Newbie finding it hard

[Gaz77]

Hi I am struggling to get my water right I don't want to harm the fish .tank as been cycling for over 10 days and the ammonia is rising have done two water changes and yesterday had 10lt of old tank water from my wife's friend who have told me to stop checking it and just let the cycle run.here is a pic of today's test not sure what it means .the fish look ok to me except one pearl gourami who whiskers have split so now he has 3 .



Any tips please

 

[Khuligirl93]

That ammonia is very bad for your fish. They will probably not live through your cycle if it stays that high. You need to do 50% water changes in order to get it below .25 ppm. The cycle will continue just fine if you do that.
No water changes is a death sentence for your fish though, so I would encourage you to not follow that advice.

 

[Gaz77]

That ammonia is very bad for your fish. They will probably not live through your cycle if it stays that high. You need to do 50% water changes in order to get it below .25 ppm. The cycle will continue just fine if you do that. No water changes is a death sentence for your fish though, so I would encourage you to not follow that advice.

Thank you but I have already done two in 3 days and had some seed water if I do another water change will it not affect the cycling ?

 

[iceywater101]

Seed water really doesn't help much. You need to get some seeded filter media or gravel. I am helping a co-worker set up his tank now and he wanted to do a fish in cycle. He is currently doing a 50% water change twice a day. You will need to do something similar to keep the ammonia below .25 ppm.

 

[Masha]

The bacteria is mainly in the filter, so water changes should not harm the cycle.

That's also why adding water from an established tank does little, but filter scrapings are more effective.

I'm sorry you are going through this, can't be much fun :-(

 

[Fishfur]

Best thing is if the friend who offered the water would also offer some rinsings from their filter. When whoever it is cleans their filter, in tank or treated water, you then take that dirty water and pour in into your filter. It will seed it very well and vastly speed the cycle.

Meantime, the ammonia can't be higher than .25, for the fish to be ok. They will already have permanent damage from ammonia that high, so they may die soon, and will certainly die much sooner than they would have without the ammonia exposure.

Keep doing as many water changes as you must to keep ammonia down to .25 or less, and if you can get those filter rinsings, the cycle will be done in almost no time.

 

[flitabout]

My brother in-law told me that because I had plants that I shouldn't even bother to check my parameters for at least a month because somehow the plants changed the tests. This is obviously quite false. So I have learned to take every bit of info that I hear with a grain of salt. Because lets face it not everything you hear is correct.
Yes anytime the ammo is over .25ppm you are looking at damaging your fish's gills and their organs. Fish in cycles are lots more work, this is he biggest reason for the push toward fishless cycling. It's easier and no fish are harmed in the process of the cycle. Plus you have a bb filter built like a tank! It means a tun less work even though it may take just as long. Now if your friend would be willing to give you a dirty filter cartridge that you can put in your filter next to your filter media or a decoration that will help but there is very little if any of the nitrifying bacteria in the water and it is actually on the surfaces in the aquarium with the bulk being in the filter and media. There are things that may help speed it up. You can try the bb in a bottle. These may or may not work. Seachem stablity claims to use a live non-dormant bb so they have to use a certain amount of waste or ammo in the bottle to feed that bb. Some use supposedly dormant bb that will magically come to life when added to your tank. I used Nutrifin Cycle and got some of the weirdest results so I am going to lump that one in with the seachem. My ammo raised on it's own and luckily I didn't have any fish in there! When I say raised on it's own, every morning I got up and checked it and it was 4-8ppm I would do a massive 75% water change after it was 1ppm and the next morning it was right back up there again. I did cycle the tank in 9-10 days. But I still test like mad because I don't trust bb in a bottle I just really didn't want to look at an empty tank for 1 more second. It did work but sometimes you just buy a really expensive bottle of water. You just never know how that bottle was treated and how long it was really on the shelf. Did it get to hot did it get to cold. Is it at the end of it's (in seachem's case) 4 year shelf life? You can try that just beware, it might not work. Otherwise you may be in for daily water changes for the next 2 months. Me personally I work from home and have the time to do it and I actually enjoy it. I doubt most people do though. I would also dose with seachem prime as it temporarily converts the ammo to a less toxic form while still making it bio-available for your bb to feed on. IMO the best water conditioner on the market. Past that water changes and time are your best bet for not killing your fish.

 

[Gaz77]

The bacteria is mainly in the filter, so water changes should not harm the cycle. That's also why adding water from an established tank does little, but filter scrapings are more effective. I'm sorry you are going through this, can't be much fun :-(

hi what is filter scraping? And how often am I supposed to clean the filter? Regards gaz

 

[Masha]

Filter scraping is a squeeze of the goo (filled with good bacteria) from the filter sponge of an established tank that's been cycled and has a filter full of beneficial bacteria. You can pour the goo right in your filter. Some people put the sponge itself in there.

I don't think you should clean your filter during a cycle as at the moment you want to build up the bacteria in there and any cleaning will reduce that bacteria.

But once your tank is cycled and set up, you should slosh the filter-sponge in old tank water every now and then - once a month? - to get rid of any debris that blocks water flow through the sponge. Be careful never to rinse your filter in tapwater that's not been dechlorinated - that will kill all the bacteria and undo the cycle.

