Water help!!!

[gentry]

Hello,

I am having troubles cycling my tank. It was cycled and then I cleaned everything very well and then added new fish and everything seemed to be fine but then when I tested my water again the numbers were kind of crazy and I went to the petstore and they said that my PH was low and that my levels were fine. I added crushed coral to the substrate and I have attached a picture of my latest readings and this was after a big approx. 45% water change... I was just wondering what else I should do. Luckily I have not lost any fish and they all seem fine... very active, eating... any help would be great!!

 

[Convict2161]

Hello,

I am having troubles cycling my tank. It was cycled and then I cleaned everything very well and then added new fish and everything seemed to be fine but then when I tested my water again the numbers were kind of crazy and I went to the petstore and they said that my PH was low and that my levels were fine. I added crushed coral to the substrate and I have attached a picture of my latest readings and this was after a big approx. 45% water change... I was just wondering what else I should do. Luckily I have not lost any fish and they all seem fine... very active, eating... any help would be great!!

Ok,

What kind of fish? What size tank? No picture is attached. You say your tank was cycled and you cleaned what? And how did you clean it? I'm willing to bet you started a mini cycle or your tank wasn't fully cycled. Please give more information.

You mentioned pH was low? How low and or what fish?

Thanks.

 

[gentry]

I don't know how to attach pictures on here so I put it in an album on here.... I got 10 white mountain minnows that were supposed to have been feeder fish, 4 guppies, and a baby angel fish that will be moved to a bigger tank (getting a 55 tank from a friend soon).

At the beginning I just had the little feeder white cloud minnows and the tank was cycled and was showing up as 0 ammonia and 0 nitrites for a week or so then I added 4 guppies and then shortly after that I added the baby angelfish and a plant. The plant died while I was gone for a couple days. I cleaned the tank doing PWC and vacuming the gravel a lot. When I checked the water again the levels were all messed up.

The pH was 6.0 then I added the crushed coral and it seems to be around 7.4-7.6

 

[Zaedon]

What are the current readings? What did you clean in your aquarium and how? (Be specific)

 

[jlk]

If your on a computer (dont ask me about cell), when you post a thread or if you hit 'go advanced' on a reply, you will see a little 'paperclip' on the top of the of the message box. Hit this & you can browse your computer & click on the pics you want to upload. Hope this helps for posting pics!

 

[gentry]

Okay so this morning my readings are the following:
Ammonia: 0.50
Nitrite: is dark purple so could be 2.0-5.0
Nitrate: 20

When I cleaned it I took out the fake plants and ornaments and the gravel vacuumed all the substrate very well. I was trying to get rid of all the little pine things from the plant that died. When I went to the pet store they said that I had restarted the cycle because I cleaned it to well and my tank was just newly cycled. They told me to get some cycle bacteria stuff and put that it like it was a brand new tank. They told me to stop doing water changes for a month or two but I couldn't help myself the water tests were all so high so I have begun doing water changes 20-50% a day. I only take the water out and leave the substrate alone.

Thanks for the help!

 

[jlk]

It sounds like you did a bit of an over-zealous cleaning job. You tank is now back in a cycle because the good bacteria colonies were destroyed. Water changes with a good conditioner & temperature matched water are going to be the best solution. Your ammonia is high but your nitrites are crazy. I would start doing back to back 50+% water changes until you can get your nitrite levels down to .25ppm or less. You will need to be viligant on daily tests & water changes until your tank stablizes itself. Keep your levels of ammonia & nitrite at or below .25ppm. This will keep your fish healthy until things are back to normal. Please ask if you have any questions!

 

[LyndaB]

You do have to do water changes with numbers like that. Good advice given above.

Good luck.

 

[gentry]

Should I be vacuuming the substrate or just changing the water. The cycle stuff I put in has left my tank with tiny floating particles you can't tell from a distance but when you get up close you can see it.

 

[LyndaB]

If it's actually called "cycle", it doesn't work. So, let's just pretend you didn't use it at all.

Just do water changes. We need to let your beneficial bacteria build back up.

 

[Zaedon]

Okay so this morning my readings are the following:
Ammonia: 0.50
Nitrite: is dark purple so could be 2.0-5.0
Nitrate: 20

Ouch! You are definitely back to cycling. Do daily water changes, 50% ( more if needed ) or so. Remember to dechlor the water to avoid killing bacteria and fish.

 

[gentry]

I managed to do a 25% water change right before I ran off to work. I didn't have time to do the readings but will check them as soon as I get home. If the levels are still high wouold you recommend doing another 25% water change or a 50% water change?

Thank you so much!!!

 

[LyndaB]

I would do at least another 25% if you're still showing ammonia and nitrites.

 

[gentry]

Okay thank you! should I be cleaning the gravel as well? or just draining the water?

 

[LyndaB]

Considering that this is due to overcleaning of the tank, just do the water, no gravel, for now.

 

[gentry]

Okay good news and bad news. Good news is my water level are slowly starting to get better and one of my guppies had babies they ate most of them but i was able to save 2 and there may be more in the tank that i havent seen. The bad news is I think that I might have ich in my tank now... It looks like 2 of my guppies have salt on them... Yesterday I thought it was because some of the substrate dirt was on them from the water changes but I caught them in nets to see if it could be swished off them but it remained today it is much worse and they are just sitting at the top of the tank. I increased the temp. But not sure what I should do from here..... I am not doing very good at this fish keeping thing

 

[LyndaB]

Keeping fish in a less than stable environment stresses them out. It's not unusual for them to get ich.

Raise the heat to 86 F

Do gravel vacs every 2-3 days

Add an airstone to increase oxygenation

Maintain for at least a week after you've seen the last speck on the fish

 

[gentry]

Thank you that's what I was thinking I am changing 50% of the water as we speak with gravel vac and have raised the temperature I hope the fish survive 2 are not looking good

 

[Zaedon]

Thank you that's what I was thinking I am changing 50% of the water as we speak with gravel vac and have raised the temperature I hope the fish survive 2 are not looking good

If you are seeing advanced stages of ich I would suggest medicating as well to ensure speedy recovery and prevent secondary infection.

 

[gentry]

What is the advanced stages so far I see white spots on 2 of the guppies and they aren't moving around as much.... What meds would you suggest I have a snail and a baby guppy right now.