Struggling with first fishless cycle

[Ponch]

Good for you, an upgrade would be great! You're doing a great job in the meantime. Try Craigslist in your area or Amazon.com or the classifieds on here. Or eBay? Corner bowfronts may be a bit expensive though unless you can find a used one.

UPDATE Fish re-homed to their new fully cycled 26g tank today! They love all the extra swimming space. They are so tiny in comparison to size of tank. I have 2 two-month old Dalmatian mollies and 5 neon tetras. I am thinking of adding 1 more Molly and one 3-5 more neons to make a larger school. Thoughts?

 

[jlk]

I cant advise you on your tropicals (i am a coldwater girl) but congrats again on the new tank!!!!!! I am sure Librarygirl will have an idea!

 

[Ponch]

I cant advise you on your tropicals (i am a coldwater girl) but congrats again on the new tank!!!!!! I am sure Librarygirl will have an idea!

Thanks JLK - appreciate all the oversight and guidance!

 

[jlk]

Glad to help!!!!
jessica

 

[Ponch]

Here's the link: Sponge Filters for aquariums They have a 3" active (40 ppi) and a 4" (20 ppi). Either one is fine I'd say. I'd go with the smaller one; even the 3" sponge was larger than I expected so it may take up a lot of room in a 5 gal but for now it's fine. When the tank cycles you may want to cut it up and try putting some pieces into your current filter if it's too large for the tank itself. ).

Now that the fish are rehomed into a 26 gallon this 5 gallon will serve as my quarantine tank. At the moment its got the big 4x4 AngelsPlus sponge-filter inside. To make it a little roomier for the new fish I plan to buy and quarantine I want to get rid of the sponge and add a hang on back filter. So my questions are:

1) Can u really cut up the AngelsPlus sponge filter and put the pieces in the filter Chamber? Have u tried this? Worried it might start spraying little black pieces

2) what brand of job filter do you recommend / what size is appropriate for a small 5 gallon tank! Thanks !

2)

 

[jlk]

Good questions! I honestly dont know 100% if you can cut up the angels filter but i believe you can. I dont have personal experience with them. For a hob, i would look at the tetra whisper (up to 10gal) or aqueon 10 (up 10 10g). I have one of tetras for my little tank but i have aqueons on my bigger tanks & tend to prefer the aqueons though they are bit more price-wise. The tetra hangs in the tank so it takes up alot of room. They both run between $8-12 online. Good job on setting up a qt for your future fish!

 

[fonejacker]

I think I'm pretty much nearing the end of my fishless cycle of my 55 gallon tank. I just wanted to run something by you all though.

About ten days ago, I was registering Ammonia 0ppm (dosing to 3.0ppm daily) and the nitrites had zeroed out too. The nitrates were too high though, so as suggested in the guide, I performed a big pwc (ok, maybe I didn't do 90% as suggested - more like 70%) to reduce to a safe level. Just out of curiosity a little while later, I checked the nitrites, which had somehow maxed out again to like 5.0ppm!?

It's taken me another ten days now to get the correct recordings of zero ammonia and zero nitrites, and I'm going to run the 24 hour test tonight - dose it up to 4ppm and check that it zeros by tomorrow night.

But is there anything else I can do to avoid what happened last time? I can't really explain why that happened, I don't think there was a major fluctuation in the pH or anything.

Just looking for a few pointers as I conclude this cycle, so that my three fancies can upgrade to their new home.

 

[Hholly]

Did you rinse your filter or anything? Just a heads up, I rinsed my filter pads in tank water about 2 months after cycle was finished and it threw the tank into a mini cycle. So don't mess with your filter until its really gunked up.

 

[Ponch]

I think I'm pretty much nearing the end of my fishless cycle of my 55 gallon tank. I just wanted to run something by you all though.

About ten days ago, I was registering Ammonia 0ppm (dosing to 3.0ppm daily) and the nitrites had zeroed out too. The nitrates were too high though, so as suggested in the guide, I performed a big pwc (ok, maybe I didn't do 90% as suggested - more like 70%) to reduce to a safe level. Just out of curiosity a little while later, I checked the nitrites, which had somehow maxed out again to like 5.0ppm!?

It's taken me another ten days now to get the correct recordings of zero ammonia and zero nitrites, and I'm going to run the 24 hour test tonight - dose it up to 4ppm and check that it zeros by tomorrow night.

But is there anything else I can do to avoid what happened last time? I can't really explain why that happened, I don't think there was a major fluctuation in the pH or anything.

Just looking for a few pointers as I conclude this cycle, so that my three fancies can upgrade to their new home.

How soon after your pwc did you test for nitrites?

Does your tap water have ammonia in it?

 

[jlk]

I think I'm pretty much nearing the end of my fishless cycle of my 55 gallon tank. I just wanted to run something by you all though.

About ten days ago, I was registering Ammonia 0ppm (dosing to 3.0ppm daily) and the nitrites had zeroed out too. The nitrates were too high though, so as suggested in the guide, I performed a big pwc (ok, maybe I didn't do 90% as suggested - more like 70%) to reduce to a safe level. Just out of curiosity a little while later, I checked the nitrites, which had somehow maxed out again to like 5.0ppm!?

It's taken me another ten days now to get the correct recordings of zero ammonia and zero nitrites, and I'm going to run the 24 hour test tonight - dose it up to 4ppm and check that it zeros by tomorrow night.

But is there anything else I can do to avoid what happened last time? I can't really explain why that happened, I don't think there was a major fluctuation in the pH or anything.

Just looking for a few pointers as I conclude this cycle, so that my three fancies can upgrade to their new home.

Hmm... that is a bit odd. What are you using as your water dechlorinator/conditioner? Did you dose it to the size of your tank (and not just the water you were changing)? If you are refilling using a python/similar hose water changer, make sure you turn everything off before the water change & dose the the dechlorinator/conditioner for the size of your tank before refilling. Leave everything off for atleast 15mins before restarting so the dechlorinator/conditioner can disperse through the tank. If you are using city water, you may want to consider adding 1/2 dose more than the listed dose for dechlorinator/conditioner. After having my city water tested, i discovered the chlorine levels it contains are higher than what a standard dose of dechl/condit can handle. Your water authority will test your water for free if you call & ask them. Hope this helps!

 

[librarygirl]

I wouldn't worry about it unless it keeps happening. That's why we suggest dosing and testing for a week after nitrites and ammonia go to 0, to make sure there aren't anymore sudden spikes before deeming it safe to add fish.

 

[fonejacker]

How soon after your pwc did you test for nitrites?

Does your tap water have ammonia in it?

Was pretty much just after the pwc. I turned down the heater temp as advised and then tested. I'm using Prime as a water conditioner.

No ammonia trace in tap water.

 

[fonejacker]

I wouldn't worry about it unless it keeps happening. That's why we suggest dosing and testing for a week after nitrites and ammonia go to 0, to make sure there aren't anymore sudden spikes before deeming it safe to add fish.

Thanks, will definitely run the test for a week.