Ammonia in tank before fishless cycle

[nanofish]

Yahoo Answers is something I try to avoid at all costs. The thread was from this forum and I managed to find the link again. http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f12/smoking-cigarettes-in-the-same-room-as-your-tank-40314.html

Bottom line for me at least is that I'll be ecstatic if it's fixed no matter what the cause. Guess we'll find out for sure tomorrow.

 

[nanofish]

I made a very rookie mistake. Tested the tank today and found everything was the same...only then realized I forgot to plug the filter back in. Another reason to be glad I don't have fish yet. I'll take a reading again tonight and with any luck a drop might be visible. At least I hope. No more late night water changes for me.

 

[eco23]

I made a very rookie mistake. Tested the tank today and found everything was the same...only then realized I forgot to plug the filter back in. Another reason to be glad I don't have fish yet. I'll take a reading again tonight and with any luck a drop might be visible. At least I hope. No more late night water changes for me.

Good thing you've got a canister filter. If you had an HOB which drained when the water level was down...it woulda been bad news.

 

[nanofish]

Good thing you've got a canister filter. If you had an HOB which drained when the water level was down...it woulda been bad news.

Funny thing is that I've always used HOB filters for fish before this and never did anything so boneheaded. Canister filters take some getting use to.

I've been trying to figure out why my plants died since it happened. Yeah my tank has two mysteries going. I really am that uh...special. Do the bacteria and plants use a lot of the same nutrients?

 

[librarygirl]

Funny thing is that I've always used HOB filters for fish before this and never did anything so boneheaded. Canister filters take some getting use to.

I've been trying to figure out why my plants died since it happened. Yeah my tank has two mysteries going. I really am that uh...special. Do the bacteria and plants use a lot of the same nutrients?

What kind of plants and what lighting do you have? It comes down to lighting a lot. I don't think plants are hurt by high toxin levels but I'm not a plant expert by any means. :/

 

[nanofish]

It was Amazon frogbit with with 2 39W T5HO 6700k bulbs. I didn't think that the toxins killed the plants so much as they just lacked for nutrients since they were fast growing and the bacteria was gobbling it up. I didn't think I needed fertlizer at the time. Bought some since.

 

[eco23]

It was Amazon frogbit with with 2 39W T5HO 6700k bulbs. I didn't think that the toxins killed the plants so much as they just lacked for nutrients since they were fast growing and the bacteria was gobbling it up. I didn't think I needed fertlizer at the time. Bought some since.

I've seen a lot of fishless cycles with planted tanks and never heard of anything like that happening. I'd lean towards another issue there. Plants actually flourish during a fishless cycle because of all the ammonia and nitrAtes being produced.

 

[nanofish]

Thank you. I was hoping for a simple solution to that one. I thought my cycle being so out of whack might have caused it. But yeah that's another thread.

 

[nanofish]

24 hours after remembering to turn the filter on here are the day to day comparisions
Yesterday- 1.0 ammonia, .25 NO2, 5.0 NO3
Today- .5 ammonia, 5.0 NO2, 40 NO3

 

[nanofish]

No change since yesterday so I tested ph and it was as low as my test goes again. Maybe I have to much DW. Guess I need to get something to raise the ph so I can cycle.

 

[librarygirl]

No change since yesterday so I tested ph and it was as low as my test goes again. Maybe I have to much DW. Guess I need to get something to raise the ph so I can cycle.

I'd do another large water change to get PH up ASAP. You might consider getting some crushed coral and putting it into your filter. Most pet/fish stores sell it in the saltwater section. You'll just need a few pinches and put them in a mesh filter bag or new nylon stocking and put it into your filter. It'll help buffer the water and stabilize it.

At least ammonia isn't going up, that's great!

 

[nanofish]

I'd do another large water change to get PH up ASAP. You might consider getting some crushed coral and putting it into your filter. Most pet/fish stores sell it in the saltwater section. You'll just need a few pinches and put them in a mesh filter bag or new nylon stocking and put it into your filter. It'll help buffer the water and stabilize it.

At least ammonia isn't going up, that's great!

The steady ammonia is definitely great. Baby steps but it's getting there I couldn't find crushed coral at petsmart when I looked in the saltwater sections. I saw Seachem buffer (can't remember the exact name) but didn't buy it.

Is a big ph drop normal during cycling or do I have another problem I need to figure out?

 

[Shane83]

Worse comes to worse...fill the tank up, forget about it for a month or two, and if there really is that much ammonia in the water you should have automatically grown the worlds largest bio-filter without ever adding a drop of ammonia . It'd be a self cycling tank, lol.

Is it possible you used an ammonia based bleach and you are now picking up the bleach?

 

[nanofish]

Is it possible you used an ammonia based bleach and you are now picking up the bleach?

As the cause of the ph drop or the raise in ammonia? Honestly I'm not sure how to tell. I grabbed the unscented bleach.

 

[Shane83]

As the cause of the ph drop or the raise in ammonia? Honestly I'm not sure how to tell. I grabbed the unscented bleach.

Sorry. I'm a little behind here. If you grabbed real bleach then it should be chlorine based though many cleaners are ammonia based. Aston the pH drop, I would also put it down to the high levels of ammonia and once your pH drops below about 6.2-6.4 you nitrification process slows down to a halt. What is the hardness of your water coming out of your tap and the pH?

 

[nanofish]

Ammonia was a problem before I used the bleach. I have to wait a little to go get the bottle (my ferrets are on the loose). I did get it in the laundry section at work so I don't know. The ph out of the tap is 8.4 I have no idea about the GH. I never bought a test since I honestly didn't think I'd need anything beyond the API master kit.

 

[librarygirl]

PH fluctuations are normal during cycling. Just keep an eye on it and if it starts dropping rapidly do a water change to get it back up. Crushed Argonite is basically the same thing as crushed coral, so if they have that you can get that as well. They both come in larger bags unfortunately and it's more than you'll ever need but it isn't too expensive probably around $15.

 

[nanofish]

PH fluctuations are normal during cycling. Just keep an eye on it and if it starts dropping rapidly do a water change to get it back up. Crushed Argonite is basically the same thing as crushed coral, so if they have that you can get that as well. They both come in larger bags unfortunately and it's more than you'll ever need but it isn't too expensive probably around $15.

I'll have to go and check again. Petsmart, at least mine, had a SUPER small saltwater section. I mostly just saw live sand there. As long as the ph fluctuations I'm having aren't excessive and won't last I'll be happy.

 

[nanofish]

Thank you, thank you, thank you librarygirl!!!! I found the argonite just like you said, bought it and a new stocking next door at the dollar store. I put it in the tank and not the filter and in an hour I already have 6.4 ph.

 

[librarygirl]

Thank you, thank you, thank you librarygirl!!!! I found the argonite just like you said, bought it and a new stocking next door at the dollar store. I put it in the tank and not the filter and in an hour I already have 6.4 ph.

Glad to hear it. Just test PH periodically, if it doesn't rise to what your tap water level is or continues to drop then try a bit more argonite.