did not cycle my fish tank :/

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

emanc

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Sep 15, 2012
Messages
8
Location
sacramento california
:banghead: i set up my fish tank its a 60 gallon i have all info in my profile, but i didnt find out that i had to cycle my tank before i put fish in it or anything im new at this hobby. :banghead: i feel stupid and i dont know what i can do i test the water like 5 times a day im scared if my fish will die my nitrates and nitrites are at 0 and PH at 6.6 and ammonia at 0.30 0.50 i did my first water change and ammonia did not seem to go down at all i did about a 25-30% water change i added water conditioner and stress zyme and coat everything that u can think of just did not do a cycle :( tank only has been up for 10 days i need help pleasei dont know what to do.:banghead:
 
Ok First off Take a Breath and relax your in the right place, you can do still cycle the tank with the fish in it. there is plenty of info on the forums just do a search your sure to find the info you need. I've been away from the hobby for too long to give specific advice hence why I'm reading up on all the stuff I've forgotten.
 
Hi and welcome. The good thing is that you have a large tank to help dissipate toxins. What fish do you have currently? What test kit are you using? What filter do you have?

A couple of things:
--no need to test 5x a day (although feel free to do so lol). Once or twice is sufficent
--test your tap water for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate so you know what you're starting with (e.g. there might be ammonia etc in your tap water)
--your pH is a bit low. Test your PH out of the tap and then let a glass of water sit out for 24 hours (stir it occasionally), then test PH again. This is your true PH and what your tank's PH should be (sometimes PH changes from what it is out of the tap after it outgasses). 6.6 is a bit borderline for cycling as the bacteria you want to grow do better in PH of 7+ and at the low 6's it can keep the bacteria from forming. If your true PH (after you do the 24 hour test) is really mid 6's you might want to get some crushed coral or argonite (sold at most fish stores in the saltwater section) and put a handful in a mesh media bag or clean (never washed with detergents) nylon stocking and put it in your filter. This will help buffer the water. You don't want the PH to raise too high from what your tap's PH is, aim for the low 7's.
--ammonia at .3-.5 isn't too bad, particulary with a low PH. Remember that if say ammonia is 1 and you do a 50% water change it'll lower it to .5 (assuming your tap doesn't have ammonia in it). So if ammonia is .5+ and you do a 10-30% water change it won't drop much and it might read about the same on the test kit

Here are some links for you to read:
I just learned about cycling but I already have fish. What now?! - Aquarium Advice
Guide to Starting a Freshwater Aquarium - Aquarium Advice
 
Thank you for your reply i will leave out some water to check all that info and ill get back to the post but i use API test tubes (the drops) and have 2 filters, a marineland for a 70 gallon, a topfin filter for a 60 gallon, and have a aquaclear water pump for a 30 gallon one far right back corner of the tank, a heater is at tempreature 76-80 i have sea sand set at the battom. i have 5 albino corys, 8 neon tetras, 3 white clouds, 1 pictus catfish, 1 Otocinclus, 8 Zebra Danios 5 guppys and 5 red eye tetras
 
emanc said:
Thank you for your reply i will leave out some water to check all that info and ill get back to the post but i use API test tubes (the drops) and have 2 filters, a marineland for a 70 gallon, a topfin filter for a 60 gallon, and have a aquaclear water pump for a 30 gallon one far right back corner of the tank, a heater is at tempreature 76-80 i have sea sand set at the battom. i have 5 albino corys, 8 neon tetras, 3 white clouds, 1 pictus catfish, 1 Otocinclus, 8 Zebra Danios 5 guppys and 5 red eye tetras

I know it all seems scary, but your tank won't cycle in a matter of a few days so take some deep breathes, you will be fine! Cycling does take time. I'm doing a fish in cycle on a 10g and I'm in my 5th week, I'm slowly getting there and you will too! As said before you dont have to test 5 times a day (which if you want too thats perfectly fine too!) once or twice a day tests will be just fine, also it makes it alot easier to see how your cycle is progressing if you keep up with it either by a thread here or just keep up with it in a notebook or something. Basically all you need to remember is you need to do a water change anytime you have ammonia or nitrite that tests at .25 or higher and ideally you want to keep your nitrates at 20 or below, as low as possible is best but anything under 20 is safe for fish. Since you have such a large tank, you have plenty of stockings to options you can choose from! Keep us updated on how things go for you! And also if I were you I wouldn't add anymore fish until your tank cycles, and once it does you will need to add them slowly, a few at a time.
 
