An unexpected speedbump while attempting to cycle

[Klypr]

I set up my new 20 gal tank early February. I did my research and was confident I wouldn't have any trouble getting it cycled. Set everything up and left it running for 2 days. I decided to do a Fish-In cycle with 2 Dalmation Mollies, 2 Neon Tetras, and a wild Corydora. When I got home from the LFS, I discovered a Pleco and a Common Female Guppy with the rest of my fish. The guy must have put them in there by mistake when collecting what I wanted. The Pleco was 3 inches long so I have no idea how he "accidently" got in there, but I digress. 7 Fish is a lot to start a cycle but I figured I could do it. I would just have to keep a close eye on things.

3 days After adding my fish I see a tiny little fry hanging out by the top of the tank. Did he stow away too? Nope. After some searching, I found 44 of his brothers and sisters. I went back to the LFS and picked up a breeder net. I got all the fry into the net and started doing some research about how having that many fry in a brand new tank would affect the cycle. I couldn't find any info. I probably should have posted this thread then but I didn't.

Kept checking NH3/NO2/NO3 every other day and performing water changes when needed. Since then one of the Mollies, the Guppy and the Pleco have died. I'm assuming from NH3 poisoning as It got as high as 6ppm at one point. Not once have I seen a spike in NO2 and have not seen any NO3. About a week ago I got NO2 reading of .25ppm so i thought it was finally starting but the next time I checked it was back to 0 so i'm not sure if the first reading was false or what.

Frustrated with 6 weeks of a PITA aquarium, I decided to start looking for products that might jumpstart the cycle. I've been doing to research on the products and have concluded that most of them are garbage. I did find one product called "Bio-Spira" which was touted by some as the only product that worked as it was the only product that contained the live bacteria responsible for removing NH3 and NO2. I also discovered that this product has been discontinued. However, the man responsible for the R&D of Bio-Spira (Dr. Timothy Hovanec) started his own company and started selling the product again under a new name "Dr. Tim's One and Only". Again, it is said to be the only product with the live, cultured bacteria available on the market.

I went ahead and ordered the stuff thinking that $25 was worth it to me to stop having to worry about getting this tank cycled. Whether it works or not, I just don't care anymore. I understand that as long as I keep doing the water changes and monitoring the water, it'll cycle. If this saves me 1 or 2 more weeks of frustration, it'll be worth it.

So does anybody have any expirience with that product? Has anybody ever had my original problem with having so many fry in a brand new tank? Is there anything else I should try to speed up the cycle?

 

[loneranger]

What is your maintenance schedule while the tank is cycling. I did a fish in cycle on my freshwater. I added 5 leopard danios to my 65l. I did nothing to it at all at first apart from test daily for ammonia and nitrite. After 6 days I got ammonia reading, after 15 days I had a complete cycle.

Once the cycle had begun I carried out 50% water changes a day to keep levels low. I also got my brother in law to vac his gravel for me, and rinse one of his filter sponges into a bag. I then added some of this dirty water (abouthalf a pint)to my tank.

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[Klypr]

I check Ammonia and Nitrite every other day and change between 20% and 40% of the water as necessary. I have been very careful to make sure My water is thoroughly dechlorinated and not to vaccuum the gravel too much as to not disturb any bacteria that may be trying to settle there.

At first I thought Maybe the dechorlinator wasn't doing it's job well enough but the remaining fish don't seem to be in any distress. Is it possible for th water to be dechlorinated enough for the fish but still have enough of a pressence to kill any bacteria that is trying to establish? Should I be using one dechlorintor over another? I just killed a bottle of Tetra AquaSafe Dechlorinator.

 

[Klypr]

I tested the water again last night and Ammonia shot up to 6ppm and I have a NO2 of .25. Did a 25% change.

Also, my water has always had a bit of a cloudiness to it but yesterday it seemed more so than usual. I discovered some brown stuff on the back side of one of my plastic decorations. I took it out to investigate and the color of the decoration had turned from a dark pink to near white. Almost like it had been bleached. I could not (or did not) notice the coloration change while it was in the tank. Also, I'm assuming the brown stuff was algae. None of the other decorations have lost any color.

The decoration has been trashed so we'll see if anything improves. Might that be the cause of any problems?

Edit: Also I forgot to mention that the PH of my tap water is 7.6 and it keeps stable at that while in my tank. I do not have a kit to test GH or KH. Not sure if I should or not but I do know that iron and copper are present in my tap water. Aquasafe removes heavy metals which I suppose would include both, correct?

 

[missileman]

Where to start:
Dechlorinator, it is probably working. The point about being safe enough for fish? The question has come up, are the low chlorine levels in tap water even bad for fish at all.Even over time. Don't use the fishes health as an indicator of dechlorinator working or not. The water does definitely have to be dechlorinated as the chlorine will kill the beneficial bacteria.You can buy a chlorine test kit if you are worried.
You are doing a cycle with fish and so far seen no results since early Feb.? Since you did not add a bacterial source that is completely normal. Average is about 6-8 weeks but can go much longer.
Dr. Tim's One and Only is certainly worth a try. You probably won't find alot of comments because it is a new product. Let us know your results.

 

[Klypr]

I understand I am still within the normal time frame for the cycle. My concern was the introduction of the 45 fry 3 days after setting the tank up. It seems like I am doing an absurd amount of maintenance and haven't even gotten a NO2 spike yet.

 

[missileman]

Fry really don't present much bio-load but uneaten food will.
It is a balancing act to figure out exactly how much to feed and how often, fry need to eat more often than the others.
Sadly they will be more sensitive to the water parameters.

 

[Klypr]

I've been feeding them enough and they don't leave that much much extra. They tend to clean up the breeder net pretty quick if any extra is added. I try to feed them 3 - 4 times a day. Surprisingly, I've only had a few die. They died within a few days of being born so I'm guessing they were not 100% from the get go. They are growing up fast and all seem pretty well off.

Thanks for the info