 

[Gaz77]

Filter scraping is a squeeze of the goo (filled with good bacteria) from the filter sponge of an established tank that's been cycled and has a filter full of beneficial bacteria. You can pour the goo right in your filter. Some people put the sponge itself in there. I don't think you should clean your filter during a cycle as at the moment you want to build up the bacteria in there and any cleaning will reduce that bacteria. But once your tank is cycled and set up, you should slosh the filter-sponge in old tank water every now and then - once a month? - to get rid of any debris that blocks water flow through the sponge. Be careful never to rinse your filter in tapwater that's not been dechlorinated - that will kill all the bacteria and undo the cycle.

Thank you so you just shake the filter in some old tank water when you do a water change? How do you know when the cycle as finished .and when the cycle as ended do you still do water changes?

 

[Masha]

This article might help, if you've not read it already:
I just learned about cycling but I already have fish. What now?! - Aquarium Advice

Yep - you can rinse the filter in some of the water you take out of your tank when you do a water change.

I've never done a fish-in cycle. With fish-less cycle, you know the cycle is finished when you can add ammonia and 24 hours later there's 0 ammonia and 0 nitrites.

The article I linked to says: How do I know when my tank is cycled? Your Ammonia levels will gradually give way to higher Nitrite levels. Nitrite will lower to zero and Nitrates will start to rise. When you consistently test zero for Ammonia & Nitrite and have increasing Nitrate, you have a cycled tank! (Woohoo!) Remember that each fish you add will add more Ammonia and that time should be allowed for the bacteria to catch up. Add slowly and responsibly and you will enjoy the hobby even more and your fish will thrive.

Yes - once the tank is cycled it's best to do regular water changes. Most people do one once a week. How much water you take out and replace depends on how many fish you have. I"m not experienced enough to advise on how much water you should change, but I'm sure some of the other members can chime in on that

 

[Masha]

...sorry to add.

Some of the reasons to do weekly water changes:

The bacteria you are growing in your filter changes ammonia to nitrites, and nitrites to nitrates -- but they don't remove nitrates. Nitrates are not good for fish, although they are not as bad as nitrites or ammonia.

Plants apparently reduce nitrates somewhat, but the easiest way is to do a water change.

Another important thing is not to over-feed. Fish actually need way less food than most people think The more food you put in the water, the more ammonia>nitrite>nitrates end up in the water too.

 

[Gaz77]

...sorry to add. Some of the reasons to do weekly water changes: The bacteria you are growing in your filter changes ammonia to nitrites, and nitrites to nitrates -- but they don't remove nitrates. Nitrates are not good for fish, although they are not as bad as nitrites or ammonia. Plants apparently reduce nitrates somewhat, but the easiest way is to do a water change. Another important thing is not to over-feed. Fish actually need way less food than most people think The more food you put in the water, the more ammonia>nitrite>nitrates end up in the water too.

thank you you have been very helpful

 

[Gaz77]

thank you you have been very helpful

I have a couple of questions please
I have a white coral effect decoration in my tank I like it because it's white and I think looks nice but it's starting to change colour with algae .can I take it out and clean it or does it have to age?
Next one of the pearl gourami whiskers have disappeared is that normal?
And I have a crab ( wife picked) at night it's like a lumber jack on my tall plants when I come down in morning I am fishing plant matter out of the tank what can I do? Hope someone can help with these issues cheers gaz

 

[LuffyDeMonkie]

I have a couple of questions please
I have a white coral effect decoration in my tank I like it because it's white and I think looks nice but it's starting to change colour with algae .can I take it out and clean it or does it have to age?
Next one of the pearl gourami whiskers have disappeared is that normal?
And I have a crab ( wife picked) at night it's like a lumber jack on my tall plants when I come down in morning I am fishing plant matter out of the tank what can I do? Hope someone can help with these issues cheers gaz

Hi gaz.
Your decoration will be fine but goes thru algae bloom/cycle with the normal cycle but will loose its colour throughout. Live rock are the best options if you got it because it will get live on process and once coralline takes it looks lot better then decoration coloured rocks. I have not used deco rocks but think its harder to maintain its look and doesn't host lots and lots of BBac/pods/life. Some live rock with good water circulation should help massively on your cycle too.
Are you using DSB or crush coral or subs.
Those crab you have I would replace cause I had to with mine as it destroyed almost hundred of small feather duster. Some small hermits will help .

 

[Gaz77]

Hi gaz.
Your decoration will be fine but goes thru algae bloom/cycle with the normal cycle but will loose its colour throughout. Live rock are the best options if you got it because it will get live on process and once coralline takes it looks lot better then decoration coloured rocks. I have not used deco rocks but think its harder to maintain its look and doesn't host lots and lots of BBac/pods/life. Some live rock with good water circulation should help massively on your cycle too.
Are you using DSB or crush coral or subs.
Those crab you have I would replace cause I had to with mine as it destroyed almost hundred of small feather duster. Some small hermits will help .

Hi
Sorry this is all new to me I don't know what DBS or crush Corel or subs are!

 

[LuffyDeMonkie]

Hi
Sorry this is all new to me I don't know what DBS or crush Corel or subs are!

Sorry for wrong info dude..thought urs was marine tank. But anyway it's a same principle, once your tank settles u won't need much maintenance on rocks, I believe. Nice looking tank thou.