Just read up on a fish in cycle. You have a nice little setup there. I like the fact you have the extra filter, you must have done a little research before hand. With a fish in cycle you may be cycling for a couple months but in due time you will be cycled and if you keep up with proper maintenance in your fish in cycle your fish will be perfectly fine. Most of us have been right where you are now. I went out on a wimb and bought a 20 gallon tank and 9 fish to throw in it on the same day for my first tank and once I found this site I didn't lose a one. You and your fish will be ok you have found your new addiction lol.
 
thanks guys and i did a bit of study but not enough ahahaand i tested my tap water and it is 7.6 PH and 0 ammonia when i do a water change do i only need to use water conditioner or should i use other products also??
 
Dont stress over the pH so much. My pH is naturally high and not close to 7. My fish, which I buy local are already used to the conditions. Also, as for the fish, since ur tank is new, feed the otto some algae wafers of some sort. They are known for grazing algae and since ur tank is new, u probably dont have enough yet. Good luck!
 
Definitely get yourself some Prime! You should not be using anything else really. It may seem expensive, but you only need 2 drops per gallon. You can dose 5 times the recommended amount to detoxify the ammonia and keep everything relatively safe for your fish. Other than that, be patient, read the links that were provided and stay on top of everything. It will all pay off. Also, no matter how tempting, do not change your filter media. You can swish it around in the tank water you remove to get the debris off, but don't overdo it. And limit the amount of food you are feeding. I feed once a day.
 
+1 on cc. I would suggest getting an active filter from AngelsPlus.com, it will jump start and speed up your cycle :) I was in your position awhile back and came here and got tons of help and great advice, all the fish I've cycled with are alive, happy, healthy and absolutely gorgeous! Just keep up on those water changes! Start a cycling thread and keep us posted! Good luck! Everything will turn out great!
 
You will definitely want some sort of dechlorinator, the chlorine and chloramine in tap water will kill your BB which completely defeats the purpose of cycling.
 
Thank you so much guys! and i just bought some prim earlyer today and did a 50% water change and added 120 drops for the full 60 gallons. once again thank you all i feel so much more comfertable at this hobby :)
 
Good job! Make sure you stay on top of it now. Remember, if your ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels are high, you can dose 5 times the amount of Prime to make the water safer for your fish until the BB catches up and converts everything. Your tests will still show the high levels, so keep up with the water changes until you are back to normal. Once you get there, things will be much easier and you can maintain a normal water change schedule without the stress.
 
I too started a fish in cycle {sigh}, I did not mean to, but nonetheless, my ammonia has kicked in and is bw 2.5 and 3.0 {yikes} for every 5 gallons of water I add 5x the amount of Prime. I have a 40 gallon and do 10 gallons WC at a time.
I really do not want to lose fish, I'm a $1000 invested in this hole operation.... So water changes are the only thing keeping them alive.
- add REAL plants to yours. Plants are natural detoxifiers !!!!!
- feed those otos !!!!! They live on algae and you don't have any.... wafers are fine and zucchini is good too. Driftwood they eat also
 
bkiggy said:
I too started a fish in cycle {sigh}, I did not mean to, but nonetheless, my ammonia has kicked in and is bw 2.5 and 3.0 {yikes} for every 5 gallons of water I add 5x the amount of Prime. I have a 40 gallon and do 10 gallons WC at a time.
I really do not want to lose fish, I'm a $1000 invested in this hole operation.... So water changes are the only thing keeping them alive.
- add REAL plants to yours. Plants are natural detoxifiers !!!!!
- feed those otos !!!!! They live on algae and you don't have any.... wafers are fine and zucchini is good too. Driftwood they eat also

Wow, you should really aim for larger wc's with ammonia that high.
 
Yeah im keeping up with the WC, i keep my water with .5 ammonia and my nitrites and nitrates stay at 0 at all times is that normal?? i also invested easy over $1000 i dont want to lose any fishies
 
Back
Top Bottom