An t-iasg
Aquarium Advice Addict
Don't be afraid to use Amquel. I can't comment on Amquel+ because I never used it. Amquel has been working fine for me for a few years. The key is to just use enough to initially treat your tap water. I use 8 drops or so per gallon. When used in this way, it won't interfere with the cycle.
Don't add a large amount of Amquel to the tank to treat an ammonia spike. That will just cover up the problem of what is causing the ammonia spike. For the same reason, don't use Ammo Lock. That product will bind to the ammonia in the tank so it's isn't as harmful to the fish, but it will interfere with the cycle. Water changes are the best bet until the ammonia comes down and your tank is cycled again.
Since you don't have fish now (sorry about your fish ) once the ammonia and nitrites are at 0, and you show some nitrates, I would keep the tank "fed" with some fish food. That will feed the good bacteria until you get more fish. I once kept a tank cycled while the fish were in a QT tank for 5 days by just putting food in. Fishyfanatic, do you mean supplement with pure ammonia to keep the cycle going? You could do that, although it's hard to tell the proper amount of ammonia needed to keep a tank cycled. The fish food method should work for a short time.
When you move, keep the bio-wheels wet in a bucket of tank water, and I would keep as many things as possible in tank water -- the gravel also if possible. After it's set up again, you may see a small ammonia spike, but it should be a small spike that doesn't last very long.
Don't add a large amount of Amquel to the tank to treat an ammonia spike. That will just cover up the problem of what is causing the ammonia spike. For the same reason, don't use Ammo Lock. That product will bind to the ammonia in the tank so it's isn't as harmful to the fish, but it will interfere with the cycle. Water changes are the best bet until the ammonia comes down and your tank is cycled again.
Since you don't have fish now (sorry about your fish ) once the ammonia and nitrites are at 0, and you show some nitrates, I would keep the tank "fed" with some fish food. That will feed the good bacteria until you get more fish. I once kept a tank cycled while the fish were in a QT tank for 5 days by just putting food in. Fishyfanatic, do you mean supplement with pure ammonia to keep the cycle going? You could do that, although it's hard to tell the proper amount of ammonia needed to keep a tank cycled. The fish food method should work for a short time.
When you move, keep the bio-wheels wet in a bucket of tank water, and I would keep as many things as possible in tank water -- the gravel also if possible. After it's set up again, you may see a small ammonia spike, but it should be a small spike that doesn't last very long.