Cycling question

[LongRifle45]

My daughter won two goldfish at the state fair. I went out and got a standard Mainland 10g kit. I didn't have the opportunity to do a fishes cycle, so I set the tank up and had to get the fish in it within a few hours. I have been using API Stress Coat to remove the chlorine, and API Stress Zyme. By the second week, the water got really cloudy (milky). I did a 25% water change and then replaced the filter cartridge (mistake). I bought the API Freshwater Master test kit. I was running 2.0ppm of ammonia, 0ppm nitrites, and 0ppm nitrate. I started doing 25% water changes each week, and then every other day to try and get ammonia down. After 4 weeks, I still was at 0ppm nitrite and 0ppm nitrate, and around 1ppm ammonia. I went out yesterday and got a bottle of Tetra SafeStart Plus and poured the entire bottle in to the filter. As of this morning, I am at 1ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitrite, and 5ppm nitrates.

Am I finally cycling? I never saw nitrites (always been 0ppm). Water is still a little cloudy. What are my next steps?

Side note, I know the 10g is not going to be big enough for the goldfish as they get bigger. I just didn't expect these guys to make it after a 2 hour car ride in a bag, and spending their first night in a Tupperware container.

 

[ScotJudd]

Hi. Circumstances don't always allow for doing the right things in the right order but at least you know what you are testing for and how to correct it.
Cloudy milky water in a new tank is nearly always a bacterial bloom. Just ignore it and it will go fairly soon.
Ammonia should be 0.25 or below. Water change to bring it down and then water change as required. Goldfish are big producers of waste and really don't require as much food as people think. Reduce feeding to a minimum until ammonia reads zero and nitrites read zero. Then water change to keep nitrates under 20ppm, job done.
The ideal temp to cycle a tank is just over 80f so your cold water tank will take a bit longer. Be patient.
Nitrites are not always found, the bacteria can convert the ammonia to nitrites to nitrates seamlessly and you may not get a nitrite reading. I never have.
If nitrates are present then your cycle is underway but your bacteria colony may be small so keep up with the water changes and watch that ammonia.
With goldfish, feeding is the key to controlling toxins in the tank. Your daughter will love feeding them, who doesn't, but they must understand that over feeding harms them. If my grandchildren visit I give each of them a small amount of food in a lid so that they can't over feed.
Hope you and your daughters get the fish keeping bug?.


Sent from my iPad in West Yorkshire, U.K.

 

[LongRifle45]

Thanks for the reply! I feel like I am going the right direction and doing the water changes to keep ammonia down. How often should I be feeding the goldfish? Of course the food says 2-3 times daily. I have both flakes and floating pellets. I have been doing once in the morning and once in the evening.

 

[Fishperson]

I would drop it to once daily. More than that is overkill IMO. They say to feed about what the fish can eat in 2 minutes which should be about a pinch.

As far as cycling goes I'm not sure you are done. There should be some sort of nitrite reading, but perhaps the safestart took care of that.

If you never got many nitrates then it's possible that your cycle is just going slowly.

Then again, it could have just finished quickly, you really can't tell.


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[LongRifle45]

Thank you all. I will back off of the feeding to once a day and keep testing ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates daily. I'll keep up the every other day 25% water changes to keep ammonia down.

My wife thinks I am nuts for all the work I am putting in to keeping these little guys alive, but my daughter loves them, and I am really enjoying taking care of the aquarium and going through the process.

Down the road, I'd like to add some live plants....any suggestions or advice? These are comet goldfish. I am just using gravel in the tank.

 

[Fishperson]

Goldfish are prone to eating plants I hear. I know because there are tons in a pond near me and it's he only pond without any aquatic plants. Everywhere else has Ludwigia Repens.

Java Fern and Anubias are good choices for easy plants. I think Java Fern is herbivore-resistant because it tastes bitter I believe.


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[Tank Girl]

Get a bottle of Prime and use it to detoxify the ammonia and nitrite while you're cycling. Follow the instructions. The ammonia will still be available to feed the cycle but won't be harmful to the fish. I hope this helps


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[Coursair]

If you decide you want to go for it, check Craigslist for used 29g. or larger. But understand regular Goldfish are pond fish. They can easily hit 8" or more.

With good care they can live 20years.

You could do an indoor pond...DIY Rubbermaid Stock Tank or Tub. There are lots of DIY options for filters using buckets and scrubby pads. Lots of vids on YouTube

A 10g will need a lot of water changes and they'll need larger quarters soon. Stunted fish have shorter lives.

Thank you for caring.
This link has some good GF info. It applies to reg GF as well as Fancies....
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...uire-big-tanks-visual-perspective-265871.html

GF grow FAST


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