and the ammonia issues began. Is this just coincidence?

It is not a coincidence. The cloudy water was a bacterial bloom. when you added the baking soda, you raised the pH, which allowed the bacteria to start growing as your prior pH was extremely low (<6.0). In addition, with a pH of <7.0 ammonia in the water is in the form of ammonium (NH4+), which is not harmful to your fish. As you raised the pH the ammonium in the water converted to ammonia (NH3), which is toxic.

 

[Rlavassor86]

Here's a link for tables on ammonia toxicity at certain ph and temps. Will tell you safe levels and what not.

http://dataguru.org/misc/aquarium/AmmoniaTox.html

 

[CrashCourse]

If you are now using Seachem Prime you can keep ammonia levels up to 1.0ppm without harm to your fish.

Thanks for the correction. I wasn't sure offhand what "safe" levels were when using Prime, and gave a conservative number, instead of bad advice.
Good to know...

 

[Josh Jennings]

I didn't know that either. Thanks for the info and the link.

 

[Magicmarymac]

Here's a link for tables on ammonia toxicity at certain ph and temps. Will tell you safe levels and what not.

http://dataguru.org/misc/aquarium/AmmoniaTox.html

Embarrassing admission coming.…

I am using the API kit, but really feel like I am guessing on both Ammonia and Nitrate most of the time. I think the ammonia is reading zero…or is it kinda sorta greenish. If it is, what are the results? Nitrate is worse, anything between 20, to 40, and 40 and 80 is pure guessing.

So before I would be able to use those handy charts, I need a different kit?

Any recommendations?

 

[Rlavassor86]

Embarrassing admission coming.…

I am using the API kit, but really feel like I am guessing on both Ammonia and Nitrate most of the time. I think the ammonia is reading zero…or is it kinda sorta greenish. If it is, what are the results? Nitrate is worse, anything between 20, to 40, and 40 and 80 is pure guessing.

So before I would be able to use those handy charts, I need a different kit?

Any recommendations?

No unfortunately every kit I've seen is just as bad for telling the difference and out of all the API is the best. It's near impossible to tell difference on nitrate for me too. I've never had problem with ammo though. If its barely reading .25 I wouldn't worry too much. It's more than likely in the form of ammonium. Check the link I just posted for ammonia toxicity.

 

[phin]

Embarrassing admission coming.…

I am using the API kit, but really feel like I am guessing on both Ammonia and Nitrate most of the time. I think the ammonia is reading zero…or is it kinda sorta greenish. If it is, what are the results? Nitrate is worse, anything between 20, to 40, and 40 and 80 is pure guessing.

So before I would be able to use those handy charts, I need a different kit?

Any recommendations?

No, thats the same problem we all enjoy. Just know, if its orange its good if its red it needs a change.

 

[Wolfsblood]

No, thats the same problem we all enjoy. Just know, if its orange its good if its red it needs a change.

Pretty much haha

 

[Josh Jennings]

Ok. New question??? I was told that I should "fast my tank" as in, not feed my fish for one or two days in order to allow my BB to get a jump start and thus clear up my water and help it complete the cycle.

Any truth to this???

 

[Hholly]

Ok. New question??? I was told that I should "fast my tank" as in, not feed my fish for one or two days in order to allow my BB to get a jump start and thus clear up my water and help it complete the cycle.

Any truth to this???

I've only heard of fasting to keep water quality in check, in terms of nitrates. Never heard of it helping cycle the tank though.

 

[Rlavassor86]

Ok. New question??? I was told that I should "fast my tank" as in, not feed my fish for one or two days in order to allow my BB to get a jump start and thus clear up my water and help it complete the cycle.

Any truth to this???

I've never heard if that before. I fast my cichlids once a week but just to allow them to clear out a little.