jlk
Aquarium Advice Addict
Sounds good! Keep us posted!
Fishless Cycle Stalled?
- Thread starter samlitcher
- Start date
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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Matt68005
Aquarium Advice Addict
Phuck it and throw some goldfish in there? LOL, sorry i never understood the "fishless" fishtank
jlk
Aquarium Advice Addict
Fishless cycling prepares a tank for fish by growing all of the bacteria you will need to convert ammonia & nitrites to zero before adding the fish you would like to stock. This prevents them from being exposed to ammonia or nitrites. Theres nothing wrong with fish-in cycling but you must be willing to commit yourself to the care & welfare of the fish in the cycling tank. You should only be stocking your tank with fish you WANT to stock. Using 'feeders' to cycle a tank is an old-school notion of cycling that does not take the fishes' health or welfare into account. If they survive this method of cycling, their livespan will be greatly diminshed & they will have suffered permanent, irreversible damage from toxic levels of ammonia & nitrite only to be disposed of. Not humane or ethical- as responsible aquarist, you should be researching the fish you desire to keep, stock your tank appropriately, and cycle via a method that keeps everyone healthy & happy.
Matt68005
Aquarium Advice Addict
I can easily cycle a tank with goldfish and they are just fine. Just use the Amonia/nitrate lockup products. So it is better to put industrial strength ammonia made for cleaning, then just putting some feeders in there and changing the water. To each their own i guess.
jlk
Aquarium Advice Addict
Ammonia 'lock' products only work for a period of 24-36hrs. They can only convert ammonia to ammonium for levels up to 2ppm. Beyond 2ppm amm, they do nothing. Ammonia and nitrite are HIGHLY toxic to your fish. While ammonium is not as toxic, it still is not healthy for your fish. If you are fish-in cycling, you should be doing daily (or even 2-3x day) water changes to keep your levels of ammonia & nitrite below .25ppm to keep your fish from suffering irreversible damage. If you have questions about fish-in or fishless cycling, please post your own thread in the 'Getting Started' section of the forum.
samlitcher
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Stats:
Ok that was a random response. But here are my test results today.
pH: 7.2
Ammonia: 2ppm (haven't dosed in a couple of days)
Nitrite: off the charts
Nitrate: 20ppm
Water change? Also, a person close to my parents is getting rid of their goldfish (oranda). What do I need to do to switch to a fish-in cycle? I'm up for the water changes as I am a stay at home mom for this year (my son is 7 months and has cystic fibrosis). The owner is also giving me four weather loaches. She said they have been great together but she is downsizing and needs them gone. I would wait but she is in a bit of a hurry.
Should I get some of her water and gravel? Since she is cycled?
Ok that was a random response. But here are my test results today.
pH: 7.2
Ammonia: 2ppm (haven't dosed in a couple of days)
Nitrite: off the charts
Nitrate: 20ppm
Water change? Also, a person close to my parents is getting rid of their goldfish (oranda). What do I need to do to switch to a fish-in cycle? I'm up for the water changes as I am a stay at home mom for this year (my son is 7 months and has cystic fibrosis). The owner is also giving me four weather loaches. She said they have been great together but she is downsizing and needs them gone. I would wait but she is in a bit of a hurry.
Should I get some of her water and gravel? Since she is cycled?
jlk
Aquarium Advice Addict
Yes, its time for a water change! You need to bring your nitrites down to a readable level (@2 or lower). Now, if you would like to switch to a fish-in cycle, no problem! You will need to do a 100% water change (possibily more than 1) to bring your amm/nitrite down to zero & your nitrates as low as they will can go. I know almost nothing about loaches, so I wont be of much help with them! Ideally, if you can get some her cycled filter media, this would be great!! Even a bag of her gravel will help some. Make sure you transport the media/gravel in tank water & keep it wet in the process.
In respect to fish-in cycling, you will just need to monitor your water parameters daily & do water changes (atleast 50%) anytime your levels of amm/nitrite reach .25ppm (or higher). You will want to keep your amm/nitrite below .25ppm to keep your fish happy & healthy. Thats about it! Please dont hesitate to ask any questions (ps>im a SAHM too)!!
In respect to fish-in cycling, you will just need to monitor your water parameters daily & do water changes (atleast 50%) anytime your levels of amm/nitrite reach .25ppm (or higher). You will want to keep your amm/nitrite below .25ppm to keep your fish happy & healthy. Thats about it! Please dont hesitate to ask any questions (ps>im a SAHM too)!!
samlitcher
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Thanks for the support! Should I go ahead and do water changes and start getting my temp down? I pick them up on Sunday.
jlk
Aquarium Advice Addict
You can do a water change & dose amm to @2. I would turn the temp down to where your going to be keeping it for your guys. I dont know about loaches but goldies are good in the 70-74 range. Then, either sat eve or sun morning, do your big water changes to get your amm/nitrite to zero. Good luck!!!
samlitcher
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Loaches are also coldwater fish. I've been doing some research on them. They seem to be tank cleaners. They are called weather loaches because they are sensitive to barometric pressure. So before a storm they go crazy! They can survive out of water too, kinda like mud fish. Pretty neat!
