i'm so happy

[David]

my ammonia level is down to 4.

its been a good 3 weeks with the levels at 8+ (hence my first thread titled "suprised the fish are still alive")
took drastic measures over the weekend. did two 50% changes followed by two 25% changes the last 2 days.
with the 2nd 50% change, i took out most of the gravel. we put in the amount recommended in the tank instructions, about 1.5 inches deep. also took out all the plastic plants and soaked them in scalding water for about 20 minutes then scrubbed them with a new dish sponge before putting them back in.
the levels dipped to 4 for awhile monday, but went right back up to 8.this morning it was 4 before a 25% change and i just checked it when i got home and its still 4 some 16 hours later.
i changed the filter on sunday too. got one of them penguin biowheel filters. the water is only slightly hazy now as oppsosed to the heavy fog look it had earlier.
the nitrite level read between 0-5 too.
havent had any fish die in almost a week now.

sorry for the rambling post but this is the first positive sign i've seen from the tank.

 

[An t-iasg]

The Bio-Wheel is a better filter than the Whisper (right?) that you had, but I'm afraid that by changing the filter and removing the gravel and soaking the plastic plants, you may have started your cycle over again. Although the filter holds the majority of the good bacteria, the gravel can still hold a fair amount, so I would watch for another ammonia spike. Do you still have the old filter media and is it still wet with tank water and not tap water? If so, I would put some of the foam/sponge into the bio-wheel filter, where the cartridge goes, to help seed it. I know this old filter wasn't fully seeded, but any little bit will help.

Unfortunately it's not unheard of for a cycle to last for three to four weeks. You just have to be patient, do your water changes every day if needed, and don't disturb the filter. You can do small gravel vacs if your ammonia is very high, but again try not to disturb the gravel too much. Don't vac the whole tank at once. Even when the tank is cycled, gravel vaccing the whole tank at once is probably not a good idea.

So hang in there; keep testing and doing your water changes.

 

[BrianNY]

Hi David . Sometimes I think it's tough for people to understand that all that good bacteria needs a place to get established. The bacteria we are looking for reproduces slowly, is quite fragile, and needs a good supply of O2 to thrive. Cleaning any objects in your tank or filter until the cycle is complete will only delay process.

When you see ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates in the water, you're actually seeing the waste products produced from normal biological activity of fish and bacteria in your tank. Because these toxins are in the water column itself, and not on any objects, it's a good idea to change water thereby diluting the toxicity.

 

[David]

i understand the whole cycling process. i've been patiently doing small changes waiting for the cycle to start. yesterday was the first time i saw any nitrites(nitrates? keep forgetting which is first) in any testing. the only thing that has been registering was very high levels of ammonia. levels that were consistanly off the chart. (checking at home and brought samples to the lfs in case i was doing something wrong with the test drops)
i had read that high ammonia levels can stall the cycle too. i plan on going back to the conservative route and hope that the cycle will start kicking in soon.

 

[TomK2]

Hello david, welcome to AA

Wow, thats a rather high ammonia level. And since virtually all the ammonia will end up as nitrite, you can expect some really high nitrite levels to follow. Remember, ammonia damages the gills of fish. Then the nitrite comes along and impairs the fish's blood oxygen carrying capacity. Like a one-two punch, it is often the second hit that kills the fish.

I would recommend water changes to dilute out the ammonia, and the nitrite that will follow. Leave the filter as undisturbed as youcan. Daily changes of 20 to 40% until things setttle down. They will settle down, but you will feel like the water change king for the next couple of weeks. But once this is over, your stable, happy tank will be a wonderful thing.

 

[David]

Daily changes of 20 to 40% until things setttle down. They will settle down, but you will feel like the water change king for the next couple of weeks.

oh i already do...lol