Nitrogen Cycle

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.

jc102

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Feb 12, 2017
Messages
142
Location
Trumann, Arkansas
Hey guys,

I have a 10 gallon glo fish setup that I started over a month ago. I've been monitoring the water daily using the API master kit, and it seems like it's stuck in the middle of the nitrogen cycle. It took about 2 weeks before I started seeing any ammonia, and now the ammonia won't go down. It's been stuck between 1ppm and 2ppm for 2-3 weeks now. Still no nitrite either.

Is this normal for a new tank? I'm cycling fish-in and have been using Prime daily to detoxify the ammonia.

The tank is a bit cloudy, so I am wondering if I should do a water change. I do them about once a week. What are your thoughts?
 
Prime will detoxify the ammonia, but it won't remove it from the water. Thus, when you test the water, it still shows up on the test. IMO, do a 50% water change twice weekly, and only dose with prime when you do your water change. Your levels should test better after a few water changes.
 
I respectfully disagree. 2ppm is extremely high for fish (even though Danios / Glofish are hardy) and Prime only detoxifies up to a certain ppm...can't remember how much.

I'd be changing the water much more frequently and personally wouldn't let it get above .25 or .5 at the highest.

I think the bigger question is why it's stuck that high for so long without dropping or showing nitrItes. Not unheard of, but seems out of the norm. Are you perhaps changing out filters or cleaning them in tap water?
 
FYI- you can also use a double dose of Prime for "emergency situations" which 1-2ppm of ammonia definitely qualifies as.
 
I respectfully disagree. 2ppm is extremely high for fish (even though Danios / Glofish are hardy) and Prime only detoxifies up to a certain ppm...can't remember how much.

I'd be changing the water much more frequently and personally wouldn't let it get above .25 or .5 at the highest.

I think the bigger question is why it's stuck that high for so long without dropping or showing nitrItes. Not unheard of, but seems out of the norm. Are you perhaps changing out filters or cleaning them in tap water?

I haven't touched the filter since I set the tank up. But I've used about 2/3 of a 3.4oz bottle of Prime since I setup the tank. The instructions on the Prime bottle say to do 1 cap thread for a 10 gallon tank. Should I do a double dose?

Also, I changed the water two days ago (about 50%) and tested again today and the Ammonia was at 2ppm.
 
Change the water much more frequently. Anything above .25ppm is damaging to fish. And yes, it is good to double up on the Prime.

There's no such thing as too many water changes, feel free to do back to back 75% changes if needed. It's good for the fish.
 
Change the water much more frequently. Anything above .25ppm is damaging to fish. And yes, it is good to double up on the Prime.

There's no such thing as too many water changes, feel free to do back to back 75% changes if needed. It's good for the fish.

Okay, thanks. I will try doing daily water changes and see if there is a difference.
 
Also, I tested my tap water at home and here are the readings that I checked:

Ammonia - 0ppm
PH - 7.4 - 7.8ppm

The PH in my tank is also between 7.4 - 7.8ppm.
 
Update: I started to see nitrite today, about .25ppm and the ammonia dropped 0.50-1.0ppm. Should I continue with daily water changes?
 
I would continue with frequent water changes to control nitrite now, depending on test results. High levels of nitrite are still not good for your fish.
 
Update: It's been around 3 weeks and I still am seeing around .50-1.0ppm nitrite and 0 nitrate. It seems like the cycle is stuck. I've been cycling this tank for over 2 months now (fish-in) and I'm not sure why it's not working. There's also algae on the decorations. Should I take them out and clean them or scrub them with something?
 
A picture really help....may just be diatoms since its new tank. About 2 months is good time for them to show up.
 
Hopefully these will help!
287qf55.jpg

k2ol20.jpg

713775.jpg
 
Lights 6 to 8hs. Responsibile feedings. Weekly 50percent wc with a bigger one now and again. Last wc of the month I go 75 percent or more.
 
Back
Top Bottom