New tank cycling help

[gauriemma]

Hello all newbie here. Luv the site. I have 2 tanks, 55 & 75. My 55 im doing cichlids. Its cycling now. Its been 1 month. i have feeder fish in now no others. My help i need is my ammonia is at 2ppm and nitrItes are high 5ppm. How am i doing the water is slightly cloudy. Im using sand for bottom and rocks for decor. Chemicals i have on hand are nutrafin aqua plus tap water conditioner, and Prime seachem. What should i be doing now besides waiting. Water changes? adding chems. Oh yeah my filtration is a wet/dry i have a 700gph pump below with bioballs not drilled it has overflow. Any help would be great. Im anxious for it to cycle and learn from my mistakes. I want to start my 75 soon too.

 

[FishEggs]

Seachem Prime is a tap water conditioner also so you only need to use one of them. i prefer Prime. Right now you should be planning out what type of cichlids you are going to add to the tank and waiting for the ammonia and nitrites to drop to 0ppm. You can also be planning on what you want to do with the 75g tank. Lots of reading and research on fish diseases and treatments is a good thing too. better to be prepared on what to do then to have to react and lose time finding out what to do.

 

[eco23]

Take care of the fish you have with lots and lots and lots of water changes. It shouldn't matter if they're feeder fish or $200 saltwater fish IMO...they're animals who's care you're directly responsible for.

Sacrificing a few "hardy" fish for the sake of cycling your tank is an old-school methodology...and since we've learned that doing water changes doesn't effect cycling time...there's no reason to make your fish suffer.

Check out this guide...try to lower your ammo and no2 to .25...and try to keep it at that level until the tank is cycled.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/artic...g-but-I-already-have-fish-What-now/Page2.html

JMO.

 

[gauriemma]

Yea i think my 75 im going to do a fishless cycle. How will i know when the cycle is done? I just did a 25% pwc and added the prime and after a hour my ammonia and nitrItes were at .25. I think with the 75 im going to do a predator tank. So is prime the only thing i need when doing my water changes each week i will be doing 25% each week is this enough for the 55?

 

[alex07]

Yea i think my 75 im going to do a fishless cycle. How will i know when the cycle is done? I just did a 25% pwc and added the prime and after a hour my ammonia and nitrItes were at .25. I think with the 75 im going to do a predator tank. So is prime the only thing i need when doing my water changes each week i will be doing 25% each week is this enough for the 55?

When you are cycling the tank there is no need to do a pwc until your nitrite & nitrate levels are off the chart and/or if you over dosed your ammonia pass 4

 

[eco23]

Yea i think my 75 im going to do a fishless cycle. How will i know when the cycle is done? I just did a 25% pwc and added the prime and after a hour my ammonia and nitrItes were at .25. I think with the 75 im going to do a predator tank. So is prime the only thing i need when doing my water changes each week i will be doing 25% each week is this enough for the 55?

You know you're cycle is done when the beneficial bacteria are capable of keeping the ammonia and nitrIte at zero on their own. With fishless cycling there's a bit more to it than that though.

Prime really is the only chemical you should ever need for a healthy aquarium. It is also helpful during a fish-in cycle because it will temporarily detoxify some level of ammonia and no2 to buy your fish some time between water changes.

As for fishless cycling...check out this FAQ-
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...guide-and-faq-to-fishless-cycling-148283.html

 

[eco23]

When you are cycling the tank there is no need to do a pwc until your nitrite & nitrate levels are off the chart and/or if you over dosed your ammonia pass 4

Just to be clear to others browsing...that is true during a fishless cycle. In this case there are fish in the tank and toxins should be kept as low as possible during the process via pwc's.

 

[alex07]

Just to be clear to others browsing...that is true during a fishless cycle. In this case there are fish in the tank and toxins should be kept as low as possible during the process via pwc's.

I didnt know he had fish in the tank

 

[gauriemma]

Yeah i have feeders in there. I will just keep an eye on the levels i guess for now.

