40 gal new tank syndrome

[Lpkingsley]

I didn't research and put fish in after set up. I lost only 4 guppies and a dwarf gourami. I've purchased seachem stability and prime. We are 2 weeks into cycle and 1 week into using the seachem products. My current readings are ph 7.8 (no changes there), ammonia 4 ppm, nitrites .25ppm and nitrates 0ppm. It seems like I've had only spikes in ammonia all this time. Should I be seeing more nitrites yet?
I am doing a 10% water change right now but I could really use some direction.
Good news is that fish are happier after seachem!

 

[Lpkingsley]

For reference, here is my readings for the last week.

 

[Aiken Drum]

Do you still have fish in the tank? 4ppm is way too much ammonia to be keeping fish in.

 

[Aiken Drum]

Your target should be to keep ammonia + nitrite combined below 0.5ppm until you are cycled and your system can keep them at 0ppm on its own. I would recommend upping that 10% water change to 50% and you probably need to keep at the 50% changes daily for a week until your parameters are below that target level and then whatever water changes are required to keep them there until you are cycled. This will take several weeks.

 

[Lpkingsley]

Yes, I don't have another tank to put them in.
Ok, so bigger water changes anytime its over .5ppm. Got it! Thanks!

 

[Aiken Drum]

Big water changes might be stressful, but not as much as living in the ammonia. And ammonia is more toxic at higher pH so it is particularly worrying given your 7.8pH.

Products like seachem prime might detoxify ammonia (i don't want to get into whether it does or not), but even if it does, its only a sticking plaster and the sure fire way to reduce ammonia is water changes. Don't rely on prime, but it won't do any harm.

Products like stability might speed up your cycle, but they are hit and miss. Any beneficial bacteria might have died off in the bottle before it even got into the tank. Again don't rely on it, but it wont do any harm. The best way to speed up your cycle is get some established filter media into your filter. Perhaps you have a friend who keeps fish who could let you have some media or a sponge?

Cycle typically takes 3 to 8 weeks. I wouldnt expect to see significant amounts of ammonia going to nitrite after only a couple of weeks.

 

[Lpkingsley]

Would a pond with fish be good to introduce bacteria? I could bring some in and let it get to room temp before putting it in.
My neighbor has a koi pond.

 

[Aiken Drum]

Media from the filter? Pond water won't help, but filter media might. I found this post however.

https://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/showthread.php?t=344155

 

[Lpkingsley]

Hmm, the pond doesn't stay on filter during winter because we live in NY. Guess I'm back at square one. [emoji17]

 

[Lpkingsley]

We have a local fish exchange, I left a message to see it I can be put in contact with someone to help me out with media.
At least I know what I'm looking for now!

 

[Aiken Drum]

Thats a great idea. Surely someone can at least let you have an old sponge or polishing pad.

If you can get hold of some sponge, keep it wet with dechlorinated tank water and squeeze it out into your tank. The gunk will be full of beneficial bacteria that will get drawn into your filter and start to establish there.

 

[Lpkingsley]

Thank you so much! I have another question. I have a Hang on back filter currently but I ordered a canister filter that will do a better job. Should I run both until the tank is cycled or wait until fully cycled? Just switch media into new one?

 

[Aiken Drum]

You arent cycled, so running both wont help very much. I would transfer any media you can and squeeze sponges from your HoB into the water. Adding some bottled bacteria wont do any harm either. Ive had best results with Dr Tims One and Only if you want a recommendation. And of course any media you get hold of through your local group.

 

[Lpkingsley]

Thank you so much!

 

[Lpkingsley]

I'm back for more assistance. I was not able to find some media but I've been doing daily water changes and all fish seem to be happy with no losses.
I've been checking water parameters first thing in the morning(7am). Doing a water change a few hours later and then checking again. Ammonia seems to be stuck between 0.5 and 1ppm. No matter how much water I change. I sometimes get 0.25 nitrites. Nitrates are 10ppm consistently.
What is going on? I rinse the test vials between checks several times and let dry. I follow the test instructions to the letter, setting timers and shaking exactly as required.
I used seachem prime and stability still.

 

[Aiken Drum]

Try testing your tap water.

 

[Lpkingsley]

Tap water is
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate Not 0 but not quite 5 either

 

[Aiken Drum]

I would test immediately before your water change, immediately afterwards, say 12 hours later, and again after 24 hours.

Something is adding ammonia, probably the fish. If your ammonia is sat around 0.5ppm i wouldnt be changing too much water.

It can take weeks/months to cycle a tank. You have only just started really. Depending on your stocking levels i would expect to be doing 25% water change daily for a few weeks and the frequency/amount to reduce over a few months.

What fish and in what numbers do you have in there?

 

[Lpkingsley]

3 platys and a dwarf gourami, 2 small mystery snails