jlk
Aquarium Advice Addict
That is interesting!
samlitcher
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Stats
So I picked up the Oranda and three weather loaches yesterday afternoon. Did two water changes before I put them in. Let the tank run and then tested levels. Put them in bags of their own tank water and let them acclimate for 15 minutes. Then added my tank water every five minutes. Caught them by hand and placed them in tank. This morning they look like they are doing great! Tested the water:
pH 7.0
Ammonia .25
nitrite .5
nitrate 5
Doing a 75% water change. In the mean time I am fishless cycling my 10 gallon as a future quarantine tank when I add more fish to my tank. In the big tank I added substrate from the her tank in a panty hose and hung it in my tank. To get my little tank cycles I seeded my filter with the filter that would be used for that tank for a week. than added substrate from my tank and a log that was in there. Seems to have kick started it. my ammonia was .25 nitrite off the chart and nitrate were 20ppm! I'm going to do a big water change in there to get them back on the chart. I'll up date new stats later. I'm going to test everything again after an hour and them again before I go to bed to make sure everything is stable.
So I picked up the Oranda and three weather loaches yesterday afternoon. Did two water changes before I put them in. Let the tank run and then tested levels. Put them in bags of their own tank water and let them acclimate for 15 minutes. Then added my tank water every five minutes. Caught them by hand and placed them in tank. This morning they look like they are doing great! Tested the water:
pH 7.0
Ammonia .25
nitrite .5
nitrate 5
Doing a 75% water change. In the mean time I am fishless cycling my 10 gallon as a future quarantine tank when I add more fish to my tank. In the big tank I added substrate from the her tank in a panty hose and hung it in my tank. To get my little tank cycles I seeded my filter with the filter that would be used for that tank for a week. than added substrate from my tank and a log that was in there. Seems to have kick started it. my ammonia was .25 nitrite off the chart and nitrate were 20ppm! I'm going to do a big water change in there to get them back on the chart. I'll up date new stats later. I'm going to test everything again after an hour and them again before I go to bed to make sure everything is stable.
jlk
Aquarium Advice Addict
Good work! Just stay on top of your testing & water changes & you will be fine! Congrats on the new fish!
samlitcher
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Stats
So, Yesterday morning my ammonia was .25 and Nitrite were 5ppm. Did two water changes. Checked water again last night. ammonia was .25 again and nitrite was .25 also. So did two water changes.
This morning :
pH: 6.8
ammonia: .25
nitrite:2ppm
nitrate: 5ppm
Did two water changes. tested water shortly after (which probably would give good results) but everything zero, pH 6.6 and ammonia was still at .25. Is it normal for it to stay at this level? I really don't know if I should do any more water changes today because I think the fish are getting stressed out. My oranda (Bob) was a bit upset and just hung out at the bottom. I feel better now though cause he is swimming around again. Just worried. I have been making sure the temp is the same and adding water conditioner. Just didn't know if you can do too many water changes.
10 gallon QT:
pH:6.6
ammonia: .25
nitrite: 5
nitrate: 20
Did water change. Waiting to test.
So, Yesterday morning my ammonia was .25 and Nitrite were 5ppm. Did two water changes. Checked water again last night. ammonia was .25 again and nitrite was .25 also. So did two water changes.
This morning :
pH: 6.8
ammonia: .25
nitrite:2ppm
nitrate: 5ppm
Did two water changes. tested water shortly after (which probably would give good results) but everything zero, pH 6.6 and ammonia was still at .25. Is it normal for it to stay at this level? I really don't know if I should do any more water changes today because I think the fish are getting stressed out. My oranda (Bob) was a bit upset and just hung out at the bottom. I feel better now though cause he is swimming around again. Just worried. I have been making sure the temp is the same and adding water conditioner. Just didn't know if you can do too many water changes.
10 gallon QT:
pH:6.6
ammonia: .25
nitrite: 5
nitrate: 20
Did water change. Waiting to test.
jlk
Aquarium Advice Addict
Spikes like this are normal during a fish-in cycle. Dont be afraid of water changes- they will keep your fish healthy until your tank is fully cycled. A nitrite reading of 2 is really high- 5 is very dangerous. You may have to do mutiple water changes a day to keep these levels under control. Good luck!
samlitcher
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Should I add aquarium salt?
jlk
Aquarium Advice Addict
A low dose of aq salt (1 tbs per 10g) will help with nitrite toxicity. However, i do not how salt will work with your loaches because i believe they are salt sensitive (i may be wrong?). Do some research & make sure its safe for these guys before using it.
samlitcher
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Should I add another filter? I have another double HOB. Just wondering if that would help by adding more area for bacteria to live.
jlk
Aquarium Advice Addict
Another filter is a good idea! If you encounter issues with the suction from the intake tube being too great, some filter foam placed over the intake will help to eliminate any potential problems (i actually do this because not all of my goldies are great swimmers).
samlitcher
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Today I've done four water changes. Is this ok for the fish? I'm in the nitrite peak of my cycle. Just worried it is beginning to get too stressful for them. Gonna add that filter tonight.
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