 

[gauriemma]

My levels this morning are at .25 for both nitrites and ammonia. Is this the end of my cycle hopefully. I cant wait to put in my fishys
Also there is a faint haze in the tank very faint but its not crystal clear will this go away when my cycle is complete? And will that be a sign it is cycled?

 

[alex07]

My levels this morning are at .25 for both nitrites and ammonia. Is this the end of my cycle hopefully. I cant wait to put in my fishys
Also there is a faint haze in the tank very faint but its not crystal clear will this go away when my cycle is complete? And will that be a sign it is cycled?

Your cycle isn't over until you have 0 ammo & nitrates and some nitrates

 

[librarygirl]

My levels this morning are at .25 for both nitrites and ammonia. Is this the end of my cycle hopefully. I cant wait to put in my fishys
Also there is a faint haze in the tank very faint but its not crystal clear will this go away when my cycle is complete? And will that be a sign it is cycled?

What are your nitrate levels? With fish in there you want to keep those low, <20. Your cycle isn't complete until ammonia and nitrites are 0 but you could be close. Just keep testing the water daily and be ready to do a water change if nitrite or ammonia get any higher or if your nitrates are over 20-40. Also once the tank does cycle I'd wait a good week or two before adding fish just to be sure the cycle is stable. Good luck.

 

[alex07]

What are your nitrate levels? With fish in there you want to keep those low, <20. Your cycle isn't complete until ammonia and nitrites are 0 but you could be close. Just keep testing the water daily and be ready to do a water change if nitrite or ammonia get any higher or if your nitrates are over 20-40. Also once the tank does cycle I'd wait a good week or two before adding fish just to be sure the cycle is stable. Good luck.

Sorry not to go against you but no need to wait that long before adding fish. Once your parameters are 0 ammo 0 nitrite and some reading on nitrates. You can dose it the ammo to 1 or 2 the most since fish don't produce that much ammonia and if you can convert the ammo to nitrite to nitrate within 24 hrs then you are set. If you can't convert within 24 hrs then you need to continue dosing the ammo to 1 and 2 until it converts within 24 hrs which it should take a couple days.

 

[eco23]

Sorry not to go against you but no need to wait that long before adding fish. Once your parameters are 0 ammo 0 nitrite and some reading on nitrates. You can dose it the ammo to 1 or 2 the most since fish don't produce that much ammonia and if you can convert the ammo to nitrite to nitrate within 24 hrs then you are set. If you can't convert within 24 hrs then you need to continue dosing the ammo to 1 and 2 until it converts within 24 hrs which it should take a couple days.

Dude...fish-in, not fishless.

 

[gauriemma]

well just checked ammo is at 0, nitrItes are at .25 is this good. Ph is at 8, which is good for my cichlids right?

 

[eco23]

well just checked ammo is at 0, nitrItes are at .25 is this good. Ph is at 8, which is good for my cichlids right?

Looks like you're almost out of the woods, but I agree with Librarygirl that you should make sure the tank is good and stable (ammonia and nitrIte always at zero) for a while before adding any other fish. When you do introduce new fish...do it very slowly or you'll just end up in the same position as before.

 

[gauriemma]

Thanks im going to add them slowly at first maybe 3-4 small fish at one time like 1 1/2 "s. That should be ok right. What kind of ground crew do i need to keep bottom clean any suggestions. I also want to put in a fire eel.

 

[gauriemma]

Ok ammonia is at 0 still but nitrites havent dropped anything i can do to get them down. Or just be patient.

 

[eco23]

Ok ammonia is at 0 still but nitrites havent dropped anything i can do to get them down. Or just be patient.

Are they still at .25 or have they climbed? If it's still at .25 I'd just monitor it closely and knock out a pwc if the level climbs any higher...it should zero out here soon.

 

[gauriemma]

Yes they are climbing. Ammonia at 0, ph at 8, nitrAtes 5, nitrItes are at around 1ppm nice purple in api kit. What now? Oh yea i also had a local cichlid store whom ive know for years he breeds them he gave me a seeded filter its on of those grey round tube like sponges that you put in the tank with an air hose inside he said this should help what do you guys think. should i do a pwc.?