help!! why is my nitrogen cycle is not complete

[mr.coco]

so i have my 10 gal tank for about a month or so, and ive check my parameter of the tank and they read

ammo 0
nitrite 3
nitrate 10 and sometimes 20
ph 76

but i dont understand why is the nitrites higher , am i doing something wrong?

 

[Greenphantom]

What way are you testing strips or test kit with chemicals and is there fish in it? What type of media are you using in your filter?

 

[mr.coco]

i have the api master freshwater test kit. i have the marineland 150b as my filter.

 

[mr.coco]

i have two fantail goldfish in the tank.

 

[Greenphantom]

Hmmmm so I am guessing a sponge and carbon bio chips? Try daily 25% pwcs keep doing it until it lowers

 

[Greenphantom]

Hmmmm so I am guessing a sponge and carbon bio chips? Try daily 25% pwcs keep doing it until it lowers

Also alot of people may disagree but try running some carbon if you already are replace it with new

 

[mr.coco]

yeap at first i bought a filter for a 10 gal tank but it was working that well and i bought that which is doing better now and does have activated carbon on the filter or what do you mean by adding carbon ?

 

[Greenphantom]

Alot of people are against carbon or dont use it but sometimes it helps and what I meant by add carbon is if you didnt have any but depending on how old the the carbon you currently have maybe buy new carbon

 

[mr.coco]

well i bought this filter like 4 days ago and i replace the other one i had because it was making my water cloudy but now with this filter is clear and it has two carbon cart. that are brand new.

do you know any way i can make my goldies eat more greens?

 

[Greenphantom]

Try peas

 

[tamtam]

well i bought this filter like 4 days ago and i replace the other one i had because it was making my water cloudy but now with this filter is clear and it has two carbon cart. that are brand new.

do you know any way i can make my goldies eat more greens?

Did you get rid of the media inside too? Youmay have just restarted your cycle if so. Your filter is what houses most of your Beneficial bacteria, the point of the cycle is to build up this bacteria on the filter/media. IF you changed it out you may have prolonged your cycle a lot.

Cloudy water is common when cycling a tank it was probably just a bacteria bloom.

Cycles are slow moving. You go through your ammonia spike, then it turns to nitrite. The nitrate conversion takes a while so you will have a period of nitrite spikes and frequent changes to keep this under control while you wait for the conversion to really take place.

How often are you doing water changes? If you are having spikes up to 3 though you need to be doing huge water changes and keeping right on the prams. You want your nitrites down to less than .25. nitrite is harmful just like ammonia.

Also 2 fantails are going to outgrow that tank fast. You probably want atleast 30 gal for the two of them. They get really big!

 

[jlk]

I have to agree Tamtam here. You really need to up your water changes- no less than 50% daily, possibily more than once a day. A nitrite level of 3ppm is very dangerous for your fish. You really should do enough water changes asap until you can drop this below .25ppm.

I also agree that a tank upgrade (30g) is needed in the very near future. Your going to encounter alot more future issues with water quality trying to keep these guys in such a small tank. A quality sinking pellet such as Hikari or NLS in combination with daily veggies & occasional fruits plus some fresh foods (bloodworms, earthworms, brine shrimp, etc) is the best diet for these guys. Try offering them different things to see what they like- some ideas include plain cooked zuchini, broccoli florets, cauliflower florets, deshelled peas, aspargus heads, minced carrots & peppers, spincah, kale, turnip greens, etc. Fruits that are good are orange/tangerine, berries, soft apple/pear, banannas, etc. Dont hesitate to ask questions!

 

[mr.coco]

tamtam

right im only waiting to move to a new place and once im in a bogger place i will get them a bigger tank .

yea i had my ammo spikes and now they are 0 but the nitrites are the problem that dont want to go to 0 . the nitrates on the other hand, are normal like 10

yes the water was getting like a greenish or whiteish when it was cloudy. but then i went to the store to get this bigger filter than the one i had at first . i also did a 80% water change which i saw in a different forum , it said tht it would help.

ive been also using the hagen cycle thing since the first day of setup.

 

[mr.coco]

jlk

do you think flakes are also good because i have flakes. i have the tetrafin goldfish plus. i also bought them the freeze bloodworms and some alge waffers. and about the greens they dont eat them, what they do is follow it once i put it in and however it seem that they do like peas but my other one doesnt eat them. i saw on a different forum i saw that if i slice some garlic and rub the greens with some garlic , it will help them eat it..




thank you people i really appreciate the help

 

[jlk]

Flakes/dried foods can cause buoyancy issues with goldies so it's usually better to opt for a sinking food/fresh/frozen. You should try some different veggies & fruits- you might be surprised by what they like once they try it! Leave it in tank for 24hrs before removing & replacing. Garlic is supposed to be flavor enhancer & immune booster for fish- give it a try! My guys won't touch anything garlic soaked but yours may love it!

 

[mr.coco]

jlk

thank you,

one other thing, you said that some of the veggies should be boiled, is that correct?

 

[tamtam]

tamtam

right im only waiting to move to a new place and once im in a bogger place i will get them a bigger tank .

yea i had my ammo spikes and now they are 0 but the nitrites are the problem that dont want to go to 0 . the nitrates on the other hand, are normal like 10

yes the water was getting like a greenish or whiteish when it was cloudy. but then i went to the store to get this bigger filter than the one i had at first . i also did a 80% water change which i saw in a different forum , it said tht it would help.

ive been also using the hagen cycle thing since the first day of setup.

you may just not be cycled yet. Like I was saying the final conversion from nitrite to nitrates takes a while, much longer than the ammonia to nitrites. If it's only been 4 weeks you probably just aren't done yet.
There can be a lot of fluctuation in levels, just because you are seeing some nitrates doesn't mean you are finished your cycle. You will probably continue to see nitrites continuing to spike while you're BB(beneficial bacteria) "catch up". Continue with water changes anytime your nitrites go above .25 and give it some more time. Eventually you're nitrites will be converting faster and you won't get these spikes and then once it stays consistent with Ammo and Nitrites at 0 and nitrates around 20 or less... for maybe a weekish you're cycled! Sounds like you are on the right track and just aren't there yet.

Though if you haven't transferred the old filter media to the tank somehow you may stall/slow the cycle. I'm not certain on that but keep an eye. I'm not sure if 4 days is long enough to show the whole effect or not. When you do get your new bigger tank be sure to switch your current filter onto that tank or you will be back to square one, lol.

 

[LyndaB]

i have two fantail goldfish in the tank.

as mentioned, 10 gallons is incredibly small for this species...... you need a 30

 

[mr.coco]

tamtam

i just found a good price of a tank in craiglist which is a 37 gal tank includes lights, jebo hot magnum canister filter, a different type of filter and media, also some fake plants all for 100 buks.. and i will put the filter that i already have in this tank that is if i get it cus the person hasnt answer me yet..

 

[jlk]

jlk

thank you,

one other thing, you said that some of the veggies should be boiled, is that correct?

Boiled/cooked/steamed/micro- just something to help them sink & make them soft. I use the generic bags of frozen steamable veggies. Throw one in the micro for a few mins & place in a tupperware container & it will last you atleast a week. I also will set aside some veggies if I am making them for dinner.