Cycling ?

[bkiggy]

Ammonia .5 / 1
Nitrites 5+
Nitrates10?

When does stuff go down ? 8 weeks running

 

[shellieca]

Depends on how you're doing water changes and such. Is this fish IN or fish LESS? What is your source of ammonia? My 10g Fish IN cycling tank took 8 wks to complete with 50%+ water changes averaging every 3 days. My 46g to about 6 wks to complete it's fish IN cycle.

 

[bkiggy]

Fish in since beginning. 40 gallon tank all live plants, Aquaclear 70 filter. Changing to Fluval 406 filter . Ammonia has been high since day 1. Started with WC every 7 days then every other day at 10 or 15 gallons each. It was more ammonia control but now nitrites have kicked in and are off the charts. So now it is nitrite control so they don't die of "brown blood"
1 elephant nose, pictus cat, albino Cory, upside down cat,,, feed frozen brine shrimp every 3 days or so and a couple sinking pellets for catfish

 

[tamtam]

if you are still getting ammo I would say you have a couple more weeks yet. Every cycle is different.

Need to really get that nitrite down though. You want it no higher than .5 at the absolute highest. It's just as bad as ammo for your fish. Off the charts you will probably need to do 3 or 4 40-50% changes an hour apart to get it down to an ok level.

 

[bkiggy]

What made it shoot up over night like that?

 

[tamtam]

What made it shoot up over night like that?

just the way it goes. It's not uncommon in fish in cycles to have your levels spike dramatically and fast. I think it's just timing really. That nitrite has no where to go so it will just build.

 

[bkiggy]

So keep doing WC and like ammonia try to keep it as low as possible. *fresh clean water equals oxygen and happy fish ?
Does water changes stall the cycling process or is all that stuff in the filter media ?

 

[Mrs.h2012]

So keep doing WC and like ammonia try to keep it as low as possible. *fresh clean water equals oxygen and happy fish ?
Does water changes stall the cycling process or is all that stuff in the filter media ?

Water changes will not stall the process, just whenever you do water changes be sure and keep your filter media wet if your water level gets below the intake on your filter, or you can just unplug your filter and fill the inside with old tank water to keep your media wet.

 

[tamtam]

So keep doing WC and like ammonia try to keep it as low as possible. *fresh clean water equals oxygen and happy fish ?
Does water changes stall the cycling process or is all that stuff in the filter media ?

No it doesn't. The majority of BB are in/attached to your filter media, it also sticks to your substrate and decor. Very little is kept in the water. Keeping a level of ammo or nitrite around .25 keeps your bacteria fed but your fish healthy.

 

[librarygirl]

Larger water changes are needed; 10-15 gal in a 40 gal tank with nitrites that high isn't enough. What's your PH? PH drops are common in cycling tanks and if it drops too low (mid - low 6's it can stall the cycle). Also test your tap water for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate to see where you're starting from and to be sure you're just not putting high levels of those things back into the tank. lf tap water checks out OK, you'll need to do much larger back-to-back water changes ASAP to get that nitrite down as your fish are likely suffering from toxicity at this point.

Do a 50-60% water change (don't forget dechlorinator), then wait an hour. Test nitrite again; it should be about 2.5 at this point (or higher if the level of nitrites is over 5). Do another 50% water change. Keep doing this until nitrites are under .5. They'll most likely shoot up again though so test daily and do water changes to keep the nitrites under .5. How long have nitrites been high? Typically the nitrite phase takes about 3 weeks. Also don't remove/change any filter media or you'll just be stalling the cycle.

 

[bkiggy]

PH is at 7.0 added neutral regulator and it keeps it there..... Ammonia started out high from the second week over 2.0 for eight weeks. Did daily water changes then only 10 gallons at a time though and they made it through . Ammonia today was .25
Nitrite today was over 5 (happened literally over night) so doing WC every day , 10 gallons at a time night and day (so twice a day)
Adding Stability and Prime every time. Also have all live plants 11 total so the Flourish and root tabs turn water very slightly yellow/brown.....
Fish all seem fine. Pink gills, swimming happy, eating like pigs. Only get fed every 3 days, frozen brine shrimp and a couple sinking pellets for the catfish. NitrAtes hover around 10
- did water change today at 9:30est so those posted results were from then
- it is now 11:00est
Ammonia is .25
Nitrite dropped a good bit to .30/ .50 I'd guess
NitrAte is just a smidge above 5.0

 

[bkiggy]

8:15 am today nitrItes 2.0+/- NitrAtes 5.0 +/-

Water change this morning soon and new Fluval 406 hook up

 

[bkiggy]

How my doing? Got a new Fluval 406 and adding seeded media to it.....

 

[librarygirl]

More filtration is always a good thing. Was the 2 nitrite before a water change or after? Try keeping that lower for the fish. Hopefully you'll be done soon.

 

[bkiggy]

2.0+/- Before water change. Went down a little after water change 1.0+/-

 

[bkiggy]

This morning back up to 2.0.NitrIte - After WC it goes down. 1 +/- . Is the fluctuation harmfull? Ammonia has stayed down to .50+/-
Nitrates 10+/-
40 gallon 8 weeks running

 

[librarygirl]

This morning back up to 2.0.NitrIte - After WC it goes down. 1 +/- . Is the fluctuation harmfull? Ammonia has stayed down to .50+/-
Nitrates 10+/-
40 gallon 8 weeks running

No, not harmful. Since fish are in the tank you just need to keep nitrite down because prolonged exposure to high nitrites can lead to burns and other health issues in the fish, even long-term if not right away. Try to aim for <.5 for nitrite; this might mean more than one water change.